Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

Chanting success mantra!

Staff Reporter

LEAVE IT TO GOD: `Saraswathi homam' being performed at Dasanjaneya Swamy temple at Ibrahimpatnam. - Photo: Raju V.

VIJAYAWADA : It is that time of the year when any student will feel nervous.

That's because public examinations evoke a sense of fear among students as their three-hour performance makes or unmakes their year-long effort.

So, would anyone take any chance? Not at least God-fearing ones. As it is very common for such students to throng temples of their favourite deity to seek his or her blessings before the beginning of examinations, trustees of Sri Dasanjaneya Swamy temple at Ibrahimpatnam hit upon a novel idea.

On Sunday, they organised a `Saraswathi homam,' almost exclusively for students of seventh class, SSC and Intermediate.

While the Intermediate examination is commencing on Monday, the date set for the SSC exam is March 21. Various other public examinations too, from seventh class to graduation, are round the corner.

Marathon sitting

The exclusive `homam' saw the participation of some 500 students and most of them patiently sat through the nearly five-hour-long ritual.

As temple's priest Maruthi Sesha Varaprasad chanted slokas to invoke the blessings of the goddess, students joined him in repeating them one after another. With folded hands, students sat cheek by jowl in the limited space around the sanctum sanctorum to catch a glimpse of the holy fire.

The names of all students along with their `gotram' were registered to enable the `ritwiks' conducting the `homam' to mention them for `blessings' of the goddess.

Gopaldas Seetharamanjaneyulu, a trustee of the temple, said the `homam' was being organised for the third year in succession. "The number of students participating in the ritual has gone up steadily as the results have been impressive," he said.

Every student who participated in the ritual could take back a pen, a `kankanam' (wristband), a `roopu' (a dollar with the picture of the goddess) and `prasadam.'

For Samapth Kumar, a second year student of Siddhartha Junior College in Vijayawada, it was important to participate in the homam even though his first examination is scheduled for Tuesday.

But wouldn't it be better to stay back at home and catch up with some more lessons at the eleventh hour? Sahitya, a student of Chaitanya Junior College in Vijayawada, was candid: "Well, the first examination is Sanskrit. That shouldn't be a problem."

The teachers too brought students in hordes. Manjula, a Telugu teacher of St. Paul Public School, Nallagunta near Ibrahimpatnam, said she and her colleague escorted about 30 students to the `homam'.

"As there are many students who could not come here due to classes, I got their names included in the list here. That way, they too will get the goddess' blessings," she said.

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