Looking for the meaning of "mandir"

My February 2012 article in India Currents discusses my interior journey in my quest for a beautiful mandir within my home.  My dadi, or paternal grandmother, I recently learned, only sporadically made the one-block stroll to her neighborhood gurdwara while raising her six young children.  "My home and children are my gurdwara," she would declare.  She was a spiritually strong person and embodiment of "work is worship".

http://www.indiacurrents.com/articles/2012/02/23/contentment-within-home-shrine 

It's beginning to look a lot like ...

The days are getting shorter.  My article below, originally published in Hinduism Today, discusses how our faith can help us avoid and manage the "winter blues".

http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=5128

Happy Diwali 2012!

My October 2011 Rediff article linked below shares some of my family's diwali experiences.  Rediff took a leap on my background.

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/slide-show/slide-show-1-specials-column-squeezing-diwali-into-a-work-day/20111025.htm