The entry way to the media studio will be clad with lava rock on both sides, including two doors. One for Arumuganathswami's office and one for the bathroom. The two doors are massive metal frames clad with hardy board so that rock can be glued to them later. Door installation requires precision alignment. In the case these door have heavy duty hinges to carry the weight, that are set into the floor and ceiling and not the door jam like most doors. Arumuganathswami and Kumarnathaswami at work here with two other monks inside the bathroom helping keep it upright.

Recently, the Ganapati Kulam held a short blessing for the installation of the Media Studio's new flooring. We are all hoping that everything goes seamlessly, including the seams themselves. Now that this critical project has been blessed, the pieces have been cut to size and as of to tomorrow will be glued into place. Our many thanks to Durvasa for his expert help in this endeavor.

A kindness done in the hour of need may itself be small, but in worth it exceeds the whole world.
Tirukural 102

Jai Ganesha!

The long-awaited installation of the Media Studio's vinyl floor is finally becoming a reality, and yes, it is as outrageously colorful as planned. This giant painting, done by painter Suresh Muthukulam, is truly a sight to behold, against the building's unique wall paper and handmade ceiling.

After a great deal of careful work over the last few weeks, the concrete floor has been sealed and perfectly leveled. Yesterday, the 10 foot wide rolls of vinyl were unrolled onto floor to fully acclimate to our humid environment. In the next few days, it will all be cut, fitted and glued into place, thus completing the final major step before the Ganapati Kulam can move in. Though many smaller tasks are still to be done, this is a huge leap toward a new life for our publishing team.

Recently the monastery observed Guruthond Day. It is a unique day every three months, when the whole monastery joins together on a single project determined by Bodhinatha.

This time the focus was on Iraivan Temple. The wooden railing which goes around the temple's foundation has been in need of replacement. The entire monastery formed up into 4 teams, each taking a section. In an amazing whirlwind of forty hands and forty legs and 20 brains all working in concert, in about 6 hours the old railing was dismantled and a new one built in its place.

As a small side project, another group of monks worked to clear the path down to the river, whcih we call "Bali Hai" which had become blocked with debris after some recent clearing in the area. Now monks and pilgrims can once again make their way down to the sacred Wailua for meditation or Ganga sadhana. Aum Namah Sivaya.

Below is a 12-foot-long section of the Perimeter Wall for Iraivan Temple. In all, there are some 40 of these that make up the 485-foot-long wall.

Today in Bengaluru the team is working on carving of the pillar sections, the stones on the left and right in the photo below. They have brought a set of them into the sheds for doing the more ornamental work.

Also in this slideshow in the same shed the silpis are working on the two final stones of the Nandi Mandapam, which have small elephants near the bottom. These hand railings are on either side of the steps that a priest climbs to make offerings to Nandi and the balipeedam.

Months ago, with professional help, the GK team added concrete materials to make the original floor in the Media Studio both level and flat. In some places, this required almost 2" of leveler. Now, we are applying the subsequent layers of material in preparation for the ten, 10-foot wide vinyl flooring rolls, that we have on hand from Chicago. These will be installed on the 28th through 30th of this month.
In these photos you see first the blue epoxy super sealer in place, called ChapcoDefender.
That is followed by Chapco MP primer. After that, we will trowel on Chapco SmoothCoat, a cement-based skimming material that forms the basis for the Permabond 4600 vinyl adhesive that glues down the vinyl.
The primer enables the skimcoat to stick to the blue sealer, and the SmoothCoat fills any dips or imperfections, creating a more perfect surface that is compatible with the vinyl adhesive.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty8JbA8uMOk

We recently receive a report from Jiva Rajasankara and our team in Bangaluru. Here they show the carving of a map of Kauai and its base, designed so the four sides show the fish, whales, dolphins and birds of the island. Because it is not Iraivan temple, the silpis are allowed to use machines, which would not be permitted for Iraivan sculpting.
This also applies to the wall around the temple, called the perimeter wall. The entire chisel technology, which is thousands of years old, has been transformed in the last decade, a change lead by our own Iraivan team.
Iraivan's Nandi Mandapam has four handrails, two large with elephants and two smaller ones with yallis carved.  The larger ones were designs taken from a Chola temple railing which is over a thousand years old.
Jiva writes: "This is the last smaller yesti for the Nandi Mandapam. by viewing the video you can see the detailed intricate work that is going into making San Marga Iraivan temple so special.  I can boldly say that this will be the last temple that will display hand work to such high standards. Everyone connected to Iraivan and helping to support it can be proud that they are contributing towards a completion of a  special temple. The last of a long Indian era." Aum. Jiva.

Over the last few days, our neighbor Bobby and his team of Garden Island Roofing, have been working to replace the old roof above Bodhinatha's office and the Siddhidata Kulam's office. The old tile has been in need of replacement for some time. This new roof matches the Media Studio's which Bobby also installed. It also has a delightful copper trim which follows its edge.

Bobby and his team are very professional, laying down new roofing as fast as the old roofing is taken up, ensuring the roof is not left uncovered in Kauai's unpredictable and rainy weather.

We received notice today that the Silpi-at-the-Forge bronze is crated and on its way to Kauai. It's quite an amazing piece. Look at the first and second photos. The first is the pure metal work, and then, with nothing but the power of chemistry, the patineur was able to give it color and life. So much life! Debbie Bakel is our expert's name.

Today we received a short report from Jiva Rajasankara in India. As you will remember the team there is erecting a tall wall to minimize noise in the neighborhood. Here is his report:

Aum sivaya,swami.
Here are the updates on the compound wall. Now the present height is 25 feet from the ground. After the completion of the wall, the compound has the feeling of a well established factory.
The last photo is the growth of the bamboo in front of the silpis houses. The bamboo has really grown well and has reached about 10 feet already. It will become about 60 feet in length, and we will need to trim them. AUM.