NEW YORK: When British colonists first encountered the Ratha Yatra festival of Lord Jagannath - a millenia-old Hindu procession of three giant chariots bearing images of Lord Krishna - they hardly knew what to make of it.

FREMONT: The FIA Kick Off party on the evening of Sunday, June 10 turned out to be a vivacious affair, full of laughter, great company, food and conversation. Hosted by FIA President, Dr Romesh Japra, the event saw the members of the FIA and other guests gather at his grand residence, 'Japra Mahal'.

NEW YORK: New York socialites and philanthropists Vikram and Meera Gandhi were jointly awarded the Humanitarian Award for their work by Metro International at an event held at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City, June 4.

NEW JERSEY: Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula, D-Middlesex, was honored by the Middletown Democratic Party. Chivukula was presented the award by Democratic candidate for Township Committee Sean Byrnes on behalf of the club.

NEW YORK: Jaina has been taking its delegation to India for many charitable and humanitarian purposes. But May 15 was the first time that Jaina took its delegation to attend the grand ceremony held at the Buckingham Palace.

SKOKIE: Indian Minister of State for Food Processing, Subodh Kant Sahai, found time to pay a visit to the Skokie Heritage Park where Indian Americans, with the support of local authorities, were successful in establishing a life size statue of Mahatma Gandhi three years ago.

Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the spiritual leader of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, a global socio-spiritual organization, will arrive in the United States in Chicago on June 10. This year marks the BAPS centenary; 100 years of dedicated service to individuals, families and society through programs and projects spanning fields such as disaster relief,

CHICAGO: Swami Ramdev, world renowned Yogi well versed in Sanskrit, Ayurveda and Vedic philosophy, will be holding yoga camps in New York and Chicago this summer.The Chicago event will be held on July 11 thru July 15 at Max-McCook Athletic & Exposition located in Mc-Cook.

YUBA CITY: If it had not been for the Punjabis, Yuba City would have been just another hick town in the boonies of Northern California. Two annual mega events have put this farming town on the international scene.