Every year, Nepal becomes awash with vermillion powder as Hindus celebrate Sindoor Jatra to welcome the arrival of spring and Nepalese new year
Continue reading...Category Archives: Hinduism
Kumbh Mela: cleaning up after the world’s largest human gathering
Around 220 million people descended on sleepy Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) for the 50-day Hindu festival. The cleanup could take months
As the sun sets over the Ganges, Vikas Kumar drives his garbage truck through the streets of Prayagraj, a historic Indian city of 1.1 million that was until last year known as Allahabad. “All this stuff people have been eating, drinking and throwing away,” he says, gesturing at piles of food waste, discarded water bottles and mud-spattered flowers. “It will take three or four months to clear.”
Over a 50-day period this normally sleepy city has been visited by around 220 million people for the Kumbh Mela – a Hindu pilgrimage dubbed the world’s largest human gathering.
Continue reading...Holi: a festival of colours – in pictures
The Hindu festival of Holi is under way in India. The two-day celebration signifies the victory of good over evil and marks the end of winter and the arrival of spring. Its origins can be found in Hindu mythology, while the use of colour is tied to stories about Lord Krishna
Continue reading...Love Commandos: guardians of forbidden romance accused of extortion
Sanjoy Sachdev helped scores of Indian couples marry across cultural lines, and against family wishes – but police are asking if he was a fraud
It was a world-famous charity dedicated to rescuing star-crossed Indian lovers. For the past nine years, using a network of secret safe-houses across India, Love Commandos sheltered thousands of young people seeking to marry outside their caste, religion or clan – and who feared their families might kill them for it.
Sanjoy Sachdev, the organisation’s chairman, became one of India’s most celebrated activists. Bollywood star Aamir Khan interviewed him on television. International clothing brand Bjorn Borg raised money for his group. Filmmakers and journalists found the craggy, chain-smoking activist who could quote Robert Frost irresistible.
Continue reading...Mauni Amavasya at the Kumbh Mela – in pictures
Monday was Mauni Amavasya, the new moon day and most significant bathing day, particularly if it falls on a Monday. At the Hindu festival pilgrims bathe in the confluence of three sacred rivers to cleanse them of sin and liberate them from the cycle of life, death and rebirth
Continue reading...Many people in mostly Christian countries believe values clash with Islam – poll
Almost one-third in UK see rift, finds survey ahead of pope’s visit to Arabian peninsula
Large numbers of people in Christian-majority countries in the west see a fundamental clash between Islam and the values of their nation, according to a survey.
However, significantly fewer people in the Middle East and North Africa view Christianity in the same way.
Continue reading...Woman who defied Indian temple ban ‘shunned’ by family
Kanakadurga, 39, allegedly beaten and ousted from home for entering Sabarimala shrine
A woman who defied violent protests to worship at a centuries-old south Indian shrine that banned females of “menstruating age” has been spurned by her family, attacked by relatives and locked out of her home.
On New Year’s Day, Kanakadurga, 39, along with Bindu Ammini, became the first women to enter the inner sanctum of Kerala state’s Sabarimala temple, one of the holiest Hindu sites in the country.
Continue reading...‘I have lost my wallet and brother’: reuniting at Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest festival
As an estimated 15m Hindus gather at convergence of holy rivers in India, the huge lost-and-found centres go digital
Day and night, through crackling loudspeakers, the announcements ring out. “It is Babu speaking,” says a shrill voice. “I have lost my wallet and brother. Please come here the moment you hear this.”
“Lal Ram is here,” a woman says a few times. “Come and collect him from the yellow tower.”
Continue reading...India’s Kumbh Mela festival – in pictures
Thought to be the world’s largest human gathering, more than 20 million Hindu pilgrims ritually bathed on the opening day of the festival
Continue reading...Protests break out in India after two women become first to enter Sabarimala temple – video report
Two women have visited a Hindu temple in Kerala after India's supreme court lifted a centuries-old ban. They had tried to enter last month but were stopped by protesters
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