Latest Hindu News

NEW DELHI, INDIA, April 11, 2007: The Indian Musical Academy recently honored Maestro Ali Akbar Khan, Vidhwan Dr. Balamuralikrishna, Smt Girija Devi, Maestro Illyaraja and Asha Bhonsle for their outstanding musical achievement. Indian President Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam's gave a speech at the event and his remarks included his personal experience with music's religious expression. A few of his remarks follow, "Dear friends, I will now talk to you about mother of Carnatic music M. S. Subbulakshmi. First time in the year 1950, I heard her when I was studying in the college at Trichy during Thiagaraja festival at Tiruvaiyar, in January every year. I heard MS Subbulakshmi singing the famous Thiagaraja keertana 'Endaro Mahaanubhavalu andhariggi vandanamulu.' This song really entered into me and blossomed happiness in my body and soul. The meaning was so powerful; I was moved and became a lifetime fan of M S.

NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 9, 2007: The narrow sea between India and Sri Lanka has great significance to Hindu heritage as the Hindu epic, the Ramayana, climaxed in this area. When Sita, Lord Ram's wife, was abducted by King Ravan and taken to Lanka, an army of monkeys built a bridge across the channel from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka to assist Lord Ram in rescuing Sita. The news release explains the situation, "The Ram Setu or Adam's Bridge, a chain of limestone shoals 48 km long that once linked Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu with Mannar in Sri Lanka's northwest, faces possible destruction when the ambitious Sethusamudram canal project comes up to create a navigable waterway in the narrow sea dividing the two countries. India does not have a continuous navigational channel linking the east and west coasts.

NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 27, 2007: Over 100,000 people packed New Delhi last weekend for India's biggest gathering on body, mind and spirit, which showcased the growing interest in alternative remedies. The Nakshatra 2007 seminar and exhibition attracted renowned astrologers, numerologists, palmists, Vasthu Sastra experts, pyramid science consultants, gemologist, yoga teachers, tarot card readers, magnet therapies, acupuncturist, Reiki healers and scholars of ancient Indian wisdom. They suggested ways to overcome stress, health, finance and emotional challenges and how to remove unseen and unknown forces through self-healing methods. Vasthu Sastra and Vedic astrology dominated the seminars as many visitors were seeking for solace through the 5,000-year-old science of dwelling and wanted to know their future through horoscope analysis. The occasion also highlighted several areas of confusions and contradictions in the practices of Vasthu and feng shui from China.

DELHI, INDIA, March 20, 2007: The blog at the above URL has pointed out what is a form of the Christian cross on the reverse of India's recently redesigned two-rupee coin. Click to the URL to see a photo of the coin. This type of cross is called "cross voided." It is defined in Wikipedia, here, as a " 'Cross voided throughout,' also known as the Gammadia, can be seen as a Greek cross (one with arms of equal length) with its centre lines removed, or as composed of four angles (L shapes) separated by a thin space. So the name 'gammadia' refers to its being made up of four shapes similar to a capital Greek letter gamma; the word 'gammadion' can also refer to a swastika. Used in heraldry on coats of arms and badges."

NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 10, 2007: Leaders of several social groups from within the Hindu community, the Dalits included, were among the 4,000 who gathered at the open air theater in Pragati Maidan here Friday evening and took a pledge to end the caste divide that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar warned would harm India's progress in the long run. A seven-point action plan that Ravi Shankar unveiled at the meeting and which the thousands of men and women accepted with their right hands outstretched included an immediate end to the ban on the entry of Dalits ("Untouchables") into Hindu temples in parts of India. The other aspects of the action plan are ending the practice of keeping separate utensils for the use of Dalits in eateries and also providing religious and spiritual education to Dalit children. "The anger of the past should not engulf us and divide the country. The fear and communication gap between communities is what is keeping us apart," he said in a brief address.

NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 12, 2007: "Karan Singh : A Tryst With History, a Pictorial Biography" was launched with grand fanfare by Shri Pranab Mukherjee, India's Union Minister For External Affairs, in the Rose Gardens of New Delhi's India International Center on Friday, March 9, the 76th birthday of Dr. Karan Singh.

NEW DELHI, INDIA, February 24, 2007: A packet of samosas she carried with her to space having already made news, astronaut Sunita Williams on Saturday said she would like to have more Indian food aboard the International Space Station. Interacting with students of a Delhi school in a "tele-bridge talk," Sunita, who is half-Indian, said she was having Indian dishes like Sag Paneer and Halwa. "But I would like to have more Indian food in space," she said responding to a question from a student on what kind of food was available at the space station.