Thousands attend the Hindu Temple of Atlanta’s Navodaya 2013
Celebrations
Text & Photos: Mahadev Desai
Despite rain and cold weather, thousands of devotees and
visitors from all over South-East thronged the Hindu Temple of
Atlanta (HTA) Riverdale, Georgia on Sunday, January 1st to
celebrate a joyous and spiritually suffused Navodaya 2013
festival.
All the deities in the Balaji and Siva Temples wore a dazzling
look in their ornate fineries and colorful garlands. The
dedicated priests cheerfully performed archanas throughout the
day blessing all the devotees who came to offer their prayers.
Around ten a.m. Priest Sri Ravishankar first performed a
ceremony inside the Banquet Hall, and later in the auditorium,
chanting shlokas and conferring his blessings for the New Year
to the vendors.
As the day progressed more and more devotees arrived inside the
two temples and after offering prayers, went around visiting and
shopping at HTA Gift Shop and also at various booths, which were
selling sarees, household appliances and gadgets, jewelry,
beads, artwork, devotional music CDs and DVDs. Service booths
also kept busy, offering IT services, travel bookings, health
insurance, etc. Some prominent not-for-profit Organizations-The
Art of Living Foundation, and Gaudiya Vaishnava Organization had
also set up their booths to disseminate information about their
Organization and forthcoming events.
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Priest Shri Ravishankar doing Pooja in
the auditorium. |
Festivals and food go together! The varied menu of South Indian
vegetarian splendors like spicy idli sambhar, masala dosas,
tamarind or curd rice, upama, boondi ladoos, Mysore Pak, and
snacks lovingly prepared in the Temple’s kitchen, by Kitchen
staff under the supervision of Food Committee Chairperson, Seshu
Sarma and served in the spacious banquet hall, by the youth
volunteers was relished by all.
The children’s activities at Navodaya included Quiz on Ramayana
and Mahabharata, Ravana balloon dart game, Mehendi, Face
painting, Balloon Twist, etc. The activities were coordinated by
youth volunteer Anjali Kumar. The volunteers who contributed
their valuable time to make this possible included Ambika
Pisharodi, Usha Kumar, Usha Swamy, Veena Rajeevan, Pushkara
Chaganti, Vishwa Chaganti, Radha Panchapakesan, Kiran Iyer and
Ashokkumar Ramamoorthy.
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Volunteers for Kids activities |
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Youth Volunteers in the Banquet Room |
The newly elected President Narender Reddy commented, “As we
welcome New Year 2013, on behalf of Hindu Temple of Atlanta, I’d
like to wish everyone a very Happy & Prosperous new year’.
I am very happy with the massive turnout of devotees today
despite rainy weather. The devotees started arriving early in
the day and the flow has continued till 9.00 PM. ‘Navodaya’
couldn’t have been successful without the help of our dedicated
volunteers, Trustees, Executive Committee and office staff. I
sincerely thank everyone for their tireless efforts in making
the event a great success with more than 5,000 devotees
receiving the blessings of Sri Venkateshwara & Sri
Ramalingeshwara on new year’s day. My special thanks go to our
learned Priests who conducted rituals round the clock with a
smile on their faces. The ‘alankarams’ of deities, specially
done for the New Year, won the admiration and praise of the
devotees. The efficiency and courtesy of the volunteers ensured
quick ‘Archana’ and service at the food counters. Thanks to the
efforts of Aravind Goli, Meher Lanka and Rajyalaxmi Mohan all
the vendor booths were rented, and I am happy to report that the
vendors were happy with the turnout and sales. B.Krishnamohan
organized elaborate arrangements for parking, including a
shuttle service for additional parking at a nearby place. Seshu
Sarma & her team of volunteers, with the help of Kitchen staff,
worked very hard to prepare delicious food that won the
appreciation of one and all. Subbiah Emani and Symala Naidu
organized the Puja services that were conducted very elegantly
and smoothly.
Jay Shankar, Mani & Raghu have been working late nights to keep
our additional Internet Terminals working to provide faster
services and ensure a flawless event. Krishna Das, Ashok Kumar,
Krishna Mohan Pinnamaneni and Hemanth Grandhige to name a few
also rendered commendable service to the devotees.
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President Narender Reddy with
Officials |
I feel happy and proud that the Hindu Temple of Atlanta has been
accomplishing landmark events in its rich history year after
year, the latest being the ‘Dwajastamba Prathistapana’ ceremony
for ‘Shiva temple’ conducted in Nov. 2012.I am confident that
with continued patronage by our devotees, HTA will continue to
grow to meet the expectations and needs of our community. I,
therefore strongly urge our community to be part of our HTA by
visiting HTA with their families and friends as often as
possible, especially during all festive celebrations. Without
devotee’s participation, a celebration will be just another
ritual, literally. Their increased participation will motivate
our Priests & Management to provide more and better services and
facilities for the growing religious, spiritual, social and
cultural needs of our growing community.”
The Hindu Temple, an iconic landmark in Riverdale, Georgia, is
well known for its spiritual, cultural, and educational services
to the Indian community. The Temple has played a sterling role
in enriching the religious diversity and enhancing the
multi-cultural image of Georgia.
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