Chicago adhyayana utsavam

From the Bhakti List Archives

• January 11, 1999


namaskAram!  We would like to take this opportunity to thank our SrI
varadan mAmA (orginally from  kAnchipuram and resident of Delhi), who 
has been a constant guide for us in chanting the prabandhams and in 
conducting the utsavam.  Our perumAL was so kind to us that he directed 
SrI varadan mAma and his family to the first practice session at our house 
soon after the last year's adhyayana utsavam.  They came to our practice 
session on that day even though they did not have the slightest idea that 
they were going to end up in our place when they left their house, and 
none of the prabandham group members knew them till that day.  
Smt. citra mAdhavan accidentally met varadan mAmA and his family for the 
first time time on that day at the temple just before they were leaving 
for India the next day, and through casual conversation, informed them of 
the practice session.  This was a divine coincidence for us; Sri varadan 
mAmA taught us some basic principles that day and we were all very excited 
to have this learned scholar among us (to me, it was kAnchi varadharAjap 
perumAL Himself who had come to guide us in the right path). SrI varadan 
mAmA joined us again two months back and has been guiding us during our 
practice sessions towards the 2nd adhyayana utsavam at our temple that 
just concluded.  
 
varadan mAmA!  Our heart-felt thanks to you for being our scholarly guide 
and also for your wonderful write-up of our adhyayana utsavam!
 
It was a great pleasure putting faces and names together during this
utsavam; maNi, varadan (T.A. varadan of Denver), mOhan sAgar& mAdhuri, 
ramEsh SArangapANi, sampath rengarAjan & vasanthi (with their child) 
honored us by their presence.  SrIrAm and manjuLA have already become part 
of our families for quite sometime now (they are part of our prabandham 
session group and visit our perumAL every month during the first sunday 
tirumanjanam).  And varadan (tirunalai ANDAn piLLai varadan) has made up 
his mind to visit our perumAL every month if possible.  We would like to 
thank all the bhakti members who visited the temple during the utsavam for 
taking the extra efforts to come and participate in the utsavam with us.  
We feel like we have a closer relationship with them now than what the 
bhakti list correspondences had already created.
 
Our SrI rAghavan (whom we call UDaiyavar of aurOrA bAlAji temple) is the
most blessed devotee of all; perumAL chose him to conduct the first
adhyayana utsavam for Him last year and has been constantly motivating him
to keep working at it.  The smile on utsavar's countenance that everyone has
been talking about now is due to the diligent efforts that SrI rAghavan
undertook to bring us all together at perumAL's bidding.
 
As mOhan sAgar rightly requested, we would like to have a larger
participation of our bhakti list members during our next adhyayana 
utsavam to be held in December, 1999.
 
adiyen,
Kalyani Krishnamachari