Tsunami Update:

Until January 5th, direct communications from the Aadheenam with anyone on the ground in Batticaloa were impossible; but as of January 7th we were able to get some first hand reports. Only one boy of the Thirunavukkarasu Nayanar Gurukulam perished, but the orphanage was indeed demolished, as were many other charitable institutions in Batticaloa. The rest of the boys are receiving food, supplies and are being cared for in a temporary shelter. Many of you will have seen now on television, the extent of the destruction and the plight of so many children.

Mr. Swaminatha Thambiah, the deceased founder, had appointed one of the orphans to succeed him, Kannan who married and then became the manager. We are told that Kannan sustained serious injuries and is recovering in a Colombo hospital. We received our recent update in one very broken phone call with one of the senior staff of the orphanage who survived, and we are waiting to hear from them about how best to proceed.

Our flag is set to half mast for 30 days in remembrance of the victims of the Tsunami.

It was another quiet day at the Aadheenam… the silpis continue their work to fit the stones of one of the Chinna Gopurams at ground level. Here, two pieces of the top of the East gopuram are being put together.

The Sunshade edges of the roof.

These will fit into the top square holes that you saw in the previous picture.

The morning sun from the east on the Vimanam

Top of the northeast corner pillar.

This stone has been drawn out and carved right here at the site. Normally all this work is done in India.

Terry Parish, a professional arborist, has been cleaning the tops of coconut trees as a gift to the Aadheenam. He lives just a few doors away and today brought his children for a visit.

His daughter takes home a souvenir… a giant granite chip…all the way from India.

It won’t be long… and the scaffold will be down… and provide a magnificent view of Iraivan.

One of Gurudeva’s new “institutions” was the Hindu Renaissance of the Year award, which, for 2004 was given to Dr. Pichai Gurukkal of Pillaiyar Patti.

You can read about his work in Hinduism Today here.

The award, prepared in Hawaii and sent to India, was presented on behalf of Hinduism Today by Saiva Siddhanta Church India Liaison Officer, L. Nellaiappan, who is shown here making the presentation speech.

A beautiful plaque and shawl were given to the esteemed priest who has done so much for Hinduism in recent decades.

A crowd is on hand… and the padasala boys are all there. One day many of them will travel to temples in far off lands to carry the knowledge of the Saiva Agamas and temple worship to Hindus the world over.

These photos are from Mark Boyer and his wife Lindsey who went on the last innersearch and were so taken by South India that they went again on their own this year. Mark writes:

I attach a few very low res pictures from todays festivities at Pillaiyarpatti. We were so happy to be there on this occasion. Thanks to you all for helping us to be there.

We had such a nice time with Pichai, on both of our visits. He really is a quite amazing presence. Certainly Hindu of the Year material. We also were able to be there for the presentation of the curtains (which are incredibly beautiful) at both Pillaiyarpatti and at Thiruparankundrum. [That were donated to the temples by Kauai Aadheenam for the main sanctums] We’ve been spending lots of time at Thiruparankundrum – more than at the Meenakshi temple in fact, and are going back tomorrow for a ceremony, the name of which escapes me right now, but it involves a Nandi Abishekam….”