A group of vocal and instrumental musicians will present a programme of devotional songs in aid of the Ganesh Temple (4 Dent Place) in the South Auckland suburb of Papakura on Saturday, September 13.
Called, ‘Bhakthi Varsha’ (Rain of Devotion), the programme, commencing at 7 pm, will include songs in a number of Indian languages.
Shriram Iyer (from Melbourne), Arun Khotkar, Arpita Chanda, Kiranjit Singh, Jyoti Rajesh will be among the singers, supported by Dr Ashok Malur (Violin), Vivek Anturkar (Tabla), Hemant Thaker (Keyboard) and Mr Khotkar (Harmonium).
A similar programme was held on April 27, 2013 (Indian Newslink, May 15, 2013).
Chief Priest Parameswaran (aka) Chandru will initiate the music session with a Vedic invocation to Lord Ganesha, the Remover of all Obstacles.
Tickets, priced at $10 per person can be purchased from him. Further details can be obtained from Meena Venki on (09) 2744649; Shanti Ravi on (09) 6243777; Ruku Gnaneswaran on (09) 5354724; Sunil Das (09) 2799070; Ravi Vadagari (09) 6263045
Remover of Obstacles
The Auckland Sri Ganesh Temple Trust was incorporated in 1997, along with the purchase of a piece of land (more than two acres) in Papakura, with a sizeable initial donation from a Malaysian family.
This is the first temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha in New Zealand. Two years later, Priest Chandru performed the ground breaking ceremony (Bhoomi Pooja) with funds and donations from life-members, well-wishers and charitable organisations.
In September 2002, the statute of Lord Karpaga Vinayagar was installed and consecrated with the ‘Maha Kumbhabhishekam.’ In March 2005, other Deities, Ekambareswarar, Kamakshi Amman and Karthikeyan (Murugan) were installed amidst festivities and ceremonies.
The Temple has the growing patronage of Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and Punjabi speaking devotees from India, Fiji, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Africa and many other parts of the world.
Sri Ganesha Temple Auckland
4 Dent Place, Red Hill, Papakura 2110
Board of Trustees
Arun Rengasamy (Chairman), Geetha Krishnan, Lakshmanan Narayanan, Rengiah Krishnan, Logapragasam
Major Observances
New Year, Vinayagar Chaturthi, Maha Shivarathri, Navarathri, Durga Pooja, Bagavathi Seva (Monthly), Aiyappan Pooja, Varalakshmi Viratham, Deepavali, Sani Shanti Homam, Karthigai Deepam, Thaipusam
Future plans
Construction of a Temple as per Hindu Agamic principles and architectural design in the existing complex
Opening Hours
Daily from 10 am to 1 pm and 6 pm to 9 pm
Daily Aarti performed at 1115 am and 715 pm
Phone: (09) 2988640; Website: www.aucklandsriganeshtemple.com
