South Africa Largest Temple Inaugurated

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Bhattathiry <mulavana@a...> wrote:

 

 

> Today's Stories:

> 1. South Africa's Largest Temple Inaugurated

> 2. Tiruchendur Murugan Temple Gets Improvements

> 3. Sanskrit Manuscripts Should be Digitized

> 4. Kerala's Water Festival Attracts Thousands

>

> 1. South Africa's Largest Temple Inaugurated

> http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/2004/09/05/news/durban/ndbn05.asp

>

> LENASIA, SOUTH AFRICA, September 5, 2004: The largest Swaminarayan

> Hindi Mission temple to be built in SA has taken more than 18

months to

> complete and will open next week. Nine hand-carved doors made of

> Burmese teak, a solid cherry-wood throne and 12 containers of

imported

> decorative artwork have been used to decorate the US$1.2 million

Hindu

> temple in Lenasia. This month's inauguration of the Swaminarayan

Hindi

> Mission temple is the culmination of four years of planning and

> fundraising. Rajasthani artisans and craftsmen have taken more

than 18

> months to embellish the temple's pillars, columns and beams. The

> temple, one of 500 dotted around the world, will be the third and

> largest of its kind in South Africa.

>

> Described by devotees as a "rare gift in a modern age," it will

> accommodate 400 people. A hall attached to the temple will seat

600.

> "Plans were drawn up in Amdawad in Gujarat by His Divine Holiness

> Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the head of our organization in India,"

said

> project co-coordinator and trustee, Niranjan Purbhoo. "His

Holiness

> said a temple was needed in Lenasia because of the huge Hindu

> population." Purbhoo said Swaminarayan temples served as ideal

examples

> of spiritualism coupled with traditional art and architecture. As

with

> other Swaminarayan temples, including one in London which has

become a

> major tourist attraction, all essential components were imported

from

> India.

>

> A total of 12 containers, crammed with decorative material

ranging

> from glass-reinforced concrete to fibre-reinforced polyester, were

> shipped from India. Huka Horia, 40, a craftsman from Rajasthan,

this

> week added the finishing touches to the imported hand-carved doors

and

> the large Sihasen (throne). Horia has worked on the majority of

the

> Mission's temples throughout the world, including those in

Auckland,

> New Zealand and Kenya. Mukesh Patel, a trustee, said generous

sponsors

> and the Lenasia community had rallied behind the project. "We've

even

> had students donating their monthly allowances," he said. Ashwin

> Trikamjee, president of the SA Hindu Maha Sabha (an umbrella body

of SA

> Hindu organizations), said the temple was an "outstanding" piece

of

> architecture and was a "landmark" in South Africa. "The movement

has

> shown commitment not just to Hinduism and its disciplines but to

> bringing to life dreams such as these," he said.

>

> 2. Tiruchendur Murugan Temple Gets Improvements

> http://www.hindu.com/2004/09/05/stories/2004090504170300.htm

>

> TUTICORIN, INDIA, September 4, 2004: Tiruchendur is all set to get

> improved infrastructure facilities, including a state-of-the-art

bus

> terminus at a cost of US$682,000, with financial assistance from

the

> Tamil Nadu Urban Finance Infrastructure Development Corporation,

which

> has come forward to finance the implementation of various

developmental

> schemes in the district to the tune of $2.5 million. In

Tiruchendur,

> all Car Streets through which the cars of Lord Subramaniya Swamy

> (Murugan) are drawn would be given a facelift at a cost of $45,000

and

> an ultra-modern market with all facilities established on an

outlay of

> $380,000. "The age-old bus-stand will be redesigned in the model

of the

> new bus-stand at Vaeinthankulam in Tirunelveli with all commuter

> friendly facilities," Mr. Radhakrishnan said. The roads at

Arumuganeri,

> Udangudi, Kayalpattinam and Kayathaar would be improved and public

> toilets constructed at Arumuganeri and Kayathaar. Two community

halls

> would be constructed at Udangudi and Kaayalpattinam for the

benefit of

> the public. In Tuticorin, an electric crematorium would be set up

in

> the burial ground opposite the VOC College.

>

> 3. Sanskrit Manuscripts Should be Digitized

> http://www.hindu.com/2004/09/05/stories/2004090511540500.htm

>

> CHENNAI, INDIA, September 4, 2004: Sanskrit manuscripts should be

> collected, microfilmed and digitized for posterity. The country

had

> lost valuable manuscripts and steps should be taken at least to

> preserve the scripts available in vidyapeeths and mutts (academic

> centers and monasteries) said speakers at the diamond jubilee

> celebrations of the Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute here

today.

> Kapila Vatsyayan, chairperson, India International Centre, New

Delhi,

> in her presidential address, attributed a steady decline in the

number

> of students studying Sanskrit to a sustained campaign against the

> language over the years. Sanskrit, she said, was not an ordinary

> language and it was the culture and civilization of the country.

Hence

> it was the duty of everyone to preserve the language, she added.

V.R.

> Panchamukhi, Chancellor, Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, Tirupati,

> appealed to the Centre to set up another Sanskrit Commission as

the

> earlier one failed to complete many assigned tasks. He was for a

> national, regional and local-level interaction among Sanskrit

> vidyapeeths to discuss the problems confronting them and steps to

solve

> them. Justice B. N. Srikrishna, Supreme Court judge, said there

was

> immense scope for research on how to preserve the Vedas.

>

> 4. Kerala's Water Festival Attracts Thousands

> http://www.uniindia.com/UNILIVE/UNISITE.NSF

>

> THIRUVANANTHAPUAM, INDIA, September 2, 2004: A spectacular boat

> pageantry along the six-km stretch of Karamana river in Kerala

capital

> today provided a feast for eyes of thousands, including a good

number

> of foreigners. Coinciding with the Onam week celebrations, the

annual

> mega event, which the organizers claimed was one of the biggest in

the

> world, was flagged off from Karamana river. Scores of catamarans,

snake

> and country boats took part in the event. The organizers were

making

> every effort to ensure that the boat festival figures in the

Guinness

> Book of World Records. Photographs would be sent to their

authorities

> to stake claim as the biggest annual event, local Jalolsavam

Committee

> Chairman Thiruvallam Bhasi said. The present biggest one in the

world

> was being held in the Philippines along a 3.5-km stretch. The

> Jalolsavan, the only major water festival here, attracted a huge

crowd

> till the finishing point at Thiruvallam where the country's only

temple

> to Lord Parasurama is located.

>

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