300-Year-Old Siva Temple Unearthed
Nageswara swamy temple in Perumallapadu, India, has been rediscovered after 80 years buried under the sand. Archeologists believe the structure is some 200 years old and was swallowed by a massive flood in 1850. By 1940, it was completely immersed in sand.
Archeologist Ramasubba Reddy of The Smithsonian, posits that extreme weather may have changed the course of the Penna River, causing a redirection of the sand towards the temple, which was gradually buried. There are debates whether the temple is 200 or 300 years old.
According to the Ancient Origins website, the temple was built for Lord Nageshwara, a form of God Siva.
Even though elder generations of Perumallapadu shared tender memories of visiting the temple before it was buried, descendants did not pursue a rediscovery until a few years ago. During the Covid-19 pandemic, many people returned to their home towns. Old stories of the lost temple resurfaced, and about 35 people, some of them miners, decided to dig and see whether it was a tall tale or real.
After the throng of ambitious villagers raised enough money to fund the dig, the work began in earnest. Many worked on the excavation for free. Their dedicated efforts unearthed the temple’s main shrine. It took an entire day of digging in the sand merely to expose the temple’s pinnacle indicating the scope of the project.
Perumallapadu resident Pothugunta Varaprasad told The New Indian Express. “Now that some enthusiastic youngsters dug up the temple, we have plans to rebuild it to perform puja there.”
She Helps Save Indian Culture from Extinction
Global advancements should not come at the expense of culture, says Leena Yarna, cultural advocate and dance instructor at the Paramjyoti School of Dance in Trinidad. Indian culture is part of the architecture of Yarna’s life, as shared in her October 2024 interview with the Trinidad Express.
“Indian culture has always taught ahimsa (nonviolence) and dharma (righteousness), which I believe are the most important words to remember and abide by in today’s world. It emphasizes that everyone is equal and should be shown kindness because we are all sparks of Divinity,” she says.
Attracting new students is not difficult; the challenge is getting them to stay in class and committed to the art form, which looks beautiful on stage but takes hours of rigorous and repetitive practice.
Yarna does much more than teach dance to her 25 students. Teaching them to have a love and appreciation for their culture rather than being ashamed of it, she says, is important in order not to completely lose children to Westernization.
“It is my job to adapt to this ever-changing world, inculcate new aspects into my dance style while maintaining the traditional aspects. It also requires me to have regular, in-depth conversations with the girls, explaining aspects of our culture which they may not understand fully or were never taught.”
Many, if not all, of the values Yarna imparts to her young students were instilled in her by her large close-knit family. Growing up in the town of Debe, respect for elders, religion, neighbors and teachers was first and foremost. Understanding the value of hard work, sacrifice and being helpful came second, followed by other important qualities like patience and gratitude. Her home life and heavy involvement in activities like Ramleela—which she says brings communities together and makes youths proud of their culture—made her determined to advocate for Indian culture and keep its traditions alive.
Yarna takes her role very seriously. She feels that women are the carriers of our traditions and are the ones who can ensure that the beautiful Indian culture does not disappear in the future, but is held in high reverence.
“To other women out there: be proud of who you are, stand up for righteousness and be your sister’s keeper,” says Yarna.
India Retrieves us$10 Million Worth of Antiquities from USA
Countries from south and Southeast Asia are currently trying to retrieve their stolen antiquities from Western nations. Officials in the USA announced in late 2024 that they have returned over 1,400 antiquities looted from India since repatriation began decades ago. They are worth US$10 million. Since 2016 alone, 578 artifacts have been returned.
According to CNN, the recovered trafficked goods include items that were recently on view at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Among them is a sandstone sculpture of a celestial dancer. It was smuggled from central India to London, before being illegally sold to one of the Met’s patrons and donated to the museum.
In a press release, New York’s Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said that the reparations resulted from “several ongoing investigations” into looting networks, including those operated by convicted art traffickers Nancy Wiener and Subhash Kapoor. Kapoor was an antiquities dealer sentenced to ten years in jail for running a multimillion-dollar looting network through his New York gallery.
Notably, in July 2024 the USA and India signed an agreement to protect cultural property by preventing illegal trades and streamlining the process of returning stolen antiquities back to India.
Temples Celebrate Thaipusam
Thaipusam is a widely celebrated festival everywhere in the world where Hindus worship Lord Murugan. In South Africa, it is one of the biggest festivals for the Hindu community. A common tradition is to carry kavady, a decorated wooden structure often including milk pots, on the shoulders as an offering for Lord Murugan. At the Umbango Sri Siva Soobramoniar templein KwaZulu-Natal, the event was scheduled to run from February 2 to 16, 2025, according to the South Coast Herald.
