Balabhavan Coordinators
Ram Krishnamurthy
Krishna Meduri
Aparna Vemuri
Contact:
[email protected]
Class Coordinators
Senior Class:
Padmini Mylavarapu
[email protected]
Seema Madan
[email protected]
Junior Class:
Bharathy Thridandam
[email protected]
Padma Kodukula
[email protected]
Toddler Class:
Lakshmi Srinivasan
[email protected]
Madhu Bollapragada
[email protected]
Student Registrations/
Mailing List coordinator:
Rajasri Kota
Update your email &
contact information by
writing to
Festivals in April
During the month of April, we celebrate
three festivals - The Tamil New Year,
Baisakhi and Sri Adi Sankara Jayanthi.
Tamil New Year: Tamil New year is
celebrated on April 14th. Greetings of
“Putthandu Vaazthukkal” are exchanged
with fervor on this day. It is believed that
Lord Brahma started creation this day. The
day starts with viewing the 'kani' (the
auspicious sight) at dawn, which brings good
fortune throughout the year. These include
jewelry, betel leaves, nuts, fruits and
vegetables, flowers, raw rice and coconuts
and are seen as their reflection through a
mirror. This is followed by the ritual oilbath, a visit to the temple, and reading of
the Panchangam (almanac). The ladies
adorn the entrance of their houses with
‘Kolam’ and deck the doorway with mango
leaves. During this month, the marriage of
Goddess Meenakshi to Lord Sundareswarar is
celebrated as ‘Chitthirai festival’. The
highlight of the festival is the 'Maanga
Pacchadi' (a dish made of raw mangoes,
jaggery and neem flowers), which is at the
same time sweet, sour and bitter. This
signifies all the different aspects of our life.
Balabhavan Newsletter
VOL #4 April, 2007
Wednesday, June 6
10:00 AM - 12:30 PM:
Sthapana Mahotsava Arambham
06:00 PM - 8:00 PM:
Pooja and Cultural events
Thursday, June 7
10:00 AM - 12:30 PM:
Moola Murthi Homam
05:30 PM - 8:00 PM:
Pooja and Aarathi
Friday, June 8
10:00 AM - 12:30 PM:
Prabhandha Parayanam
05:30 PM - 8:00 PM:
Pooja and Cultural events
Saturday, June 9
08:00 AM - 12:30 PM:
Sudharshan HomamAdivasa Homam
06:00 PM- 9:00 PM:
Carnatic Concert
Sunday, June 10
08:30 AM - 01:30 PM:
Sri Venkateswara
Prathisthapanam
05:00 PM- 8:00 PM:
Cultural Program
You are cordially
invited to participate.
Details at http://www.shivavishnu.org/events.html#jun
[email protected]
--------------------------------------
April Birthdays:
Senior:
Sharad Sundar
Keshav Tadimeti
Junior:
Srinidhi Malavalli
Arjun B Aiyer
Toddler:
Madhavi Akella
Sumana Srinivas
Balaji Sthapana
June 6-10, 2007
Baisakhi: Baisakhi, also called Vaisakhi is a
harvest festival celebrated on April 13th
every year, marking the Punjabi New Year.
It is celebrated in North India, particularly
in Punjab and Haryana, when the crops are
ready for harvesting. People celebrate the
joyous occasion by performing Bhangra and
Giddha to the rhythm of the dhol and ring in
the New Year.
Please donate and
support our temple.
Sponsorship forms are
available at
http://www.shivavishnu.org/content/SVT_venk
ateswara_sponsorship_Form.p
df.
7930 Arjons Drive, San Diego, CA 92126 Phone: (858) 549-3940
Page#1
Festivals in April
Continued from p.1
Class Schedules
The Sikhs celebrate this day by visiting
gurudwaras and distributing prasad. Kirtans
and recital of passages from the Granth Sahib
are also organized.
Senior Class:
4-14-2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Story: Creation of
Indraprastha (capital of the
land of Pandavas). Slaying of
Jarasandha.
Sloka: PrataH Smaranam
Bhajan: Ekadantam
Umasutham
4-28-2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Story: Rajasuya Yaga
conducted by Yudhishtira/first
honor for Krishna/Slaying of
Sisupala
Sloka: Mahishasura Mardini 110
Bhajan: Ekadantam
Umasutham/Janani, Janani
Junior Class:
4-14-2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Story: Pandavas sent to waxpalace/slaying of Bakasura
Bhajan: Vanamaali Radha
Ramana
Sloka: Aadityahridayam 13-18
4-28-2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Story: Story of Jarasandha
Bhajan: Jaya Nandalaala
(p18, #27)
Sloka: Aadityahridayam 19 –
14
Announcements:
Binders for all students:
All children must be equipped
with the necessary handouts in
a 3-ring binder for the Sloka
and Bhajans for the Balabhavan
class. Children without
handouts in a binder will be
noted and the parents will be
contacted.
Balabhavan Newsletter
VOL #4 April, 2007
Adi Sankara Jayanti: On Vaisaka Sukla
Panchami day, we celebrate the birth of Sri
Sankaracharya. Sankara was born to Sivaguru
and Aryamba in Kaladi, Kerala. Sivaguru died
when Sankara was four years old. Sankara
soon took sanyasa and went to study Vedas
with Guru Sri Govinda Bhagawath pada. He
taught Sankara about Advaita (non-dualism),
the principle that everyone in this world is
the manifestation of God and that God and
Atman are not different from each other. He
advised Sri Sankara to spread this truth
throughout the country. Sankara established
four main Matas in Sringeri, Jagannath,
Dwaraka and Joshi. The heads of the Matas
are called Sankaracharyas with a lineage of
Sishyas (disciples). He composed many slokas
- Bhaja Govindam, Sri Annapurnashatakam,
Ganesha
Pancharatnam,
Meenakshi
Pancharatnam,
Dakshinamurthi
Stotram,
Kanakadhara Stotram, Sri Lakshmi Narasimha
Pancharatnam etc. At Badrinath, Lord Vishnu
instructed Sankara to take his sculpture from
the Alaknanda River and to build a temple.
