Author: alokc

The air was filled with chants. A small group of 10/12 people were singing a song praising Ganesha. They had come a long way from somewhere deep in Pensylvania driving since early dawn. Their eyes were drowsey. And the voices were not in synch, even the notes were not in place. Yet it seemed as though the temple was filled with eathereal tune. I stopped at mid-stride, a few seconds passed by seemed eternal. Mr. Padmanabhan, my guide, brought me back to present. He is a busy man, after all. There were four special prayers going on Shukla Shasthi, a day when Brihashpati (Jupiter) exits the Meena (Pieces) and enters the home of Mesha (Aries). Priests and their assistants were cleaning the deities with milk while reciting Vedic hymns. On the centerstage, devotees were circling around the home of Ganesha leaving the Pensyvania group before them. On one side of the floor, Sri Shammukha homa was going on. With devotees sitting like a horseshoe in front of it and the priest on the other side, it seemed to me as though the Vedic agnihotra ritual was being performed. On a makeshift altar a small fire was going on, the priest and his assistant offering clarified butter and incense while reciting mantra. On another side, another group of 10/12 people were enjoying reading from Ramayana, but the flat, monotonous recitation lacked melodrama and excitement I experienced in the short clip shown in class.

The long passageway leading to the Sri Maha Vallabha Ganapati Devasthanam temple, at 45-57 Bowne Street, Flushing, NY 11355, was lit with some daylight seeping through the glass roof above. As I walked down, a cool, tranquil air soothed my body. I had been walking for the last 20 minutes or so, and it was warm out there with mercury reaching almost 70F. I looked around. It is an archway, rested on 12 columns, six on each side. On each column, there is a miniature of the deity Ganesha. And right before the temple door, there is another Ganesha, a larger version, sitting inside a small chamber.

It was calm and soft inside the temple, punctuated with occasional dins of chanting mantras. The floor is huge. On the middle, there is a Ganesha temple. Devotees were circling around it, some in silence and some murmuring. “Devotees come all day to pay their respect and circle the temple anywhere between one to 108 times, depending on the strength of their devotion and energy,” said Mr. G. Padmanabhan, the public relation officer of the temple.

Wading through the milieu, I took my notebook and pencil out. A strange feeling swept through me. It has been about 30 years since I last entered ANY place of worship. There were people all over, some paying their tributes to the deities while others reading books sitting on the floor. The huge hall room is walled with deities. Mr. Padmanabhan informed me the deities are grouped into three classes: pradhana devatas, parivara devatas, and kostha devatas.

PRADAHAN DEVATAS: Sri Maha Vallabha Ganapati; Sri Siva, Sri Parvati; Sri Kamakshi and Maha Meru; Sri Shanmukha and Valli, Devasena; Sri Venkateswara; SRi Maha LAKSHMI. PARIVARA DEVATAS: Sri Saraswati; Sri Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanumana; Sri Krishna and Radha; Sri Gayatri; Sri Devi Khodiyar Mata; Sri Ayyappa; Sri Agastiyar and Lopa Mudra; Sri Durga; Sri Chandrasekaraswamy/Anandavalli (utsavar); Sri Valli Devasena Sameta Subramanya (utsavar); Sri Dakshinamoorthy; Sri Nataraja, Sivakami and Manikkavachka; Sri Swarna Bhairavar; Sri Kamakshi (utsavar); Sri Sudarsana and Narashima. KOSHTA DEVATAS: Around Siva Sannidhi—Dashinamurthy, Lingodbhava, Brahma. Around Shanmukha Sannidhi—Subrahmanya, Guha, Dandaythapani.

Built in accordance with Agama and Silpa Sastras, the temple’s foundation stone was laid in 1970 on January 26, the India Republic Day, and it took about seven years to complete the construction. The temple was first consecrated in 1977, July 4, the American Independence Day. At present it is undergoing its third renovation – the other two were held in 1988 and 2009 – and will be re-consecrated on June 5 this year. This time around it gets four 50-ft tall goparas (tower) in four corners, decorated with gold, atop the temples of Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, and Kartikeya.

An elected trustee board manages the temple, of which Dr. Uma Mysorekar is the president. The election was last held in 2006 by a court order. Since then the trustee board fills any vacancies. The staff works on a voluntary basis. Operating cost are made from donations, sponsored program fees, and auditorium rentals.

On the Weekdays service hours are from 8AM to 9PM and weekends 7:30AMto 9PM. Among the services are: abhishekam, archana, homma, samskara, special pooja for deities, etc. Besides, the temple observes various Hindu festivals year round.

Next attraction: Valmiki Ramayana Parayanam. Stay tuned…