Tirupati, the abode of Lord Venkateshwara, will now be home to the largest ISKCON (International Society of Krishna Conscience) temple in India . The temple is located on Hare-Krishna marg near Alipiri. The three-storeyed Lotus Temple of Radha Govindji has already caught the attention of believers due to its unique structure. The temple sits on a petal of lotus and is a perfect amalgamation of South Indian and North Indian architecture. The temple has idols of Radha Govindji, Ashta Sakhis and Guruji. Indian Express reports The first floor has an exhibition hall, dioramas of the Lord’s different incarnations and several mythological episodes. The second floor has an auditorium and an audio-visual studio and the temple is located on the third floor, which is a grand hall with sculpted pillars. Apart from this the temple has a modern guest house and a restaurant. Around 25 million rupees was spent on the temple. Personally, I feel spending that

The Jigsaw Puzzle of Lord Ganesh is part of the Nuremberg Toy Fair in Germany this February. The puzzle by a German manufacturer is meant to attract Europeans and Americans. Lately, Lord Ganesh – particularly his elephant-head form – is attracting large number of westerners. The 1000-piece puzzle on Lord Ganesha might not be an easy task according to the manufacturer. They say it might take several days to solve. Numerous other jigsaws depicting yoga positions and mandalas are part of the fair. Another great attraction this time around at the fair is Bollywood and there are numerous toys based on Bollywood. But the fair is only open to people aged above 16 this year, as some of the products are strictly meant for ‘older children.’ (link)

Written by Krishna Yadav, the book – Kailash: The Mystic Land of Shiva – deals with the valley of Chamba . It talks elaborately about the myths and folklores of the region closely associated with Hinduism. Stories of Chamba revolve around the mount Kailash and Lord Shiva. The land is dotted with temples and each temple has a tale to tell. The author effectively communicates these tales and myths to the readers. The book also contains several black and white photographs. Kailash: The Mystic Land of Shiva is published by Promilla and Co. Publishers and is priced Rs 395. From the introduction of the book: Kailash – the mystical land of Shiva was conquered by Raja Maru Varman from its earlier rulers, the Ranas and Thakurs. Raja Maru Varman called himself a Suryavanshi (of the Sun Dynasty) and a descendant of Lord Rama.  He established his first capital Bharamur in the 6 th century AD.  The kingdom comprised of valleys on either side of the riv

Smita Poudel has written an article in ohmynews on women in Hindu religion. The subtitle says ‘Hindu women suffer largely because of religious dogma.’ The article portrays the struggle of an average Hindu woman in true spirit but sadly ignores the emerging Hindu women and does not mention anything on how to solve the problems. She writes The term "impurity" is synonymous with female. Women are impure several times during menstruation and even after childbirth. Yep, I remember my mother going through this around 20 years ago but not anymore. Things are rapidly changing and I don’t think most modern day Hindu couples stay apart during menstruation period. There are many Hindu women in modern day world who have come out of the tradition and made a name for themselves and are rubbing shoulders with men. Having said that the number of Hindu couples indulging in female feticide is on the rise. But she does not mention anything about this gruesome aspect whi

Sethusamudram Project, which was earlier objected by fishermen and environmentalists, is now under attack from Hindu religious groups. To fulfill the project a submerged reef - Adam's Bridge – has to be dredged. Dredging of Ramar Sethu or Adam’s bridge was objected by environmentalists citing the damage it will do to the fragile marine ecology. They also believe fishing which is an important occupation of people around the region will be affected due to dredging. This bridge is associated with Ramayana and many people believe that it was created by the Vanarasena (army of monkeys) led by Lord Hanuman and Sugriva to reach Lanka and to rescue Sita. So the bridge is directly associated with Lord Ram. Sethusamudram is an ambitious project taken up by India to drastically reduce the time taken to travel between India ’s east and west coast. Presently, ships from west to east and east to west have to sail around Sri Lanka . The project will save around 30 hours of s