6300 Princess Garden Parkway, Lanham, MD

20706. 3015524889, www.muruganTemple.org

NRITYATRA

(from 1978.A journey through

dance)

On Saturday, October 19th 2013, Vatsala Srinivas, Artistic Director of Natya Kala Mandir,

(Continued on page 2)

Happy new year 2014

Please join us on New Years day for

concerts by Ms. Sahana Narayanan

(vocal) accompanied by Pavani

Srikanth on violin and Vijay Ganesh

on Mirudangam from 11AM to

12:30PM; and violin duet by Srikanth

Mallajoysula and Pavani Srikanth

accompanied by Vijay Ganesh on

Mirudangam.

FUNDRAISING FOR THE RAJAGOPURAM AND TEMPLE

EXPANSION PROJECT

Article by Dr. Sridharan Iyengar, Trustee and Executive Co-Chair of MTNA Fundraising Committee.

On November 23rd, 2013 there was a successful fund-raising event at MTNA with the participation of nearly 120 Murugan devotees in the Temple auditorium. The event started around 6:15pm with an invocation song by Mrs. Latha Kannan. The main entertainment was Tamil Osai a light music concert by Murugan devotees including Selvaratnam Sridharma, Chanthiran, Kulathungam, Latha Kannan, Sathya Chandran and Radhika Murali. There were two

special singers who added great fun to the event: Karthika Shaji and Sabarinath. Karthika traveled from Solomons Island, MD and Sabarinath was from New Jersey area. Audio system was superbly set up by Saji

(Continued on page 2)

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN,

MTNA

Dear fellow Devotees of Lord

Murugan,

The Rajagopuram Project phase II is

in good progress. Thiru Muthiah

Sthapathy, the Temple architect from

India, was here recently and

Indianisation of the Rajagopuram and

interior decorations are on the way

now. The permit from the Prince

George county government is likely to

come shortly and we are working hard

on that issue to be cleared, and then

the work will go on in full swing. Our

target to the end of calendar year 2013

is $ 400,000, which we have not yet

achieved. Your contribution at this

critical juncture is very important.

Please contribute generously and all

your donations are fully tax-

deductible. With Lord Murugans

blessings and all your continuous

financial support, we will achieve our

dream.

Please send in all your donations as

early as possible.

Thanking you very much,

Dr. Gopal Guruswamy, Chairman, Board of Trustees, MTNA.

MTNA 2014 calendar now available

celebrated her 35 years of teaching Bharatha Natyam in USA. It was a joyous day and a memorable one to see all her dance students performing impeccably the pure Tanjore style of Bharatha Natyam. Vatsala Srinivas, an accomplished Bharatha Natyam dancer and choreographer, has had intensive training under renowned Guru Mahalingam Pillai of the Sri Rajajaeshwari Bahratha Natya Kala Mandir. Kurunji was the main production, where we got to witness the wedding of Valli with Lord Murugan. The dancers were outstanding and the dances were both powerful and moving.

A special note of thanks to Vatsala.

Vatsala,

Thank you for accepting to do the fund-raiser for the

Murugan Temple and you came out with "Flying Colors

with Murugan Arul". I am impressed with your

dedication, perfection and attention to detail. Your

school's performance has been exemplary. Thank you for

giving me the opportunity to work with you. I will always

want to do various fund-raiser

events for the needy, for now I

know whom to reach.

On behalf of the Murugan

Temple, I thank you and Wish

you everything you dream for

yourself and to your family. We

would also like to congratulate

you for dedicating 35 years of

your career to the Lotus Feet of

Murugan. You have reached the

"Hall of Fame" and paved the

way for other professionals in the

field.

This journey with professionals like you has allowed me

to learn Who I Am and What I can do to the society. My

wishes and prayers extend to all the Participants, Parents,

Sponsors and Volunteers who helped the Fund-Raiser

event to be a major success!

Thank You,

Sivakumar Kareesan

Trustee and Cultural Committee Chair.

(Continued from page 1: Nrityatra)

who traveled from Rochester, NY.

Tasty appetizers and sumptuous dinner were served; most food items were donated by nearby restaurants including Nirala, Woodlands, Madras Palace and a few items were prepared by Murugan devotees, including a freelance caterer. A number of volunteers including almost all Trustees of MTNA were present to help with the event.

Devotees donated enthusiastically and generously to raise about

$73,000 during fundraising.

Earlier in the month of November, Dr. K. Ramaswamy, Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees of MTNA and his wife had organized a fund-raising

event in Harrisburg (PA) area. Dr. Guruswamy, the Chair of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Sridharan Iyengar, Trustee and Executive Co-Chair of the MTNA Fundraising Committee and Dr. Lakshmi Iyengar traveled to Harrisburg to participate and help with the event. They shared information about the current status of Rajagopuram construction, including the budget estimate and the timeline for completion of the project. There were about 50 people at that event, but the level of enthusiasm was impressively high. With their support we raised about $30,000. Interestingly, some devotees expressed their intention to visit MTNA to

volunteer their service on special occasions.

