Dear list,
A friend of a friend is organising a first hand experience of the upcoming Godavari Pushkara in Andhra Pradesh for those who are interested.  They are keen that the event is experienced by as many non-Indians and/or members of the Indian diaspora as possible. As this invitation may be of interest to many list members, and their students/colleagues, I am passing the message on via this list.  Please see the email below for details and contact them directly.
Thanks 
Venetia

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sai Susarla <sai.susarla@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Oct 25, 2014 at 11:29 AM
Subject: Experience pushkara snaanam ritual in the Godavari river in July 2015
To: Venetia Kotamraju <venetia.ansell@gmail.com>
Cc: Usha Kompella <srichakra9@yahoo.com>


namaste Venetia bhagini,

As I mentioned to you over phone today, I'd like to invite your family to a special event in July. Please circulate to interested parties as well.

Godavari pushkaras are coming up in July. A pushkara is a once-in-12-year holy event where a particular river's water gets spiritually charged, and a river bath during that time is both healing and highly elevating spiritually. Godavari is one of the 7 most holy rivers of India that goes through Andhra Pradesh state, the lush green granary of South India.

An organization called Saundarya lahari is arranging to provide the experience of traditional Indian rituals to interested non-Indians and NRIs (non-resident Indians). This initiative is taken by my guru varya, Sri karunaamaya (diiksha naama of Sri Kompella Subba Rao, an accomplished Sri-vidyaa aachaarya in Rajamundry). His YouTube channel is at
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb750k3jqC9mD0P9Hp15Kug

I will send out a formal invitation with the exact dates in a follow-up mail, but
the program consists of
1) arrangement for a 3-4 day stay in Rajamundry with comfortable accommodation and local travel.
2) pushkara snaana in a special ghat of the Godavari river during those days (isolated from the crowd. They are arranging a few VIP passes from the local govt).
3) First-hand experience performing a short homam (Vedic fire ritual) by themselves.
4) introduction to the ritual side of Indian spirituality with its deeper psychological significance.

They are trying to put an upper limit of 40-50 slots for logistics, and need confirmation by February 2015 time frame to make all the arrangements. They're planning to publicize this event in local media to raise awareness about the respect for Indian traditions among non-Indians.

If you know of any non-Indians and/or NRIs who might be interested, please forward this message to them and ask them to contact the organization directly at
srichakra9@yahoo.com (also Cc'ed).

bhavadiiyaH,
- Sai.




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Venetia Kotamraju
+91 997230 5440
www.rasalabooks.com
www.venetiaansell.wordpress.com