BY A STAFF REPORTER
RIVERSIDE,CA- Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir here celebrated Durga Ashtami on March 24 and hosted a garba dance.  On March 25, the mandir celebrated Ram Navami. It started with a recital of Suderkand and ended with Sitaram  Kalyanam.Hanuman Jayanthi was celebrated on April 1 by chanting Hanuman Chalisa 108 times. 

TORONTO - Canada's Alberta province, which has the third largest population of Sikhs after British Columbia and Onatrio, will allow turban-wearing Sikhs to drive motorcycles without a helmet from April 12. British Columbia and Manitoba already allow Sikhs to drive motorcycles without helmets. Alberta's Transportation Minister Brian Mason said on Thursday that the exemption was granted at the request of the Sikh community as recognition of their...

​By A STAFF REPORTER
RIVERSIDE, CA - The Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir here, celebrated Ugadi on March 18 drawing large crowds. It began with the customary and invocatory Ganesh puja. The event was marked with prayer and befitting of the arrival of the new season according to the Hindu calendar, marked with joyous music and dance. 

​BY A STAFF REPORTER
PACOIMA,CA- Khalsa Care Foundation based here, arranged an evening of Kirtan Darbar where the main attraction was the showcasing of Kirtan being performed with musical instruments by local children. The music training schools  of the Kaur and Singh Academy, and Nanak Sadan Gurdwara had an opportunity to showcase...

NORWALK - ​Celebrations at the Radha Krishna temple, which officials say is also the third oldest temple in the US, commenced on Feb. 13 afternoon and lasted until late evening. The ‘mahapuja’ was headed by the three main sponsors of the event who sat in front of the Shiva Lingam. The event concluded with an aarti followed by mahaprasad.

​The Sri Siva Kameswari Temple celebrated Maha Shivaratri for an entire day on Feb 13. Celebrations started in the morning at 6 am with the chanting of ‘Om Namah Shivaaya’ and continued into the wee hours of Feb 14 morning. The Shiva Lingam was abhishekam, alongside which a ‘rudra havan’ was conducted by almost a hundred devotees. Cultural programs with singing and classical dancing were held. Meditation also took place. According to Pandit...

The celebrations in praise of the Lord began in the early hours of February 13 at Chinmaya Mission. Slokas and mantras were led by Pandit Sivaramakrishnan. The Ekaadasa Rudra Homa, the central part of the puja, had the entire congregation chanting the Sri Rudram and Chamakam. Abhishek was simultaneously performed at the altar.   In the evening, the temple was once again the site of devotion. The community at large, 

BY DEVIKA C. MEHTA
LOS ANGELES, CA - Mankind has always wondered about the presence of known and unknown creatures on Earth. Deliberating on this topic in his new book ‘Earth is our Planet, Too!’ is Steve Pearse, a lay scientist who has also validated the Indian epic Mahabharata and alien findings. In an interesting interview with IJ, 

NEW YORK, NY - The Sikh Human Development Foundation has raised over $210,000 for underprivileged students pursuing higher education in Punjab during its latest fund drive, according to the organisation’s chairman, Gajinder Singh Ahuja. The Washington-based foundation has since 2011 given over $2 million in scholarships based on merit and need to about 5,000 students in Punjab and neighbouring areas, Ahuja said on Dec 8.

AMRITSAR - Fireworks display and the newly-installed LED lighting marked the celebrations of "Bandi Chhor Diwas" and Diwali as thousands of devotees flocked to the Golden Temple complex here on Thursday. The complex, where the holiest of Sikh shrines "Harmandir Sahib" is located, was illuminated with LED lights, giving it an all-new look. The fireworks display duration has been shortened since last year owing to environmental concerns.