If you ask any young parent what they dread the most about planning their child's birthday, there'd be only one answer: Planning and buying return gifts, notes Divya Nair.
The base camps of Pamba and Nilackal witnessed intensified protests as the Lord Ayyappa temple opens for the five-day monthly pooja on Wednesday evening, for the first time after the landmark top court verdict.
The first batch of police personnel had taken charge of the security on Saturday.
The age of the girl, with 'irrumudikettu' (offerings to Lord Ayyappa) had been shown as 10 in the virtual queue booking.
'Comparing a men-only pilgrimage with past blots like sati or untouchability is propelled by politics, mischief and malevolence,' argues Sudhir Bisht.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that he will hand over his social media accounts to women achievers from different walks of life to mark International Women's Day on March 8. In his monthly "Mann Ki Baat" address, Modi said these successful women will talk about their work and experience on his social media accounts. He also renewed his appeal to people to take measures to deal with the growing problem of obesity and encouraged people to visit research laboratories or planetariums to mark National Science Day on February 28. Modi highlighted India's progress in space science and artificial intelligence, and emphasized the importance of celebrating and respecting the indomitable spirit of women. He also spoke about the diversity of India's wildlife and the importance of conservation efforts.
It is the first annual pilgrimage season at the hill temple after the coronavirus outbreak and authorities have decided to restrict the number of devotees to 1,000 per day and to 2,000 on weekends.
''This chief minister is so obstinate that he is ready to use the police to attain his goal.' 'Had he been more mature rather than obstinate, Kerala would not have reached a boiling point.'
The specter of how the Munambam issue was exploited during the November by-elections is proof of the price Kerala is paying for its emergent politics. Controversies become the stuff of slow-burn and brinkmanship. The former promises mileage; the latter searches for an advantage, notes Shyam G Menon.
Meena said political parties should be responsible enough to decide to what extent they should use the Sabarimala issue during the campaign.
Devotees have begun their pilgrimage to the Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha temple in Pathanamthitta, Kerala.
Non-fiction continues to grow with the most-watched unscripted show, Bigg Boss OTT S3 getting more than half the viewership that Panchayat (S3) got.
In a purported video which surfaced on social media, the accused man, reportedly a Tamil Nadu native, could be seen sitting on a platform atop the Ponnambalamedu Hills, located about four km from the Sabarimala temple, and chanting mantras and doing some rituals.
Kochavva Paulo Ayyappa Coelho is truly a feel-good venture that will leave a smile on your face for a long time, feels Paresh C Palicha.
The BJP often forgets that in Dravidian Tamil Nadu, the voter does not mix religion, which is personal, and politics that is in the public sphere, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Karnataka government on Monday asked those above 60-years of age, with comorbidities, and symptoms of cough, phlegm and fever to mandatorily wear face masks, in the wake detection of a case of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 in neighbouring Kerala.
The Travancore Devaswom Board, the apex temple body which manages the shrine, on Tuesday said a portion of the gold-plated roof would be opened on August 3 to take stock of the leak.
The Left government in Kerala on Thursday withdrew a handbook for police personnel on duty at the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala after the Bharatiya Janata Party raised a hue and cry over a mention in the book that all pilgrims can enter the temple.
Reacting to the statement, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary said "insulting the Sanatan Dharma again and again" has become the habit of the Samajwadi Party and its leaders.
The annual festival, which used to attract millions of devotees from and outside the country to the hill shrine, begins on November 17 and concludes on January 15, 2023.
Bindu Ammini was one of the two women who entered the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala in January 2019 after the Supreme Court vedict permitted the entry of women of all ages into the shrine.
The Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala, on Thursday told the Kerala high court that the jaggery received by it had 'halal' mentioned on the packaging as they are also exported to Arab countries by the company supplying to them.
A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com reports on a revolutionary wedding in Tamil Nadu at which guests were exhorted to gift only school books -- and got 1500 of them!
Bindu Ammini was attacked by the member of a Hindu outfit using pepper or chilli spray outside the police commissionerate.
The Supreme Court on Friday referred the issue of the practice of excommunication in the Dawoodi Bohra community to a larger nine-judge bench.
Rehana Fathima, a woman's right activist, was facing charges under various provisions of the POCSO, Juvenile Justice and the Information Technology (IT) Acts for circulating a video in which she was seen posing semi-nude for her minor children, allowing them to paint on her body.
'Because of the Supreme Court judgment, I am being denied my freedom of religion.'
The apex court's observation came when senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for a woman devotee, Bindu Ammini, alleged violation of the 2018 verdict and said her client was attacked for her bid to enter the shrine.
The BJP chief condemned the arrest of over 2,000 devotees, including Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Sangh Parivar activists, across the state agitating against the entry of women of all ages into the temple.
Pandalam Royal family member Sasikumar Varma, one of the petitioners, said he was happy with the apex court's decision to review the September 28 verdict.
While Governor Ravi's speeches have put the local BJP supporters on the defensive in matters of religion and social justice, his add-on 'attack on the constitutional scheme' in the 'Senthil Balaji case', has been condemned squarely by many legal experts and editorial writers across the country, thus adding weight to CM Stalin's position -- at least until the courts come up with their binding views, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The woman showed her Aadhaar card to them to prove that she did not belong to the 'traditionally barred' age group of 10-50 years.
'We will soon come back to Kerala to visit Sabarimala but we will not declare it in advance and come'
'Considering menstruating women impure is a Dravidian custom and is associated with the worship of nature by the tribal people'
Temple priest performed a 'purification' ritual for an hour before the doors were opened again.
The famous Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala, opened for the annual Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season, is all set to receive more pilgrims now with the Kerala government deciding to allow more devotees for darshan by adhering to Covid-19 protocols.
Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the shrine, said revenue collection on the opening day registered a growth of Rs 1.28 crore compared to last year.
Earlier, two women devotees could not proceed to the shrine after protesters forced them to return. Protesters pelted police with stones and the latter hit right back with vengeance wielding batons with telling effect, leaving many fallen and writhing in pain on the road.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, however, told reporters that no one would be allowed to block devotees from proceeding to Sabarimala.
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