Visakhapatnam, August 21, 2013:  ‘Mana Gudi’ programme, which began on August 11, will conclude on Wednesday on the occasion of ‘Sravana Pournami’.

A total of 1,120 temples were identified across the district where representatives of Dharma Prachara Parishad (DPP), constituted by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, in association with Endowments Department would carry out repair and maintenance works.

“The programme is just a beginning. Our focus is to make the combined initiative a fruitful one and rope in as many as possible to join our network to promote Hindu Dharma. As a team we can bring change and improve our society,” president of the DPP committee and CMD of Vijay Nirman company S. Vijay Kumar said.

In an effort to preserve the values embedded in the religion and to promote heritage and culture, DPP aims at increased public participation in devotional activities at temples.

As part of the ‘Mana Gudi’ programme, ‘kumkum archana’, spiritual discourses, Alaya Shobha, mass Varalakshmi vratam and Satyanarayana vratam, gopuja, shobha yatra, and abhishekam were performed at various temples across the State. Committee members also distributed ‘kankanams’ (sacred threads), ‘purdahs’ (curtains used in Garba Gudi) and prasadam to the temples.

Decorating the temples and setting up bhajan centres and organising cultural activities involving representatives concerned near SC/ST colonies are some of the events lined up in the future.

TTD officials have dispatched a set of holy items (kankanam, spiritual CDs, kumkum and turmeric powder, candies and other pooja items) to various temples identified across the district. On Wednesday, the third phase of ‘Mana Gudi’ will conclude with events like abhishekam, thomala, archana and distribution of prasadam at various temples. TTD Information Centre can be approached for kankanams, superintendent of TTD Information Centre A. Venkata Ramana said.

Source: The Hindu, August 21, 2013