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VOICE OF ASIA Over 26 years of dedicated service to the community
FRIDAY, May 8, 2015
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Vol. 28 No. 19 Friday, May 8, 2015 • Published Weekly from Houston • 713-774-5140 20 Pages ( 2 sections) 50 cents E-mail: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com
Sri Guruvayurappan Temple opens gates to devotees
Prayer meeting for Nepal earthquake victims by Manu Shah
W
ith the soothing strains of Bhagwan meri naeya us paar laga dena sung by Hemal Bhavsar and Hasmukh Joshi, about 200 people prayed together for the departed souls and families in Nepal devastated by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. The Shradhhanjali sabha was convened at a short notice of just 24 hours.
He believed his life had been spared so he can render selfless service and immediately converted the hospital into a shelter for orphans. Along with him, 30,000 Patanjali volunteers are on the ground in Nepal helping with relief measures. Shekhar
will take $5 billion at a minimum. Sewa International has set a target of raising a minimum of $1 million for this cause. So far, they have collected $100,000 through online and checks with pledges of an additional $200,000.
by Somdatta Gangopadhyay
S
aturday, May 2nd, 2015 witnessed the auspicious occasion of the inauguration of the Sri Guruvayurappan Temple at 11620 Ormandy Street, Houston, TX 77035. Devotees may find more information at www.guruvayurappanhouston.org and www.krishnatemple.org. The Head Priest (Thantri) Kariyannoor Divakaran Namboodiri inaugurated the temple following the inauguration ritual. A throng of crowd consisting of about 2000 people gathered during inauguration. Kumbhabishekam in which the idol is installed in place (Pratishtha), was performed on 23rd April,2015, and it forms an integral part of the ritual. The Kalasha Puja took place on April 25th, followed by the Kalasha Abhishekam on April 26th. The Utsavam (festival) had begun on April 27th and continued until May 2nd. The temple remained closed for three days after the Pratishtha, and opened
Presenting the Deities to the sanctum of the temple.
Organized by Sewa International and supported by the Nepali Association of Houston, Patanjali Yogpeeth, USA, Hindus of The prayers were held at India House last Wednesday. Greater Houston, Indo American Charity Foundation, Agrawal, who heads Patanjali Yogina Patel from the GuIndia House and India Culture USA stressed that “the opportu- jarati Samaj also expressed Center, the event was held at In- nity to serve is a blessing� and their commitment to the cause dia House on 27th April. appealed to the gathering to help while Past President of the Indo Emcees Achalesh Amar and Nepal rebuild itself. Patanjali is American Charity Foundation, Kavita Tewari invited the heads also organizing a donation drive Ramesh Cherivirala along with of several organizations present and one can go to their website Alpa Shah presented a check to to speak to the gathering start- pyptusa.org if one would like to Sewa representative Kaushik Chatterjee for their donation ing with Ramesh Shah of Ekal donate. Vidyalaya. Describing this as a USAID Director for Texas, drive and promised to work for “human tragedy,� he said that Marty McVey, who is oversee- more funds. Ekal has 1200 schools in Nepal ing US assistance to Nepal statand about 250 villages where ed that 2 more aid flights with these schools are have been hard 130 US personnel have been hit and cannot be contacted. dispatched to help with rescue Two short videos depicted the operations. He also plans to visit horrors of the earthquake. Ac- Nepal as soon as it is safe. cording to emcee Kavita, the Described by the emcee as tragedy is worsened with only “a very generous soul,� one of a few rescue workers on the Houston’s leading physicians ground. and a well-known member of The President of the Nepali the Indo American community, Association of Houston, Jyoti Dr. Virendra Mathur stated that Ghimirey, Secretary Vishnu �we may not have the skills to Nepal and Youth Coordina- figure out how and when these tor Swasti also appealed to the natural disasters happen but we Good Samaritan Puneet Nehra gathering to donate funds to can help those who are facing help with relief efforts. “India pain and difficulty.� ICHMOND - A good Samaritan who stopped to help a driver has always treated Nepal like Past President of HGH, Sharon the side of the road was struck by another vehicle, and a younger brother,� said the ad Amin also observed that hasn’t been seen since. Now deputies are trying to find him. President. The organization has “if we work together, we can At about 9pm Sunday, authorities say Puneet Nehra, 43, of Sugar raised about $26,000 and their overcome any calamity� while goal is to reach $200,000. Those Kaushik Chatterjee from Sewa Land, stopped to assist with a crash on the Grand Parkway northwho would like to donate can International outlined the relief bound on the Brazos River bridge. The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s go to their website www.nepal- measures carried out by the or- Office says while assisting with that crash, Nehra was struck by an eseassociationofhouston.org ganization and appealed to the intoxicated driver. They believe he was knocked off the bridge and into the river. He hasn’t been located. As fate would have it, Baba gathering to go to sewausa.org if they would like to help. The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office, along with local fire departRamdev of Patanjali Yogpeeth was in Nepal to inaugurate an Rehabilitation agencies have ments, has been actively searching the river by boat and helicopters. Ayurveda College and hospital estimated that rebuilding the Anyone who may have witnessed the crash is asked to contact Deand narrowly escaped death. earthquake hit areas of Nepal tective Williams at 281-341-3839.
again on April 26th. A Kalasha Puja took place during the three day period, in which the granite constructions were put in a bed of paddy and then it was immersed in water for three days thereby purifying the constructions, and then the puja was performed. The temple has been built following the traditional Vaastu Shastra and the structure of the Hindu temples found in Kerala. Owned by the Kerala Hindu Society of Houston, the temple was originally started by four people naming Sasidharan Nair, Madhavan Pillai, GK Pillai, Somanatha Kurp. The actual opening of the temple dates back to as early as 1979 where the four people mentioned above were the only ones who were involved. By 1983, there were forty families involved in the organization. Finally the land was bought for the new temple in 2008 with the sole purpose of creating a prayer home.
Good Samaritan missing after being struck on side of road
Krishna being the main deity of the temple, building a Krishna Temple became a priority thereby opening doors to devotees to offer prayers to the Lord Krishna. The committee members have left no stone unturned toward building the temple. Some special kind of granite has been used to construct the basements of the temples, which again have been imported from India. The deities are also made from the same stone.
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The Sri Guruvayurappan Temple embodies the detailed art and architecture that one can expect to find in the temples of India. Every detail of the temple including the idols, the replica placed at the entrance, the wall embellishments and the structure has been done with the finest niceties and precision. Some mural paintings are still in progress adding to the artistic creation. ‘This is an unique opportunity for Indians.’said Baburaj Eranezhuth, a visitor, adding‘ I can relate to this temple just as I can relate to the temples in Kerala.’ Guruvayurappan idol was sponsored by Dr.Sachin Chandrasenan. Main sponsors include Sasidharan Nair who donated a house and money, Madhavan Pillai who donated money. Other sponsors include Dr.Suneesh Nair who donated the Thattva Kalashan, Jill Raman who donated the Nidraa Kalasham, Ramaratnam and Somarajan Nair for the Kumbesha Kalasham, and Sachin Nair for the Brahma Kalasham. The lunch was sponsored by the New India Supermarket on 23rd April.
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‘This is the only Krishna Temple of the Malayalees of North
America. But it’s for everyone.’ said Sasidharan Nair, Global Fundraising Chairman,Sri Guruvayurappan Temple, adding, ‘We’ll perform annaprashana (first rice eating of a baby) and thulabhar (offering to the Lord). We’ll have a Sunday school where we are going to offer religious classes and language classes.’
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