Mount Mary Basilica Fair concludes
More than 12,000 devotees have visited Mount Mary Basilica in Bandra on Sunday for the mass on the last day of the 10-day fair. “Though it was raining, everything went well, thanks to the efforts put in by traffic police and the support staff,” said Fr Michael Govias, vice-rector, basilica of Our Lady of the Mount, Bandra.
This year, the organisers executed a new crowd management system, in which devotees could walk in a single file to the altar. Though, it was carried out on trial basis initially, they continued with the arrangement, which Govias said was well received by devotees.
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To revive the memories of 1761, when the statue of Mount Mary was carried to Bandra, the Mobai Gaothan Panchayat carried out a procession called Mot Mauli Purcessao on Saturday, wherein a decorated cart carried a statue from Mahim Church to St Peter’s Church.
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A New Diocese at Parassala Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
The new diocese of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church at Parassala will come into being on September 23, at a function to be held at the Nazreth Home School ground at 2 p.m.
The new eparchy was formed by bifurcating the Major Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram with the St. Mary’s Malankara Catholic Church at Parassala as its cathedral. Bishop Thomas Mar Eusebius will take charge as the first Metropolitan of the diocese on the day. He is currently the bishop of St. Mary Queen of Peace Eparchy in the United States and Canada.
Baselios Cardinal Cleemis, the Major Archbishop-Catholicos of the Malankara Catholic Church, along with Bishop Thomas Mar Eusebius addressed a press meet here on Wednesday.
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The new diocese of Parassala will be established by including the parishes in the ecclesiastical districts of Parassala, Neyyattinkara, and Kattakada and two parishes in the ecclesiastical district of Thiruvananthapuram. The new diocese will have 103 parishes, 71 educational institutions, and three centres of charity.
St. Theresa of Kolkata is the patron saint of the new diocese, which will be the fourth to be bifurcated from the Major Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram. With this, the Church will have 11 dioceses and one exarchate.
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Sign Language for Friday Namaz at Masjid Al Rahman
Every Friday, Masjid Al-Rahma at Pulikkal delivers the sermon during Friday namaz (qutuba) in sign language, making it one of the first mosques in India to do so.
Sermons of all prayer meetings in the mosque are also displayed in sign languages on LCD screens. Apart from facilitating persons with hearing and speech impairment, the mosque also has ramps, armrests in toilets and wheelchair facilities.
The News Minute reported that Musthafa Madani, chairman of Ability Foundation, a non-governmental organisation that helped open the facilities in the mosque, says that they were able to achieve it with the support of locals as well as a few NRIs. He also pointed out that people from all religions helped build the Masjid Al-Rahma, which was inaugurated in May and can accommodate 500 people.
“Our organisation has 300 students with disabilities, including 200 students with hearing impairment. Earlier we found that many of them skip their prayers due to their disability. That was rather painful that they have to keep away from worship just because they have some disability. It was this thought which made us to extend this facility,” Musthafa said, reports TNM.
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Conservation and Restoration Works begin at Mecca Masjid
The conservation and restoration eorks at the historic Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad has finally began on Sunday, with a Mumbai-based company starting work.
Laxmi Hericon Pvt Ltd was undertaking the work, while the State Department of Archaeology and Museums (DAM) would oversee it. “We have decided to work on the exterior and the terrace. So far, we have cleaned up the madrasa building,” Syed Sharjeen Yawar, project engineer of the company told Deccan Chronicle reported. The experts are looking to address other issues, like bird excreta, as hundreds of pigeons have made the structure their home.
Last month, activists in Hyderabad launched a ‘Save Mecca Masjid’ campaign, to preserve the historical monument. The campaign was aimed at highlighting the need to restore the 400-year-old iconic masjid. Heritage activists had pointed out that the negligence in the maintenance of the monument resulted in dilapidated walls and leaking roofs.
Mecca Masjid, a 17th-century monument, is one of Hyderabad’s oldest structures and stands just a few metres away from the city’s iconic Charminar. In July this year, a portion of the Masjid’s Masjid’s Shahi Mausoleum was damaged after Hyderabad witnessed heavy rains.
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Telangana Government commences the disbursement of 1.04 cr “Batukamma Sarees”
Telangana government will distribute nearly 1.04 crore sarees to BPL women from todady, marking the celebration of Bathukamma festivities.
Bathukamma is floral festival celebrated by Hindu women of Telangana for nine days starting Bhadrapada Amavasya (also known as Mahalaya Amavasya or Pitru Amavasya) till Durgashtami, usually in September-October.
After the formation of new state, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao declared Bathukamma as state festival and government is spending good money in promotion and celebration of this festival across the state. Marking the festival this year, sarees will be distributed from September 18 to 20.
Officials concerned are making arrangements for Bathukamma Festival to be celebrated across the state on grand scale, Minister for ST Development A Chandulal told reporters here yesterday after a review meeting with officials on the festival.
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Telangana Jagruti to organize “Maha Bathukamma”
More than 35000 women are expected to participate in the “Maha Bathukamma” organized by Telangana Jagruti at L B Stadium.
“We have planned to conduct Maha Bathukamma at Lal Bahadur Stadium women from 30 districts 1000 from each will attend and Brahma Kumaris made arrangements to rope in 150 women from 15 other states to participate in this mega event, said the Minister for ST Development A Chandulal said.
On the final day, Saddula Bathukamma will be held at Tank Bund followed by a rally from Peoples Plaza to Bathukamma ghat, he added.
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Temples gear up for Sarannavaratri Festivities
All the temples across the South india are gearing up for the Sarannavaratri the nine- day festival starting from Septemeber 21st to 30th September. In many temples the goddess is decorated with various alankarams every day depicting one shakthi each day.
Kanakadurga Temple Vijayawada, Gnana saraswathi Temple Basara, Srisaila Bhramarambika, Sringeri Sharadamba, Kolluru Mookambika, Mysuru Chamundeswari temple are all decked up with the Navaratri festival.
Authorities in all the temples are expecting heavy rush and making the arrangements not to inconvenience the devotees. All the temples have special abhishekams, parayanams, Pooja planned for the Navaratri.
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