The 172nd birth anniversary of Sree Narayana Guru and the annual Onam celebrations will be held on Saturday, September 12, from 10 a.m. at the Gurudevagiri Complex of the Sree Narayana Mandira Samiti, Nerul West. The venue is sanctified by the sacred tooth relic of Sree Narayana Guru.
The celebrations, chaired by Union President M. Bijukumar, will be inaugurated by Kerala Minister for Women and Child Development, Employment, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development, Smt. Bindu Krishna. Union Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Shri Shripad Y. Naik and Maharashtra Forest Minister Shri Ganesh Naik will be the chief guests.
Padmashri Brahmashri Vishudhananda Swamikal, former President of Sivagiri Math and Secretary of Chevannoor Kalari, will deliver the Jayanti message and blessings. SNDP Yogam Assistant Secretary and Council Member Shri P. T. Manmathan will deliver the keynote address.
Among the special guests will be Shri Anil Desai, Member of Parliament from Mumbai South Central; former MP Shri Sanjeev Naik; former MLA Shri Sandeep Naik; Leader of the House of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation Shri Sagar Naik; and Shri K. V. Abdul Naazar, Chairman and Managing Director of Akbar Travels of India.
Union Vice President Shri T. K. Mohan will deliver the welcome address. Greetings will also be offered by Programme Committee Convener Shri C. V. Vijayan, Nerul Yogam Director Board Member Shri Balesh Balappan, Council Member Shri P. K. Balakrishnan, Appointed Yogam Director Board Member Shri V. K. Uthaman, Vanitha Sangham Union Secretary Shri Shobhana Vasudevan, Vaidika Samiti Secretary Shri A. V. Sunil, Joint Convener Shri A. R. Sasidharan and Joint Convener Smt. Radhika Girish.
Gurudharma preacher, writer and teacher Smt. Nirmala Mohan will be presented with the ‘Guru Chaitanya’ Award, instituted by the Union.
Several distinguished personalities will also be honoured for their contributions to industry, social service, art and community welfare. They include Dr. Suresh Kumar Madhusudhanan, Chairman and Managing Director of Seagull Group of Companies; Shri M. K. Navas, President of Care 4 Mumbai and Chairman and Managing Director of Seesaga Group; Shri V. K. Muraleedharan, founder of Kalagurukulam, a dance, music and instrumental arts institution in Kerala; Shri P P Vijayan, Chairman and Managing Director of Meridian Placement Services Pvt. Ltd.; Shri A. K. Pradeep Kumar, Managing Director of AIMS group of Companies and producer of Gurudeva devotional songs album written by Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, filmmaker and Chief Executive Officer of Wood Apple Media Shri Murali Mattummal.
Students who secured the first and second positions among the children of Union members who excelled in the SSC and HSC examinations during the last academic year will be felicitated with merit awards.
The celebrations will also feature cultural programmes by various branch members, followed by a mega entertainment programme featuring Kalabhavan Jayan, Kalabhavan Udhesh, Naveen Palakkad, Jinu Thodupuzha and Vijesh Perumkudi.
The celebrations will conclude with a traditional Chathaya Onam Sadhya, served on banana leaves, Union President M. Bijukumar said.