Dear Bhagavathas,
Adiyen is forwarding a detailed writeup on VArshikOtsavam celebrations of Sri
VenugOpala Perumal by Smt. Vaidehi Raja . This event was hosted in Boston on
Sep 24th in a very grand scale..
dasan
Srimath Andavan Thiruvadi,
Venkat Sreenivasan
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SRI RAMANUJA MISSION OF SRIRANGAM SRIMATH ANDAVAN ASHRAMAM
CELEBRATES ?VARSHAKOTSAVAM? in Boston.
by
Vaidehi V. Raja
On the evening of September 23rd, Rohini Ashtami thithiyil, Sri Venugopalaswamy
arrived in Boston with his Parivaram along with a number of deities in
Salagrama form and was received with great enthusiasm by Shri Sunder Kidambi
and family. Shortly thereafter a team of people visited Sadhu Vasvani Center,
Dracut, MA, the venue, and made preparations to receive and witness all the
grand events celebrating the Varshakotsavam of the Pranaprathishtapana of Lord
Venugopalan with Rukmini and Sathyabama thayars.
On Sat at 6.30 a.m., the deities with their Parivarams were received with all
the mariyadhai with poornakumbham amidst vadhya and veda gosham. Seva kalam
with the recitation of Tirupallaandu, Tiruppalliyezuchchi, Tiruppaavai, and
many other pasurams from nityanusandhaanam was performed. Preparations then
were done for Thirumanjanam. "KAna kannAyiram vEndumallavO engaL nAthanin
azhagiya thirumEni thravyangaLAl thiru neerAdal kAna! Elloraiyum divya
swarupathAl mayakkinAn mAyavan!" Paduka aradhanam for the Sri Padukas of all
the puurvAcharyas and prakrutam Andavan was also performed.
"Manjal kappu thulasi mAlayodu engal manamellAm niraindhAn Madhusuudanan".
Veda ghoshti chanted taittiropanishat and pancha suuktam. During Eera vaadai
sevai, kattiyam was recited. Meanwhile, varieties of sweets and savories,
specially prepared by the local residents for the kalyana utsavam and fruits
and garlands began to appear one by one. In the couple of days preceding the
gala celebration, groups of ladies affectionately prepared several garlands
made of tulasi and various flowers to adorn the Lord suiting the event. Thus
one could enjoy kannan in tulasi mala alankaram or in different colour garlands
as mappillai and so on. The stage really looked like a kalyana pandal with seer
varisai.
At this time, via telebridge we were supremely blessed to hear the beautiful
singing of ?Adharahita charuvamsanala?, a stanza from Sri Gopala Vimshati
extremely apt for the function, by His Holiness Srimath Srimushnam Andavan and
also his brief kalakshepam wherein He so succinctly brought about the
Vaibhavam of Sri Venugopalan. The Ramanuja Mission President, Sri Poondi
Vijayaraghavan Swamin quickly briefed Srimath Andavan about the happenings at
the center.
By about 11 am, the Lord was taken to the entrance and after being received
with sampradaya mariyadai fitting His Nithyakalyana kolam, returned to the
podium as Kalyana Mapillai! "ManamagalAm ThAyAr iruvarum alangArathudan
alaviLLA azhagudan milirnthanar". With brief ceremonial rituals, mAlai
marrtrudal was performed.The marriage function began with nadaswaram. After
witnessing Perumal thayar kanganam kattuthal, everyone had the opportunity to
follow suit. This brought up sweet memories for quite a few as couples were
asked to tie it for each other. One person said jokingly, ?we get married only
so we will have someone to tie the kanganam on such occasions!?
