We begin the New Year by invoking Ganesha. The Ganapati temple in the tiny Goan village of Khandola (also spelled Candola) is important to Goans and to Goan history. The original temple was located on the island of Divar at the site of what is today the cemetery adjoining the Church of Our Lady of…
The Hindu festival of Diwali (Deepavali) has multiple interpretations, all having their basis in the triumph of virtue over vice. One version tells of the vile Narkasur, embodiment of the forces of darkness (tamas), ignorance (avidya) and baseness (adharma). The puranas recount his comeuppance at the hands of Krishna who deployed the sudarshan-chakra to behead…
