A MAJOR Hindu religious ceremony was celebrated by Telugu association of Basingstoke along with other partners.
The ceremony of ‘Srinivasa Kalyanam’ was held at Queen Mary’s College on Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15.
This was the first time this event was conducted in Basingstoke.
To attend the event, eight high-ranking Hindu priests and Vedic scholars came from the temple town of Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh in India.
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For the ceremony, idols were also brought from the main temple in Tirumala.
The ceremony offered an opportunity for people around Basingstoke and beyond to visit a similar temple in the borough.
The priests and the idols will be touring across Europe next month to perform similar events.
The touring cities include Manchester, Edinburgh Dublin, Belfast, Paris, Zurich, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and London.
The Tirumala temple is dedicated to Venkateswara, a form of Vishnu, who is believed to have appeared on the earth to save mankind from the trials and troubles of Kali Yuga.
Hence the place has also got the name Kaliyuga Vaikuntha.
On average around 75,000 people visit this temple each day.
The first day of the ceremony in Basingstoke saw a number of rituals being performed for the idols in the Carnival Hall.
The main event was held on the second day for which a mini temple was created.
More than 800 people attended the event and offered their prayers.
As part of the ritual, Kalyanam (marriage ceremony) for Lord Venkateswara was carried out.
During the whole day, priests were chanting the Vedic slokas. Prayers were offered for better communal harmony and betterment of the society.
Hindu vegetarian meals were served as ‘prasadam’ for the devotees.
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The event was organised by Cllr Arun Mummalaneni, Sreeni Vavilala, and other members of the Telugu Association of Basingstoke, supported by the Basingstoke Hindu Society, the UK Telugu Association, and the Telugu Association of Reading TARA.
Basingstoke mayor Cllr Paul Miller, along with mayoress of Basingstoke and opposition leader Cllr Andrew McCormick also attended the event and offered their prayers.
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