On May 18, the Ram Bhakts of Northern California organized a Ram Lalla concert in which devotional songs about Lord Rama and traditional Indian dances were presented through the afternoon and evening. Akshat (sacred rice grains) from the Ayodhya Ram Temple consecration ceremony was also distributed among attendees at the concert. The concert took place in the outdoor amphitheater of the Mission San Jose High School in Fremont, and organizers estimate that more than 600 people attended the event.  The Organizers According to its founding members, the group Ram Bhakts of Northern Californi ..read more

“Everything in this universe is evanescent. Because it is evanescent, it is also precious. Spend this precious moment wisely and beautifully” ~ Haemin Sunim Tapestry of Sacred Music   A few weeks ago, I attended performances at the Esplanade in Singapore at a weekend-long music festival called Tapestry of Sacred Music. It featured religious and sacred music from around the world including Sikh kirtans, sufi poems, Tuvan throat singing and various dance forms from exotic places like Tibet and Bali. Drawn to the melody of Sufi compositions, I registered for a Sunday evening sufi perfo ..read more

Ayurveda’s hat tip to the power of seasonal harvests In our world overflowing with food options, Ayurveda’s ancient wisdom offers a powerful reset button. At the heart of this philosophy lies the practice of seasonal eating, a timeless tradition that unlocks the vibrant potential of each harvest. It has been said that you are not what you eat, but what you can digest. You want to eat when your agni, or digestion, is at its best. The basic function of your food is to keep the environment of your gut balanced, and thereby the environment of your body balanced. Ayurveda recognizes ..read more

Arjun’s story Arjun (name changed on request), a 45-year old businessman who has been living in the Bay area for the past 20 years has been struggling with the problem of excessive anger in his life. He gets into uncontrolled rage and is unable to snap out of it. Arjun has been married for the past 15 years, and his spouse, Neerja, is an accountant.  Recently, Neerja has threatened to leave Arjun because of his anger problem and told him that unless he takes care of it, she is not going to live with him.  They have one teenage son, Advik, who has also expressed frustration over Arjun ..read more

Right now, 18-year-old Rahul Bahl is just a normal teenager living at his parents’ home in Tampa. He eats home-made food, plays video games with friends, spends time with his girlfriend, and hangs out with his parents in the living room. This will all change in the fall when Rahul packs his bags to move to Europe to compete with the best young football talent in the world. He has just returned from playing his first season with the Division de Honor in Spain – the country’s top-ranked youth football league. Rahul is the first person of Indian origin to play at that level, and despite the seda ..read more

This fall, Vedagna Sarabu, a 15-year old resident of Pomona, will be heading off to law school on a full scholarship, after earning her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Cal State LA this month. The precocious legal student started her undergraduate education at Cal State LA at the age of 11, through the Early Entrance Program, which allows highly gifted students to get an early start to their bachelor’s degree.  As a child, Sarabu enjoyed reading fiction books and considered becoming an author, before setting her sights on the legal profession. “Growing up, I have observed fami ..read more

India’s elections make room for NRIs and all The “dance of democracy”, formally known as the Indian general election, is in full swing, as it hit the halfway mark this week. I’ve always found this phrase fascinating;  it is only when you witness it in its elements, that you grasp its true essence. With nearly 970 million registered voters for the lower house of the Indian parliament, over 50 national and regional parties, and countless independent candidates, the dance floor might look frightfully crowded to the uninitiated. And yet, much like the Indian spirit, the beauty of the Indian d ..read more

Seven scholars of Indian origin made the list of 90 Knight-Hennessy scholars announced by Stanford University this year. They are Ank Agarwal, Wasan Kumar, Khushi Malde, Rahul Penumaka, Aneesh Pappu, Isha Sanghvi, and Kritika Singh. This is the largest cohort of scholars so far, with representatives from 30 different countries. The Knight Hennessy scholarship is a multidisciplinary financial aid program that supports the scholars’ graduate studies at Stanford for three years. This year, the 90 selected scholars will be divided among 45 different graduate programs across all seven schools at S ..read more

Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava relinquished her pageant title last week. Through a social media post, she announced that she is taking this step because her personal values no longer align with that of the pageant’s organization. The announcement came only two days after reigning Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt relinquished her title citing mental health reasons.  Previously, Srivastava was the winner of the Miss New Jersey Teen USA title before being selected as Miss Teen USA. She is of Indian and Mexican origin. Speaking in the media after her decision to give up her title, she said ..read more

A history of cultural influences Gujarat’s textiles and handicrafts are a visual reminder of its tradition and heritage arts, believed to be thousands of years old. The beautifully wrought handicrafts range from ritualistic arts, tribal artifacts, and vibrant folk crafts, to sophisticated metalware and Kundan jewelry. Archaeological excavations have shown that metallurgy, pottery, seal cutting, jewelry making, and bead crafting reached high standards of maturity at Harappa sites in Gujarat more than 4000 years ago. Agate stone cutting is said to be an ancient craft of Khambat. From the Mughals ..read more