Celebrating 25 years of Blessings The Sri venkateswara swami

The Sri venkateswara swami temple
of greater Chicago...
Celebrating 25 years of Blessings
The Balaji Youth Committee
Proudly Presents...
Totally Awesome Temple Times!
25th Anniversary Special Edition!
25th Anniversary: Then and Now...
To pay tribute to the
past 25 years of the temple, the
Totally Awesome Temple Times
staff went out to interview a
few of the long serving volunteers in the temple. Through the
questions, we learned a lot
about how the temple was
originally set up, and how it
changed lives for many Hindus
in the community.
All the volunteers
agreed that the temple had
very humble beginnings. Ganapathy Narayanan (a volunteer
for 24 years) stated that at the
beginning, very few people
came to the temple. In fact,
since our culture was new to
the area, many non-Hindus
were hesitant to learn about
our religion. Now, however, we
see people of many different
origins coming to learn about
Hinduism at our temple. We
even had a mix of ethnicities at
our 2010 summer camp. There
has also been a great increase
of visitors to the temple, and
because of our temple, devotees do not have to drive all
the way to Pittsburgh to worship. But new adults are not the
only ones to have benefited;
the volunteers were also astounded at the number of kids
that had become immersed in
the culture of their elders and
ancestors. Dr. Yalavarthi (the
chairman of the temple) is very
impressed with the number of
kids that participate in biweekly
Youth Classes. In the future,
he’s looking forward to seeing
the younger generation taking
more of a part in the temple.
The interviewees all
agreed that the next generation is very important to the
future of the temple. This was
recognized by Dr. Rao, who is
responsible for the current YC
committee and classes. All of
the interviewees stated that the
younger generation would
eventually have to take over
the temple functions and continue to spread Hinduism to
their kids. Dr. Koneru (one of the
founders of the temple) remarked on how the kids are
inspired by the Youth Classes to
get involved in their religious
community. Krishna Atluri (a
volunteer for 15 years) is looking forward to seeing more
participation by children in the
next 25 years. She thought that
this would not only help children, but enhance the relationship between kids and their
parents. Durga Prasad Kanuri (a
volunteer for 15 years) commented on the fact that when
he was young, he did not learn
much about religion when
going to the temple; he merely
prayed, then came home. He
thinks that the classes will
greatly improve the basic understanding of our culture., and
will bring in more visitors to the
temple.
The temple also
greatly helped those who had
newly come to this country
from India. At first, it was very
difficult for them to find others
who would carry out traditional
rites and ceremonies. Now, with
the help of our well-learned
priests, we are able to have
important functions performed
in the comfort of our homes. In
this way, a community was
formed, and people have
been able to meet and make
friends through the temple. Dr.
Yalavarthi said that meeting
new people and devoting time
to the temple has greatly inspired him.
All in all, the volunteers all believe that we can
look forward to a prosperous
future for the temple!
By Shreya Shanker
Interviews by Vignesh Sarathy,
Shreya Shanker, and Ujwal
Kiran
Special thanks to all interviewees!
Cover art (from left to right) title and authors: Bal Hanuman by Sriram Ashokkumar, Lord Ganesha by
Shruthi Garimalla, Ayappa Swami by Renu Vardheesh, Lord Shiva by Ramya Ramakrishnan, Scenery of
the Temple, Lord Shiva by Renu Vardheesh, and Sri Balaji Swami by Jayashree Sarathy
Inside this
Issue:
Reconstruction of 3
the past…
Going Green! The 4
Future of the
Temple...
2011-2012 Class 4
Schedule
Summer Camp
Flier
5
Annual Day Program
6
Page 3
Totally Awesome Temple Times!
Reconstruction from the Past…
Over the years, as the Balaji Temple has
gone through much reconstruction, it
has also spread its culture to many
other religions. Let’s start at the very
beginning. The temple floor plan was
originally created by Sri Subhash Nadkarni and Padmasri M.Muthiah Sthapathy. Along with them, nine families donated land, which was located in
Aurora. Thus, the Sri Venkateswara
Swami Temple of Greater Chicago was
born! It took a lot of effort to build, but it
was well worth it - as a result of the temple being built, residents in the Midwest
do not have to travel far to visit a grand
Hindu temple. The temple priests are
very pious and follow all of the Hindu
traditions. My family started coming to
the temple before I was even born! I
remember all of the renovations that
were made to make the temple even
more appealing for devotees and
priests. For starters, the great Veluchamy auditorium was built in 2003. I
remember that when I was a little kid, I
danced for audiences along with my
friends on the first floor area where we
eat today. Now, we use the Veluchamy auditorium to spread our culture, whether it be through dance performances or musical recitals. The
beautiful sculpted paintings on the
front of the temple were carved recently. The gazebo, or Panchavati, is a
