Grand New Year Day Celebration and Leadership Transfer at Sri Meenakshi Temple

By Kamala Raghavan

PEARLAND: Starting from evening of December 31, 2017, devotees gathered at Sri Meenakshi Temple Society (MTS) to bid farewell to 2017 and to welcome 2018. The special midnight pooja has been a regular feature at MTS with many devotees braving the winter cold. The Thiruppavai and Thiruvempavai recitals in the auspicious Dhanur Masa (Marghazhi) from mid-December to mid-January reverberate at the dawn hours to awaken the Gods, and set the scene for the New Year on January 1st. It was a Grand New Year’s Day celebration at Sri Meenakshi Temple. From the early morning to the late night the main temple was filled with devotees, in spite of the biting cold weather.  More than 4,000 devotees visited the Meenakshi temple on that day to witness the pujas and the customary transfer of leadership once every 2 years. Ganapathi Homam, Venkateswara Laksharchana,  Pallakku processions for Goddess Meenakshi in the morning and for Lord Venkatesawara  along with  special Archanas  all went smoothly with large number of devotees participating. The Priests did an excellent job with the throngs of devotees coming to pray and seek blessings. The décor and the ambience of the inside main temple beautifully complemented the expanded corner temple praharams and walkways with Acharyas, Nayanmargal and Alwargal.

The Cultural Segment ‘BHAKTHI”  started with a skit by local talent on Nayanmargal, Alwargal & Acharyas. It was both educational & entertaining & well received by the audience

Classical dance performances by students of 4 local dance schools added to the festive ambience on New Year day.  The hall filled up with guests to enjoy a  magical afternoon of singing and dancing. As the program progressed, we experienced delightful classical dances from students of Sreepadam Schoolof Arts, Sunanda’s school of Arts,, Anjali Center for Performing Arts, and Abhinaya school of Performing Arts.. The talented performers left the audience totally enthralled. Devotees toured the Corner Temple praharams and expressed their delight in the progress made by the Corner Temple Renovation Project (CTRP) in bringing the atmosphere of authentic Indian temple to US. Food booths were always crowded, and the vendors did an awesome job serving all the devotees. MTS thanks the event coordinator Secretary Ramachandra Reddy, all the volunteers, board members, council members, and staff for their hard work and dedication in putting on such a wonderful New Year’s Day experience at our Temple.