A few days ago I saw a documentary on Public Television (PBS) called “The Buddha”. This documentary was narrated by actor Richard Gere and also included comments and thoughts by well known Buddhists including the Dalai Lama and Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.S. Merwin. The program was very well done and very informative particularly for [...]
I am from Kerala but I lived in Tamil Nadu (mostly in Madurai and Coimbatore) for a couple of decades. Due to state government policies then I was forced to learn Tamil during my school days. I did not like being pressured to learn a new language but I am now glad that I did [...]
The world famous Lord Venkateswara Temple is located in Tirumala which is very close to the town of Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh). The Thirumala temple is one of the most visited places on earth. It is estimated that somewhere between 50,000 to 75,000 pilgrims and tourists visit this temple every day. Today the presiding deity of [...]
Onam is the most important festival in the Hindu calendar in the Indian state of Kerala. The ten day festival begins in the month of August or September. There are many reasons for celebrating Onam. First and foremost it is a celebration of the end of the harvesting season. It is also the time of [...]
