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"I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers." -Mahatma Gandhi

रघुपति राघव राजाराम , पतित पावन सीताराम
सीताराम सीताराम, भज प्यारे तू सीताराम
ईश्वर अल्लाह तेरो नाम, सब को सन्मति दे भगवान

Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram, Patit Pavan Sita Ram ( Read more... )

A couple nights ago, _untranslated_ asked me if marriages between first cousins was a common thing in India or atleast among Tamils. Here is my answer with a lot of additional details and pictures from rural India which you may not get to read about or see anywhere else. Enjoy!

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Welcome to My WorldSuch marriages were more common in days gone by and are ( Read more... )

My dad wants to visit Fairfield, Iowa (Vedic City) next week. He'll be going from Chicago... does anybody know the name of a bus service that would possibli head in that direction? Or train services?

Other than Greyhound I basically have no idea how he would get there and I've been given the task of figuring it out. :)

Last night was our (HSA - Hindu Student Association) Navratri Celebration and it took place in grand ishtyle! We planned for about 175-200 ppl but more than 250 ppl of all shapes, colors & sizes graced the occasion ( Read more... )

Then I suggest you join us at the Hindu Student Association's first mega-event of the year,

The Navratri Celebration (lit. 9-Nights) this Friday, October 14.Even if you're not Indian or Hindu think of this invitation as an opportunity to discover the vibrancy of Hindu culture. We definitely encourage students of all backgrounds, shapes and sizes ( Read more... )

Ramadan Karim to all those who partake. Back in Oman this would mean no eating in public during the daytime. In my high school we wouldn't be allowed to eat outside during lunch breaks, but sometimes (often?) we'd finish class early. Those fasting would often leave the room and this would continue for a lunar month, at the end of which there would ( Read more... )

Tonight is Sarvapitri Amavashya (aka Pitru/Mahalaya Amavashya) or All-Soul's Day when ceremonies are performed around the world by Hindus in memory of our departed ancestors. Amavasya is the day of conjunction between the sun and the moon in the zodiacal sign of Kanya (Virgo). Or in other words, the 15th day of the dark half of a lunar month (in ( Read more... )

Letters to the Editor

Your analysis of the government of Turkey and Malaysia (Islam's Happy Faces, Jan 3) was interesting. Turkey may have a Muslim majority but, as you say, it is a nation where Islam has been tightly suppressed and controlled by the state for the last 70 years. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has just started to correct the ( Read more... )