Siblings drown during Yamuna snan. Yesterday hundreds of thousands of brothers and sisters took bath together in Yamuna to celebrate Bhai Dooj (brother-sister) festival. Among the pilgrims were 24-year-old Gauri Sharma and her brother Bhola. Due to the crowding at Mathura’s Vishram Ghat, Gauri and Bhola decided to find a more peaceful place to bathe. In some places, the Yamuna gets deep very quickly and they lost their footing in the muddy riverbed. Mahesh Chand Sharma, Gauri’s husband, was waiting on the shore. When he saw that his wife and her brother were in trouble, he started to shout for help, however, by the time police and divers arrived at the scene, Gauri and Bola had entered jal samadhi. Read more (Hindi)
P.C. Facebook
Yuva Mandal’s 5-day festival. Shri Guru Karshni Yuva Mandal Pathankot held a 5-day festival over Diwali, including chappan bhog, abhishek and, on the night of Diwali, a ceremony which included the lighting of lamps on both side of the Yamuna. The deep daan ceremony was followed by a celebration which saw Indian and foreign devotees singing lively bhajans and lighting fireworks. Read more (Hindi)
P.C. Jagran
More than 120 nationalities in one temple. Tomorrow from 10am, Vrindavan ISKCON will hold a truly international festival, with devotees from over 120 countries gathering to celebrate Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance day. To celebrate Prabupada’s achievement of opening 108 temples around the world, the flags of 120 countries will be displayed around the temple. Leaving his peaceful life of bhajan and his room in Radha Damodar temple, Prabhupada left Vrindavan at an advanced age, taking the risk of dying outside of Braj. Prabhupada was instructed by his guru to preach in English, so that people all over the world could experience the joy of devotion. After returning from 10 years of preaching in the West, Prabhupada came back to his true home, Vrindavan. Tomorrow, on the anniversary of his disappearance day, Prabhupada’s deity will be carried around on a palanquin, for his pleasure, and in memory of the seva that devotees did for their most revered guru as he lived out his last days in Vrindavan. Read more (Hindi)
P.C. ideatrash
Cows give less milk after Diwali. As well as reducing the harm done to the environment, people and property, pets and wild animals have also benefited from the The Supreme Court ban on the sale of fireworks in the Delhi NCR. Animal activists say that birds are particularly badly affected. Fireworks cause birds to fly out of their nests in fright, leaving their children and eggs unattended. Birds often sustain serious injuries, getting burned by the fireworks whilst flying, and their lack of night vision causes them become disorientated and bump into buildings. Dr Aman Mauj, a veterinarian, said that cows give less milk on the morning after Diwali and the effect is permanent because, when a cow’s milk ejection reflex is affected by fright, it leads to increased residual milk and an overall reduction in the amount of milk that she can give. Read more (English)
P.C. Indian Express
ATMs out of service over weekend. Questions are being asked about why most of the 300 ATMs in Braj are found empty during festival times. Tourists from big cities and overseas are often inconvenienced as they expect to be able to withdraw cash from ATMs to spend at local businesses. The ATMs of almost all banks in the area are not well-serviced and often run out of cash on Sundays and on festivals. Read more (Hindi)
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