The flag-raising celebration, scheduled for February 2, would mark the beginning of ten days of fasting that lead up to the main Thaipusam day.
First Balinese Hindu Temple Opens in The Netherlands
On saturday, november 30, 2024, Mayerfas, Indonesia’s Ambassador to The Netherlands, inaugurated the first-ever pura (Balinese Hindu temple) in The Netherlands. It is located in the town of Kallenkote, Overijssel province, as per www.tempo.co.
“This pura is not only a place for worship rituals for the Balinese Hindus in The Netherlands and surroundings, but also a symbol of shared pride, evidence of determination, harmony, tolerance and spirit of togetherness,” said Mayerfas, quoting from the official statement of the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague.
The Balinese community in The Netherlands, consisting of over 250 people, had long wished to build a pura where they could worship and celebrate important occasions.
Mata Vaishno Devi Welcomes Increased Number of Pilgrims
The shri mata vaishno devi Shrine in Trikuta Hills, Jammu and Kashmir, India, has attracted over nine million pilgrims annually for the third time since 2022, as mentioned by etvbharat.com. The CEO of the Shrine Board, Anshul Garg, shared this milestone on his X account, highlighting the consistent devotion from people across the globe.
These numbers reveal the shrine’s status as one of India’s most spiritual religious pilgrimage destinations. The management board said it has adopted a proactive approach to improve facilities and ensure a safer and more comfortable spiritual journey for the pilgrims. The improvements are expected to be completed in 2025.
Garg recently posted on X a list of 2025 projects. The New Vaishnavi Bhawan is a lodging facility with family rooms. A Seamless Crowd Exit Track is a new pathway intended to increase safety and manage foot traffic. The All-Weather Queue Complex at Darshini Deodi will protect devotees from unfavorable weather that might effect smooth entry into the shrine.
The shrine holds great significance in Hindu mythology and spirituality. Mata Vaishno Devi is a reincarnation of Goddess Durga and symbolizes the divine energy (Shakti) of this universe. The shrine’s story dates back to ancient times when, people believe, Mata Vaishno Devi lived in the Trikuta Hills, performing penance and meditating.
There is a historical connection between this shrine and the Mahabharata. It is believed that Arjuna prayed to Mata Vaishno Devi for victory in the war. Over time, the shrine evolved from an obscure cave to one of the most popular pilgrimage destinations.
The shrine attracts millions of devotees annually, offering a chance to bask in the blessings of the Goddess and stay connected to the divine surroundings of Trikuta Hills.
Briefly
The chinmaya international Foundation has developed a 24-credit Certificate in Hindu Spiritual Care (CHSC). Starting in early 2025, the program trains a Hindu Spiritual Care Provider, or Chaplain, to furnish spiritual and emotional care for Hindus in various secular sectors. Students will go through six core courses along with a spiritual retreat. They gain a strong foundation in general Hinduism, and Vedanta in particular, while strengthening their own sadhana.
Around 80 New Yorkers gathered at the Vedanta Society of New York on January 12, 2025, in Manhattan to celebrate Swami Vivekananda’s birthday. Born in Kolkata, India, in 1863, Swami is known as America’s first guru. In 1894, he founded the Vedanta Society of New York, the first ashram in the West, as reported by religionnews.com.
baps is building another large stone temple, this time in Paris, France. Jagran.com says that construction began on June 4, 2024, at the site sanctified by the late Shri Pramukh Swami Maharaj 36 years ago with a symbolic shower of flowers from the sky. The temple is progressing rapidly and is expected to be completed by 2026.
Laurene powell jobs visited India in January, 2025, to attend theMaha Kumbha Mela, fulfilling her late husband Steve Jobs’ dream of attending this giant festival. The Economic Times says that Steve Jobs, widely known as the founder of Apple, wrote a letter in February, 1974, describing his interest in Kumbha Mela pilgrimage and Zen Buddism. Jobs wrote this two years before founding Apple. The letter was later auctioned for US$500,312 in 2021. During Laurene’s recent pilgrimage, she participated in the ritual of taking a dip in the Ganga River. While there, she received the Hindu name Kamala from her guru, Swami Kailashanand Giri.
a riverbank in Adelaide, Australia, was officially designated in 2024 forHindus to scatter their late loved ones’ ashes. According to sbs.com.au, Rajendra Pandey, a volunteer in Vishva Hindu Parishad Australia, was approached a few years ago by a community member with the idea to establish a safe “Water Ceremony Site” for Hindus. The local council spent US$75,000 to construct a staircase to the river for easy access.