Today we bring you an update of the progress on our Pillaiyar Kulam Office construction. As you can see, from the outside, this front addition is looking to be far along. This space will serve us as an upgrade to what is currently a large shipping container. The container is where our Himalayan Academy publications necessities exist, including mailing supplies and stock for our Mini Mela gift shop. Inside this newly created space we find that the insulation and drywall are installed, with the mudding and taping of the drywall well underway. Next we'll be seeing painted walls, flooring, doors and electrical fixture installation. Following that, the cabinets and countertops can be installed. Aum.

Jai Ganesha!

Recently, several of the monks and the siplis brought Iraivan Temple's sanctum doors out of storage and into the temple. These doors are made of solid teak and are fully clad in decorative bronze work depicting ten forms of Siva. Currently the doors will remain in the temple while we move forward with the exacting process of fitting them to the stone entryway of the temple's sanctum. Aum.

Aum Namah Sivaya

A quick update to show us the progress on the lavarock wall along the eastern side of Iraivan Temple. To top layer of stones is gradually being completed. Following a taut string, which perfectly defines the top edge, each stone is hand selected to fit just right, and chiseled ever so slightly to get a perfect straight line all along the top of the lavarock face. These top stones have been completed along 1/3 of the eastern side of the temple.

This morning several concrete trucks found their way up to the aadheenam to help with the western side of Iraivan Temple's lavarock plinth. Umut and his team have been preparing for this, and today were ready to fill in behind their next layer of stones. These lower layers take the most time and resources to construct, and having concrete pumped from a truck is a great boon for such a large project. Usually Umut and his team mix all their needed concrete themselves, but rarely do they work on projects of this scale.

Recently, Jiva Rajasankara sent the aadheenam a photo of the bronze tiruvasi that is currently being created in India. This tiruvasi will stand behind Iriavan Temple's crystal Sivalingam. It is done in a slightly more traditional and ancient-looking style than is commonly seen today and will look wonderful against the sanctum's polished red granite. Aum Namah Sivaya.

Aum Namah Sivaya

Today we look at recent progress on Iraivan Temple. Our lavarock team is making steady progress on the wall around the temple plinth. The eastern side is nearly complete, with the top layer of siding stone being added. That layer will then have concrete filled in behind it along with another row of stones to serve as the top of the wall. On other fronts, the siplis are making their way along the temple's outer pillars, adding some finishing touches to where the outside handrail meets each pillar. Aum.

Today we have a brief update for you of the progress on Iraivan Temple's lavarock wall and current stone carving work. Flip through the slideshow and enjoy! Aum.

We hope the joy from this colorful rainbow reaches you wherever you are!
Today the monks end their short, four-day phase and enter into a three-day, full-moon retreat. A time of energy, within and without. As you'll see in the slideshow, we had a brief opportunity provided by the recent hurricane warning. Because of the potential for high winds we took all the tarps off of our tents. That means that for a few days the tarps over Iraivan Temple's entry steps were gone, allowing us a glimpse into the final look and feel of approaching the entryway to this magnificent temple. Aum Namah Sivaya.

A short aerial flyby of Iraivan Temple. Here you can see the progress on the temple's lavarock facing which encircles the foundation plinth

Recently we've been seeing some wonderful progress on the new office extension for the Pillaiyar Kulam offices. In our last post, We had been working on the floor. Here, as you can see, the initial framing for the walls has been completed and the roof has been added. As anyone who has done construction in Hawaii will tell you, it's always nice once the roof is completed because construction isn't effected nearly as much by our constant rains. For those that don't recall, this new extension will house items for the Mini Mela along with all the many shipping and printing supplies that our work requires. Aum.