This temple is called Badrinarayan temple and
is one of the important religious places for
Hindus. In his thirty-second year, he attained
siddhi. Adi Sankara had a great influence on
Hindu Dharma. The teachings of Sankara can
be summed up with the following words:
Brahma Satyam Jagat Mithya
Jeevo Brahmaiva Na Aparah
7930 Arjons Drive, San Diego, CA 92126 Phone: (858) 549-3940
Class Schedules
Toddler Class:
4-14-2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Story: Pandavas sent to waxpalace/slaying of Bakasura
Bhajan: Kamala Nayana Ram
(p12, #13)
Sloka: Vishnushatpadi
4-28-2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Story: Story of Jarasandha
Bhajan: RadheGovinda
Bhajo (p13, #3)
Sloka: Vishnushatpadi
Yoga-Senior Class:
1 & 3 Saturday, 5-6pm
Yoga is the science of right
living and as such is intended
to be incorporated in our daily
life. The word Yoga is derived
from the Sanskrit root Yuj (To
Join, to Yoke, to unite). It
also
means
union
or
communion. Yoga aims at
bringing the different bodily
functions
into
perfect
coordination so that they work
for the good of the whole
body.
Yoga Volunteer:
Shankar Nagarajan is a
Certified yoga Instructor from
VYASA. He has proved to be an
extremely popular teacher
with the children. We express
our sincere thanks to Mr.
Shankar Nagarajan for his
generosity in sharing his
expertise with the
children. We encourage the
Senior Balabhavan children to
take advantage of this
opportunity.
Page#2
Mahabharata
Class Volunteers:
Class Presentations
Story:
Senior Class:
Ashok Malavalli
Srinivas Varadarajan
Rajasri Kota
Mahesh Kodukula
Ram Krishnamurthy
Nageswara/Vijaya Purohit
Bhajan:
Lakshmi Srinivasan
Latha Sundar
Dharma Narayanan
Sloka:
Lalitha Kodandapani
Sudhakar/ Madhu
Bollapragada
Vandana Santhanam
Art Project Coordinators:
Rama Varadarajan
Srinivas Varadarajan
In connection with Balaji
Sthapana, wonderful art
projects will be completed
by the children of
Balabhavan and donated to
the temple. The art project
involves decorating and
painting of already pre-made
Tanjore art work of Balaji
and related figures (like
Krishna, Rama etc.). In
addition there are small
Ashta-Lakshmi vigrahas,
which will be decorated and
painted. If you would like to
take a look at the project
you can stop by after our
next BB class.
Balabhavan Newsletter
VOL #4 April, 2007
Gandhari - why did she tie her eyes with a
cloth?. by Aparna D & Anugraha P
Gandhari voluntarily blindfolded herself
throughout her married life. Her husband,
Dhritarashtra, was born blind and she
decided to deny herself from the pleasure
of sight. Dhritarashtra was blind both
figuratively and literally and never realized
or corrected the mistakes of his children.
Gandhari's sacrifice of her eyesight granted
her great spiritual power.
Duryodhana - why the name? by Shreya S
& Keerti T
‘Du’ means corrupt or difficult and ‘yudh’
means war; Duryodhana means one who
wages corrupted war or ‘one who is difficult
to conquer’. His body is said to be made of
thunder and is very powerful and strong.
Even mighty Pandavas had to fight unfairly
to defeat him. He represents Kali and
symbolizes ‘Kama’ (desire) and passion. His
jealousy of the Pandavas ultimately
destroyed him and his family.
Yudhishtira - what other names and why?
by Annodnya S.
‘Yudh’ means war and ‘sthira’ means
steady. Yudhishtira got this name because
he was steady in war. ‘Dharma’ means right
and ‘raja’ means King. He did everything
right and got the name Dharmaraja. His
other names are Dharmaputra, Yamaputhra,
Yamanandana and Kuntitanaya.
Kunti - her true father and her adopted
father- by Prateek N
Sura, grandfather of Lord Krishna, is the
father of Pritha(Kunti). Sura’s cousin, KuntiBhoja, adopted Pritha as he had no children
and since then she is known as Kunti.
--------------------------------------------Upcoming Events
Balaji Sthapana Sun, 10 June@ 5 -7.30pm
Annual Balabhavan Picnic: June 16
Details will follow shortly.
7930 Arjons Drive, San Diego, CA 92126 Phone: (858) 549-3940
Apr.14 –
Rishi. K.- Yudhishtira - what other
names and why?
Apr.28 –
Kushan.Y - Bhima - some of his
famous feats
Bhargav.M - Sakuni - friend or foe
to Duryodhana?
Junior Class:
Apr.14 –
Samruddhi. H - Bhima - some of
his famous feats
Ananya. T - Drona - why was he
partial to Arjuna?
Apr.28 Jayanth. Y - Ekalavya - a good
student or not?
Shiva. V- Wax palace - why was it
built?
------------------------------
Newsletter Editors:
Praneet Mylavarapu
Keerti Tadimeti
Topic of the Month:
Aparna Devulapalli
Meera Kota
Siddhi Ramesh
Please send your
suggestions/comments on this
newsletter to
[email protected]
Page#3