Several devotees sponsored the event. Thirumangalya dharanam was a scene to
behold. "PerumAlum ThAyArgalOdu azhagukku azhagu sErthArpOl kAtchiAlithAr". The
Lord then adorned the Unjal with 5 Sumangalis conducting the ?pidi sutral?,
while devotees began to sing. This was followed by ?Thengai uruttal?, symbolic
of ?vilayadal? event in marriages, to the singing of Sri Kothai NAcciyar?s
VAranamAyiram. With sattrumurai everyone received Theertham and shatAri and had
the privilege of seeing Sri Venugopalaswamy and Thayars, Sri Periya Thiruvadi,
Sri Udayavar and all the SAligrAma Perumals. Thus concluded the morning session
with everyone feeling happy and heading for a marriage feast. The entire feast
was prepared by a team headed by Smt. Rama Bhatta. She was ably assisted by a
host of local residents. A lot of planning and shopping and cooking culminated
into sarkarai pongal, kalanda sAtham, lemon rice, thayir sAtham and vadai
paruppu, not to mention several sweets and savories for
prasadam.
We were quickly summoned as Lord Krishna got ready for DOlOtsavam. It was a
treat for our eyes and ears to see the Lord in Dolai. He was entertained for
the next 3-4 hours with Iyal, Isai and NAtakam. Yes indeed! The entertainment
kicked off with a dance of Varanamayiram, by Ms. Sowmya Chari, a disciple of
Smt. Jyoti Raghavan. There was another bharatanatyam performance by the
disciples of Smt. Sridevi Tirumalai, who performed a Pushpanjali and Varnam, a
dance-drama depicting the birth and leelas of Sri Krishna. The bhavas of the
disciples were simply rapturous with a demanding and superb choreography by
their teacher. The fitting finale to their drama, depiction of Lord Krishna as
Parthasarathy and delivering the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna was simply enchanting.
They all deserve a well earned applause.
The dance team was well challenged by Kalaivani Kalaikoodam (the drama team) by
portraying the salient events in the lives of Mudalazhwars, the famed
Bhoodatazhwar, Pozgaiahwar and Peryazhwar, the first three saints of the twelve
azhwars. The audience witnessed with delight as they came to life through the
tireless efforts of Shri. Narayanan and Smt. Vasundara. It was such a sweet
treat to see several little feet scurrying between scenes! Yes the kids ranged
from 3-17 years! What a monumental effort on their part as well to depict Lord
Krishna, Azhwars, Andal, Thirumangai mannan and Sonna vannam seitha perumal
stories to us. I am convinced Lord Venugopalan witnessed all the drama with
great affection. This was followed by a solo vocal recital by Smt. Geetha
Murali. Her rendering of the songs on Krishna was pure unadulterated treat for
the ears. "Kannanin mOhana gAnamO enru thOnriyadhu!" Next came a short sweet
rendering of two bhajans by a group of six ladies from the Boston area.
All the participants were given certificates of appreciation by Sri RAMANUJA
Mission. The drama troupe was blessed to receive trophies from His Holiness Sri
Santharamji, of H.H. Tridandi Chinna Jeeyar Swamy, who was kind enough to
grace the entire function.
The Dolai concluded with the recitation of siriya thirumadal and saartrumurai.
Several devotees continued singing individually. By about 7/8 pm the visitors
were gone with packed dinners! The local volunteer cleaning crew stepped in to
the backdrop of Smt. Aruna Sairam singing (CD). Several were in the kitchen
preparing for dinner with most kids having dinner. Upstairs in the hall, a few
kids were playing, some adults cleaning, some sitting/ standing and casually
talking. There was a 6 yr old kid and mom singing sitting near Krishna. And
then a 3 year old started dancing for Krishna voluntarily for the background
music. The scene was truly like a kalyana mandapam after the marriage is over
and only the very essential parties are left. And that is how it felt for all
of us in Boston ? tired, relaxed in mind that the function was an overwhelming
success by the grace of His Holiness Srimath Andavan, satisfied that we put in
our best efforts and ecstatic that the Lord Venugopalan is
going to stay with us.! In all some 150-200 people witnessed and received the
blessings of Lord Venugopal that day. Some 40 people came from other states,
some of whom were hosted by 7-8 families. We all returned home with Lord
Krishna in our hearts and thoughts. We are extremely grateful for all the
volunteers and the goshti group for their stupendous efforts in bringing the
glory and vaibhavam of Sri Venugopalan to Boston, in keeping with the lofty
goals of the Ramanuja mission, as kids and adults alike enjoyed His unparalled
beauty and Grace.
Subham
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