Sita Rama Kalyanam at Sri Meenakshi Temple

By Nalini Sadagopan

PEARLAND: Sita Rama Kalyanam celebration, an annual event at the Meenakshi Temple Society of Pearland, felt even more auspicious this year as the date coincided with Sri Rama Navami on March 28th 2015 on Saturday. The stage was decorated so beautifully with the Rama parivar (Rama, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman) that it brought in the celestial ambience. The blissful wedding took place with every step of the way being carefully explained by the knowledgeable priests (Sri Pavan Kumar, Sri Sridharan and Sriman Narayana Charyulu) at the altar while those gathered to sponsor the event diligently followed the ritual. Right from the bedecked bride and groom, to the décor, to the spread of sweets made by devotees, the spectators were blessed to be part of this holy matrimony.  Highlight in the sweet display was the paruppu thengai , a cone shaped delicacy made specifically for wedding s in the Southern India. Rituals included tying the kankanam, kanya dhanam (offering of the bride to the groom), mangalya dharanam (tying the knot), and homam ; the entire ceremony took place colorfully and sequentially.

The Houston devotees proved to be ardent supporters of the Sita Rama wedding and had flocked fervently to take make it a huge success. There was enthusiastic participation from the board members at the event and rava laddu specially made by the committee was offered as prasadam to the attendees. Following the wedding, the celestial couple was carried around the temple premises in the silver chariot in a procession. Other notable activities were – the rendering of Raguveeragadhyam by priest Sridharan, Nama Ramayanam and Bhajans by devotees during the festival and a sumptuous lunch.

Kudos to the MTS volunteers and board, especially the event coordinators – Bhargavi Golla, Swaroopa Reddy and Kumari Mikkilieni, for tirelessly bringing such great events to the community in an effort to keep our rich Vedic and value-based traditions alive.