Introduction

From the Bhakti List Archives

• September 22, 1995


Hi

I'm Venkataraghavan Raman. I was browsing thro' the SriVashnavism 
homepage and thus got in touch with Mani about 10 days back. I was scared 
to become a part of this group for the simple reason that I'm only a 
student as far as 'Sri Vaishnavism' is concerned. I explained this to 
Mani and then joined the group. To be frank, I was really impressed to 
know that Mani, brought up here in the US, is so much interested in our 
cultural background unlike most Indians brought up outside India. After 
seeing the intro from the rest of the members, I've started to become 
comfortable. Here goes my intro.

 I was born in 1973 into a family with strong Srivaishnavism faith. My 
dad hails from 'Theruzhundur'-one of the 108 Divyadesams, a small temple 
town close to 'Mayavaram'. The speciality of this place is that, it is 
the native place of 'Kambar'. I like it for the simple reason that it was 
where my dad grew up as a kid. I've been following most of our traditions 
without questioning them. I just believe that there is some reason to do 
so about which I'm not aware. I'm an ardent devotee of Lord Rama and Lord 
Hanuman. To this date, I continue to wear the 'Chintur-orange coloured 
powder like the kumkum' on my forehead.

 I was born and brought up in Madras, did my schooling at Padma Seshadri 
Bala Bhavan( better known PSBB) between '76 and '90, got my B Tech from 
IITM in Chemical Engg('90-'94) and currently doing my MS in Chemical at 
Oklahoma State Univ.
 
 I look forward to learning more about Srivaishnavism and also making more 
friends from this net in the process.

RV

ps: I'm used to being referred to as RV and signing as RV.