relatively new addition as well. When
it was first built, it was open and did
not have the glass walls and ceiling;
these were added in 2009 so that it
could be enjoyed by devotees during
any season. The temple uses the gazebo for a variety of things including
the Vidyaganapati Puja and the annual picnic! Now, think of the temple
without everything I just named; is it
not amazing to see how the temple
has progressed over the years? All this
is possible thanks to everyone who
has helped the temple over the
years, especially to the volunteers,
maintenance staff and of course,
you, the devotees!
By Vruti Venkatesan
Going Green! The Future of the Temple...
With strong support from the chairman and other executive committee members (such as Durga Prasad Kanuri and Dr.
Yalavarthi), a group of individuals are attempting to change the temple for the
better - by going green. We set out to find
what plans this group had for us. We
learned that they had started with garbage
- earlier, everything was going to a landfill,
which is obviously bad for our ecosystem.
The temple has worked with a trash company (Groot) to separate trash and recycling. This not only helps our planet, but
reduces the temple’s costs, as Groot
charges less for shipping recyclables. A
rather big change they are going for is to
try to replace all Styrofoam (nonbiodegradable) with compostable material
so that when the food waste goes into the
trash, it decomposes into the soil. They’ve
thought through all the other options with
great detail: the temple will not benefit from
bringing in plastic spoons and plates because recycling companies will not take
food waste.
The temple used to have a compacting garbage bin - the group thought
that if it was reintroduced, it would be
good for the temple. A compacting bin is
useful because the garbage companies
charge on the volume of waste the temple
generates. If one crushes the garbage,
there is obviously less volume, so it will reduce costs. This same idea can be implemented with recycling. With less costs put
towards waste disposal, the temple can use
these funds to improve the experience for
the devotees. Until the temple acquires a
bin, the group is thinking of asking for young
volunteers to crush cardboard materials.
stems. An idea in the making is a composting bin, to compost flowers from
ceremonies and rituals. The priests are
very enthusiastic about this idea because they want the flowers that
adorned the Lord to go back into the
soil and enrich the earth instead of going into the trash.
The group would like to thank
the chairman, the board of trustees, the
kitchen staff, the office staff, and the
building committee for their support in
their endeavors. Without these people,
their mission would be impossible to
complete.
By Vignesh Sarathy
Edited by Shreya Shanker
The next plan is to get recycling
Special Thanks to Ravi Shanker and
bins and recycle abhishekam materials Rama Bhagavatula
empty milk cartons, juice bottles, and flower
Page 4
25th Anniversary Special Edition!
Visit byctatt.weebly.com!
Balaji Vidyapitham - 2011-2012 Fall Class Schedule
Class
Days and Time
Teachers
Contact Info
Tamil Language Class
2nd and 4th Sundays
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Smt. Parvathy Sree
parvathy_sree@hotmail.com
630-851-1659
Sanskrit Language Class
2nd and 4th Sundays
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Sri Ravi Shanker
virashmo@gmail.com
630-499-1775
Telugu Language Class
2nd and 4th Sundays
11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Sri Dharma Dumpala
Sri Krishna Bhagavatula
dd@advitconsulting.com
630-215-5154
Hindi Language Class
2nd and 4th Sundays
11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Smt. Devaki Rau
Smt. Vijaya Krishnamoorthy
Sri Ramesh Krishnan
drau@niu.edu
630-761-9220
Ramayanam (Elementary and Middle
school)
2nd and 4th Sundays
12:00 PM to 12:45 PM
Smt. Jayashree Sarathy
Smt. Vidhya Shanker
jsarathy@waubonsee.edu
630-898-4002
Mahabharata
(Elementary/Middle School Students)
2nd and 4th Sundays
12:00 PM to 12:45 PM
Sri Parthasarathy
jaysarathy@hotmail.com
630-898-4002
Religion
2nd and 4th Sundays
1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Priest Sri Hanumanth Prasad
Priest Sri Nagendra Rao
Sri Srinivasa G Rajan
jsarathy@waubonsee.edu
Smt. Jayashree Sarathy
630-898-4002
Semi-Classical - Vocal
2nd and 4th Sundays
2:15 PM to 3:00 PM
Smt. Bhuvana iyer
bhuvana00@hotmail.com
815-439-8783
Mahabharata
(High School students)
2nd and 4th Sundays
4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Sri Ganapathy Dharmasankar
gdharmasankar@yahoo.com
630-820-8862
Page 5
25th Anniversary Special Edition!
When: July 18th– 22nd, 2011
Where: Balaji Temple, 1145 Sullivan Rd, Aurora IL
You must be wondering
Time: 8:30 AM to 6:00 pm ; Fees: $100
what summer camp is the
For information go to the temple website @ www.balaji.org or temple
office
Balaji Temple. I said this
contact Anita: anitavcdh@gmail.com
teaching everything from
best, it is the one in the
because I have been in
this camp and it is
India.
Jayashree: jayashree.sarathy93@gmail.com
- Rishabh
Sowjanya: sowjanya_dharmasankar@yahoo.com
Activities!

