In the news: Obama and Saraswati Puja

This is a cut picture of today's newspaper Times of India. First of all, try to look for the price in the red box: It's 3 rupees or 4.50 along with the Economic Times. 3 rupees is less then US$ 0.08 for a colored newspaper with 40 pages!!

About the headlines, Obama is in it, of course, after winning three states in a row (plus Maine now which was still going on when the journal came out).

More interesting, however, is the small mention to the Saraswati Puja in the green box. According to Wikipedia, "Saraswati has been regarded as a river goddess and in recent times a goddess of knowledge, music and the arts. She is the daughter of Brahma, the Hindu god of creation." Puja is a religious ritual performed by Hindus for all kinds of reasons and for all kinds of gods. The purpose, as I understood it, is usually to offer something (fruits, mostly) or an acknowledgment in exchange for the god's blessings.