Raju's grandfather had commissioned a similar sahasra nama mala for Lord Balaji 50 years ago. Raju now wanted to offer a new garland.
As Ayodhya readies itself for the glittering, much-awaited consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir on January 22, and as millions of pilgrims and devotees pour into the holy city for the momentous event, companies are rushing to do their bit and be a part of the mega celebrations. Some are offering a part of their profits as donations, telcos are beefing up the number of cellular towers to ensure better connectivity, and there are those distributing jalebis and food platters.
The temples are concerned about the religious sentiments of the devotees who donate gold ornaments in the name of the deities
The devastating earthquake that struck the Nepalese capital has turned the 500-year-old Kashtamandap temple to rubble, killing several under the debris of the historic structure from which the city derives its name.
'We would try our best that the temple structure becomes visible in the next two years.'
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.
Mahant Nritya Gopal Das was elected president and Champat Rai general secretary of the Ram Temple trust at its first meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The much awaited work to inlay with gold the dome of Bodh Gaya's 1,500-years-old Mahabodhi temple began on Wednesday by a team of technical experts from Thailand.
The woman climbed the security barricade to the 'chauthara' (platform) where the idol is installed and offered prayers on Saturday, before disappearing in the crowd.
The trust has around 35 kg of gold and will deposit the gold which is not in day-to-day use of the temple.
The Supreme Court today ordered that former Comptroller and Auditor General of India Vinod Rai will supervise special audit of property of Kerala's famous Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple, which is facing charges of financial irregularites, and constituted a new administrative committee headed by District Judge, Thiruvananthapuram.
'With Ramaland, the tourism department is looking to attract children and adults alike. It'll be learning with entertainment.'
The first bench of the Madras high court on Wednesday set aside an order of the Tamil Nadu HR&CE department, which appointed a 'fit' person (thakkar) to administer the Ayodhya Mandapam run by Sri Ram Samaj in West Mambalam in Chennai.
Das, a law graduate, was in politics from his college days and was elected as the Students' Union president at Gangadhar Meher College at Sambalpur, one of the oldest colleges in western Odisha.
These are becoming one of the most in-demand commodities in the COVID world with malls, offices, banks, and shops lining up to install the structure at their entrances. The company swamped with these orders is a relatively new one, Chennai-based Nanolife, which has patented its Rajat Bhasma formula or the silver nanoparticles solution as a healthy disinfectant. Sceptics, however, say if a person is potentially exposed to the COVID-19 virus, spraying the external part of the body would not kill the microbe, which is inside the body.
The massive crowds of devotees in temples, elaborately decorated tableaus and Dahi Handi revelry were all missing this year on Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna, as celebrations were dampened by COVID-19 restrictions.
From being rejected at the audition to walking the ramp at LFW, one of the biggest fashion weeks in the country, Chhattisgarh beauty Renee Kujur shares her inspiring journey to the top.
The transformation of the Modi-Shah baiting Hardik Patel into saffron poster boy.
'I cannot afford to go to court. I cannot afford to lose a case. I will fight the Gandhi way -- peacefully, non-violently, and with determination,' Purshottam Chauhan, a resident of the Sabarmati Ashram, tells Rosamma Thomas. Around him, the homes of former neighbours are rubble. About 300 Dalit families resided within the premises of the Sabarmati Ashram till 2021. Only about 40 now remain.
Over the last decade, individual Muslims have started breaking from the tradition of sacrificing animals on Bakra Eid, motivated by the thought that the considerable amount spent on buying and sacrificing animals would be put to better use for the community's welfare, specially education.
Since the historic judgment of the apex court that paved the way for the construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya, and ruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be found for a mosque in the Hindu holy town, a large number of devotees have been flocking to Ayodhya, several among them making their maiden visit to the city.
With a nationwide lockdown in place, it may have become harder than usual for people, especially for the migrant daily wage earners and the homless. The government has assured people that supply of essential items will continue unabated. But while governments across the country are working hard to provide food to people, there are good samaritans who are helping out fellow citizens. From providing food to sanitizers and masks, these people are nothing short of a godsend.
'Our priority is how to reduce the waiting time for people for darshan.'
Unlike the regimes of Jayalalitha, Palaniswami and Karunanidhi, ministers are actually getting to make decisions on their own, with the unmentioned rider that they would be held responsible and accountable, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
It cannot be that only in this case the CBI has developed a spine, refusing to heed the advice of its political masters.' 'There is something that does not meet the eye here,' notes Virendra Kapoor.
The top court said the old practices of "human sacrifices" and 'sati' amounted to murder under law and could not be saved on ground of "essential religious practice".
Hasty, ill-conceived steps show how isolated Mamata Banerjee had been from the national political trend. A fascinating excerpt from Sugato Hazra's Losing The Plot: Political Isolation Of West Bengal.
The DMK feels its genuine gestures have had no bearing on the governor's politico-administrative conduct, which is 'more political and politicised than administrative and Constitutional', observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Anyone with such experiences could have been expected to turn fundamentalist. But Shaheen Kadri is anything but that.
As many as 51 'Govindas' were injured in Mumbai.
'How will they give me permission to die when there are many others in conditions worse than mine?'
The death toll in the devastating earthquake that has rocked Nepal climbed to over 4,350 on Tuesday with more than 8,000 others injured, as Prime Minister Sushil Koirala admitted that the rescue and relief operations have not been effective.
'The BJP must realise that a resurgent Rahul Gandhi will take the battle straight into its camp.' 'He is not going to be held back by the misdeeds of UPA 1 and 2, so there is no point harping on them,' says Sanjeev Nayyar.
It was truly heartening to see how the Sikh community had risen to the occasion during the Black Lives Matter peaceful protests and the coronavirus pandemic and selflessly served those looking for nourishment.
Six intrepid mobike riders undertake a journey from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in support of the armed forces.
Rediff readers tell us what they did with their first salaries.
The new chief minister will be one of the most closely watched politicians in the country in these media-driven times.
It is mischievous to imply that the proposed bill to grant citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists from other nations implies that Muslims and Christians are not Indians, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
The privately-owned Hangzhou-based group, which has been in news for its impending IPO, is already sourcing human hair from the southern regions of India and has identified this category as a 'big opportunity', along with others like machinery, agro products, apparel and spices.
More than 3,000 squads under health and local self-government departments have started the process of cleaning houses and public places, official sources said.