Math, science, nutrition

Handicrafts

Cultural Activities

Dance

Skits

Bhajans

Outdoor play

All this and more!
Age 5– 15 for both boys and girls.
Snack and lunch will be provided
Camp at the Balaji temple
can be more friendly than any
Register your child for
the camp on
www.balaji.org or visit
the temple office!
other camp known. No bullies,
teasing, or injuries. Only happy
teachers, volunteers, and of
course, students who want to
learn even more about
Hinduism than other classes
offered at the Balaji temple.
- Chandana Tetali
Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple
May 22nd, 2011, 3.30 - 6:30 pm
Theme: 25th Anniversary of Balaji Temple
Program
Invocation by Religion Class Students
(Ganesha Dvaadashaitani followed by Madhurashtakam & Lingashtakam)
Program by Sanskrit Class Students
Dance by Youth Class Students
Program by Tamil Class Students
Debate by Youth Class Students
“Which character in Mahabharata shows more devotion - Karna or Arjuna?
Program by Telugu Class Students
Game - Ramayana & Mahabharata
Program by Hindi Class Students
After reading, you may save this newsletter as a souvenir. If you
do not want to keep it, please recycle it! Help save trees and the
earth you live in.
Annual Day Celebrations of Youth Classes
Dance by Youth Class Students
Debate by Youth Class Students
“Who is a better brother to Rama - Lakshmana or Bharata?”
Dance by Youth Class Students
Dance Program by College Students
(Benedictine Univ, UIC and UIUC Students)
Reflections of past 25 years – Chairman and trustees
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This newsletter was edited and designed by
Vignesh Sarathy and Shreya Shanker of the
Balaji Youth Committee (BYC). On behalf of the
Youth Committee, BYC, and Board of Trustees,
we thank you for attending the 25th anniversary
celebrations. May Lord Balaji bless you!