Hundreds flock to Nepal shrine for 'sweating' idol

Stone Age tools found near Bolpur

Unearthing of some objects, believed to be Stone Age tools, during excavation of a tank at a village nearby, has prompted the Visva Bharati University's archaeology department to seek assistance of the Archaeological Survey of India to unravel the mystery. "The scientific excavation is likely to throw new light on the possible existence of stone age people in this part of Bengal," sources in the university's archaeology department said. They said that the tools "b...

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Isai Tamil inscription in ruins

Copyright © The HinduThe oldest Isai Tamil inscription, dating back to the 2nd century, is no longer visible clearly. Soot, ash and stones have rendered illegible the inscription, which is in Tamil Brahmi, a script like Devanagari. It is in a cave, on the western end of the hillock in Arachalur.The inscriptions are tala notes (adavu) that a Bharatnatyam dancer dances to. It has five lines and as many rows, resembling a five-row - five-column matrix. It has been arranged in such a wa...

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Villagers worship rare turtle as God

Hundreds of Hindu villagers in eastern India have been ordered to hand over a rare turtle to officials but have refused to do so on the grounds that theybelieve the turtle to be the incarnation of Hindu deityLord Jagannath."Hundreds of poor Hindu villagers in eastern India have refused to hand over a rare turtle to authorities, saying it is an incarnation of God, officials saidon Tuesday." View: Full Article | Source: STV.. ...

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Indian state gripped by fear of witches

Authorities in a remote area of eastern India have appealed to the public not to conduct witch hunts following rumours that roving bands of witches had been killing people swept the region, media reports said Wednesday. Panic has spread through Chhattisgarh state following reports that witches were knocking on people’s doors and asking for onions and chapatti – local staple foods – and that anyone who handed out the food would die.Chhattisgarh, India’s most impoverished state, remains deeply tra...

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Search for India's ancient city

Archaeologists working on India's south-west coast believe they may have solved the mystery of the location of a major port which was key to trade between India and the Roman Empire - Muziris, in the modern-day state of Kerala. For many years, people have been in search of the almost mythical port, known as Vanchi to locals. Much-recorded in Roman times, Muziris was a major centre for trade between Rome and southern India - but appeared to have simply disappeared. Now, however, an investigat...

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Hindu gods get summons from court

A judge in india has summoned two Hindu gods, Ram and Hanuman, to help resolve a property dispute. Judge Sunil Kumar Singh in the eastern state of Jharkhand has issued adverts in newspapers asking the gods to "appear before the court personally". The gods have been asked to appear before the court on Tuesday, after the judge said that letters addressed to them had gone unanswered. Ram and Hanuman are among the most popular Indian Hindu gods. Judge Singh presides in a "fast track" court - designe...

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Maharishi Mahesh Yogi dies

Maharishi mahesh Yogi, a guru to the Beatles who introduced the West to transcendental meditation, died Tuesday at his home in the Dutch town of Vlodrop, a spokesman said. He was thought to be 91 years old."He died peacefully at about 7 p.m.," said Bob Roth, a spokesman for the Transcendental Meditation movement that the Maharishi founded. He said his death appeared to be due to "natural causes, his age."Once dismissed as hippie mysticism, the Hindu practice of mind control that Maharishi taught...

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Riddle of the Hindu relics in the Thames

At first sight, the gravy coloured waters of the river Thames would seem to have little in common with the Ganges.But over the past two years, archaeologists from the Museum of London have been puzzling over seemingly well-preserved finds such as urns, wall plaques and statuettes of Hindu gods found along the foreshore. They initially thought the urns were Roman, since the Thames has given up everything from prehistoric axes and Viking swords to Roman curses and medieval pilgrim badg...

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India's Excalibur halts dam progress

North-east India's equivalent of King Arthur has ridden to the rescue of thousands of people opposing a massive dam project that will flood their homes. The Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, cancelled plans to lay the foundation stone for the dam this weekend in the face of massive protests by tribal groups who say it will inundate the sacred lake still believed to hold the region's answer to Excalibur.Manipur, the state where thedam is supposed to be built, lies in India's impo...

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Frogs married in India to encourage rainfall

In a peculiar attempt to encourage rainfall during a dry spell in Nagpur local farmers organised the marriage of two frogs on Saturday to please the Rain Gods so that they might bestow monsoon showers on the region."Anumber of farmers seeking rainfall in Nagpur city organised wedding of two frogs on Saturday to please the Rain Gods and hoped their region would soon receive monsoon showers." View: Full Article | Sourc...

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