I arrived in Gayathri Niwas, Karaikudi 27th Nov, Monday, around 9 am, after seeing off Radha for San Francisco at 2 am from Bangalore. Radha had planned her trip two months prior, long before this celebration was in the works. The request came from Shravan and Sangeetha just a week before their departure from Cupertino around 10th November, and I agreed to undertake the celebratory rituals.
Kannan, our family priest for the past 20 years, had made all the arrangements. (His grandfather conducted my marriage in 1991). It was a tradition-rich affair. Interestingly, for the first time in the 52-year history of Gayathri Niwas, we were outnumbered by Lalitha's relatives by a ratio of 4:1 (hahah!). A true testament to how much Lalitha is cherished by her family (!!). Her parents, a sister, a brother, and brother-in-law for her other sister,graced us with their presence during the celebrations. They undertook travel for a few hours presence at Karaikudi.
The function commenced with the Ganapathy Pooja, followed by the chanting of Vedic Hymns by seven priests (a cause dear to my late mother's heart). This was followed by the chanting of Vishnu Sahasranamam. Then, the following Homams (Fire God offerings) took place:
- Ayush Homam (for an obstacle-free long life)
- Navagraha Homam (for the influence of the nine planets)
- Mrutunjaya Homam (for longevity)
- Nakshathra Homam (for the birth star of my family members: Me, Lalitha, Shravan, Sangeetha, Eshwar, Radhu)
- Sudarshana Homam (to cast off evil eye, enemies)
- Dhanvantri Homam (for a long life with good health)
The Homams concluded with Poonaahuthi, offering flowers, silver, and silk clothes to the Fire God.
This was followed by the sprinkling / pouring of Holy Water (from the Ganges and Cauvery) on me and Lalitha by all the family members.
The event spanned 4 hours, and lunch was served around 1:30 pm. After tidying up the house and making future arrangements and logistics for Gayathri Niwas, we left for Bangalore at 5 pm, arriving at 11 pm.
I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who was present and who contributed to making all the arrangements. Since we hadn't organized anything from our end, I refrained from inviting any local individuals as we didn't want to burden those who were already managing everything. Shravan and Sangeetha require a special mention to work all this up for both traditional and Informal dinner aspect on Saturday at Sheraton, Bangalore. Radhu managed Saturday dinner logistics as well....!
I couldn't have asked for more... Tomorrow, on 30/11, my English date, it will be a quiet affair.
Best regards,
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Karthik
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