NAGAPANCHAMI (Article): Thodupuzha K Shankar, Mumbai

Introduction: NAGAPANCHAMI is a very famous festival, celebrated in a humble way towards the end of July every year everywhere in India. Especially in Maharashtra, it’s considered a very important festival which involves praying at the special temples for serpents. On this day of NAGAPANCHAMI, nagas cobras and all snakes are worshipped in the specific Naga temples, with flowers, milk, sweets, lamps and even sacrifices to Nagas or serpent deities made of stone, silver wood or paintings on the wall which are first bathed with water and milk and then…

UST and iHUB-IIT Roorkee Partner to Advance Engineering R&D and Deep‑Tech Innovation in India

Strategic collaboration to co-develop advanced digital and engineering solutions in robotics, IoT, and cybersecurity Partnership to combine UST’s engineering and AI capabilities with iHUB’s research and innovation ecosystem Thiruvananthapuram, 28April 2026: UST, a leading AI and technology transformation solutions company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with iHUBDivyaSampark, the technology innovation hubat IIT Roorkee and a joint initiative of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, to accelerate the developmentin engineering R&D and deep‑tech innovation. By combining UST’s expertise in embedded hardware, firmware engineering, cloud platforms,…

Eye Foundation of America Raises Hope for a World Without Childhood Blindness at Charity Gala in New Jersey

Accessibility and Affordability at the Heart of the Mission Somerset, NJ | April 28, 2026 — The Eye Foundation of America (EFA) hosted an elegant and impactful Charity Gala on Saturday, April 18, 2026 at The Imperia in Somerset, New Jersey, bringing together philanthropists, medical professionals, business leaders, and community advocates united by a single vision: a world free from preventable childhood blindness. Held under the theme “Join Our Vision,” the gala highlighted the critical importance of collective action in expanding access to affordable and high‑quality eye care for children…

After Hindu protest, England’s iconic Minack Theatre drops culturally insensitive opera Lakmé

After Hindu protest, culturally insensitive opera Lakmé has been dropped from Cornwall’s iconic cliff-top Minack Theatre in England. Opera Lakmé will now reportedly not be held at Minack Theatre in Cornwall (England) as earlier scheduled (for September 7-11), after Hindus protested saying it “seriously trivializes Hindu religious and other traditions”. Rebecca Thomas, Director of Minack Theatre, which describes itself as “the theatre under the stars!”, in an email to distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, who spearheaded the protest, wrote:…We do recognise that there are certain outdated references and cultural sensitivities…

Rajan Zed led multi‑religious column marks rare 15 continuous years of inspiring weekly dialogue

“Faith Forum”, volunteer-run “one-of-a-kind weekly multi-faith dialogue” in Reno Gazette-Journal (USA TODAY Network publication) completed 15 continuous years of publication in February, which is a historic global milestone unmatched in modern journalism and interfaith dialogue. According to reports and accessible sources, this appears to be the first weekly multi-religious and multi-author newspaper column in panel format in the world which sustained a continuous run for 15+ years and is still going strong. While interfaith columns and long-running religion columns exist worldwide; but multi-faith, multi-author weekly columns in panel format like…

KKR players get emotional after Rajasthan’s win; Varun reveals inside story

Varun Chakravarthy said that the scene in the dressing room after the win against Rajasthan was a sight to behold. Many players were in tears, and the atmosphere was even more emotional than the celebration of the 2024 title win. This victory wasn’t just a two-digit mark for the team, but a battle for self-respect. In IPL history, only Mumbai Indians (eight consecutive losses in 2022), Delhi Capitals (2013), and RCB (2019) have had worse starts than KKR. Varun’s performance and coach’s praise Varun, who led the team to victory…

Delimitation, not women’s reservation, was the real agenda; Jairam Ramesh questioned the government’s intentions

New Delhi: Congress MP Jairam Ramesh has called the three-day special session of Parliament a victory for democracy and the Constitution. He said that this session has defeated the politics of “bulldozers” and “delimitation.” According to Ramesh, the government’s real intention was not women’s reservation, but the game of delimitation. Jairam Ramesh questioned why the Nari Shakti Vandan Act, which was unanimously passed in September 2023, was suddenly notified on the night of April 16. He alleged that the government’s intentions were flawed because the bill lacked any clear constitutional reference…

Election battle: Rahul Gandhi calls AIADMK a ‘puppet’ of BJP

Kanyakumari: Tamil Nadu is on the threshold of assembly elections, and the battle for power has reached a decisive stage. Addressing a massive rally in Kanyakumari, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi directly attacked the ruling AIADMK and the BJP-RSS alliance. His statement has sparked a new debate in the state’s political circles. Rahul Gandhi targeted the AIADMK leadership during the rally, saying the party has completely surrendered to the BJP and RSS agenda. He alleged that the Tamil Nadu government is now controlled from Delhi, not Chennai. Calling this an insult to…

Kharge roars in Cooch Behar: Raises tough questions on PM Modi’s Bengal visits

Cooch Behar: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s scathing attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Cooch Behar (West Bengal) are presented here with a new format and powerful headlines: Addressing a public rally in Cooch Behar during the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election campaign, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge raised serious questions about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s activism. Kharge sarcastically asked why the Prime Minister is more inclined towards the streets of Bengal than the power of Delhi. Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the Prime Minister has been busy with…

“I drive them out of Assam, they enter from Bengal”; Himaanta’s direct attack on Didi on the issue of infiltration

Kolkata: West Bengal is on the verge of assembly elections, and political rhetoric has reached its peak. In this context, Assam Chief Minister and firebrand BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma launched a scathing attack on the Mamata Banerjee government during an election rally. Accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of engaging in “infiltration politics,” Sarma said that Bangladeshi infiltrators would be expelled selectively as soon as the BJP forms government in Bengal. CM Sarma strongly accused Mamata Banerjee of leaving the state’s borders vulnerable for vote bank interests. He alleged that during…