The total collection of about $103,000 in the two fundraising events does not include the pledges made by devotees. This

money goes in the MTNA Rajagopuram account. The Indian artisans (silpis) under the supervision of Mr. M. Srinivasan, the son of Padmasri Sri Muthaiah Sthapathy, are hard at work adding architectural segments to the outer structure. When the weather gets more wintry, they will begin Indianization of the Temple interior. In the meantime, we are awaiting the building permit to start Phase II work which will involve the construction of a kitchen, a dining hall and expansion of other facilities.

Your continued financial support is critical at this stage to meet the estimated budget of nearly $3.5 million. Please donate generously to Lord Murugan Rajagopuram and Temple Expansion Project. May Lord Murugan shower His bountiful blessings on you, your family and friends.

(Continued from page 1: Fundraising for Rajagopuram and Temple Expansion)

Have an opinion on the newsletter? Please give your invaluable feedback to the Temple manager. Just drop

or word or write a note. We want to hear from you.

We kindly request the devotees for donations of used

jeep or minivan for Temple use.

Tax information

Dear devotees,

your year-end contributions letter can be obtained from

Temple website www.murugantemple.us. This is a

secure website. Please Register if not already done so.

Retain this newsletter for help during registration. Click

'Register' and Click 'Help' adjacent to the DevoteeID field

to obtain DevoteeID.

ARUPADAIVEEDU THIRUVIZHA

Celebrate Palani Peruvizha and Thaippoosam on Saturday,

January 18, 2014. Please consult the MTNA 2014

Calendar or call the manager for more details.

Sponsors welcome !

OUR GRATITUDE

The MTNA management wishes to extend its

warmest and most sincere gratitude to all devotees and

contributors. We would like to thank all the dance

teachers and students for the various programs (see

articles by Dr. Sridharan Iyengar and Sivakumar Kareesan

in this issue) and Santhanalakshmi of Business India

Pages for help with design and printing of flyers for

various Temple events. We would also like to thank

Cycus technologies for its continued support of our

temple MTNA database. Thank you !

THAI POOSAM (JAN 16TH) AND

PAZHANI PERIVIZHA (JAN 18TH)

Please join us for the grand Thai Poosam and Palani Peruvizha celebrations on Jan 16th and Jan 18th. Please see the Temple calendar for more details.

MAHA SIVARATHRIFEB 27TH

Maha Sivarathri is the

most auspicious occasion for

Lord Siva. Fasting all day and

keeping vigil all night while

meditating on Lord Siva can rid us of all the sins. The

Murugan Temple will celebrate Maha Sivarathri on Feb

27th28th with 4 Jama Pujas starting with Ganapathi and

Kalasa Puja at 07:30PM and first Jama Puja at 08:00PM.

Each Jama Puja will include special Abhishekams,

Alankarams and singing of various hymns to Lord Siva.

Please join us for the grand celebrations.

PANGUNI UTTIRAM AND THIRUPPARANKUNDRAM

MANAVIZHA - MARCH 16TH

The Temple will celebrate Panguni Uttiram on a grand

scale with special Abhishekams and Alankarams to Lord

Murugan. Please see the MTNA calendar for more

details.

TEMPLE SERVICES: Please call the Temple Manager

at 301 552-4889 to make prior arrangements for

ceremonies at the Temple or in your home.

Also, ask for information about local hotels.

TEMPLE HOURS: Monday Friday 9 am 12 noon

& 5 pm - 9 pm; Saturday, Sunday, & Holidays 9 am 9

pm.

AUDITORIUM: The Temples auditorium capable of

seating about 200 people in the basement is available for

rent by Devotees. The Temple has also ample parking

space. Call the Temple Manager at 301 552-4889 for

reservations.

DIRECTIONS TO MURUGAN TEMPLE: From I-95

(also 495, Capital Beltway), take exit 20-A, Lanham (Rte

450 East), then follow the signs to Princess Garden

Parkway. Turn right on Princess Garden Parkway.

Murugan Temple is on your left within half a mile (6300

Princess Garden Parkway).

From Baltimore-Washington Parkway take Exit to Rt. 193

East Greenbelt Road. Turn left on Greenbelt Road. Turn

right on Hanover Parkway, which becomes Princess

Garden Parkway. Drive about 2.5 miles. The temple will be

on your right.

The Murugan Temple of North America is a traditional Hindu

Temple. It has a floor area of 7000 sq. ft with main sannidhi for

Murugan (Karthikeya) and 5 sannidhis for Vinayaka (Ganesha),

Durgai Amman, Siva, Meenakshi Amman and Palani Andavar.

We also have an auditorium that is available for community use.

Non Profit Org.

U.S. Postage

PAID

So. MD

Permit No. 3958

Murugan Temple of North America

6300 Princess Garden Parkway

Lanham, MD 20706, USA

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED