For five centuries the Hindus of Central & East Java, today one million strong, have managed to preserve their unique ways in difficult circumstances. In April of 2014, Hinduism Today correspondent Rajiv Malik and photographer Agus Pranayoga spent a week in East and Central Java, ancient home of great Hindu kingdoms, working on a feature story which ran in the October 2014 edition of Hinduism Today Magazine Today more than a million Hindus live in this area, but among a very large Muslim population. Rajiv was assigned to visit the Hindu villages, some quite remote, and interview the local population.