Nitupama Vaidhyanathan is the editor of India Currents magazine. Given the growth of the walk and the enthusiastic support of Indian-Americans, a non profit ( ) has been set up to run the activities every year.Ī wonderful yatra to keep alive the devotional fervor, community spirit and the spirit of volunteerism within the community.
When they reached the temple, the devotees received darshan of Lord Muruga, and shuttles ferried them back to their original parking spots after a long day.
The lines were orderly and were kept moving smoothly thanks to the volunteers who worked tirelessly. After walking eleven miles, at Las Lomas high school in Walnut Creek, a traditional hot lunch was served on banana leaves and plates to over 2500 people. There was a bike patrol, car parking patrol, and several volunteers who helped serve breakfast, lunch snacks and water along the way. Over 100 volunteers had signed up for various tasks to support the 20+mile walk. Many families had young children with them some parents were even pushing their youngest in strollers as they walked.Įxcellent arrangements through the tireless work of volunteers helped support the devotees. Either way, what emanated was a sense of camaraderie and a shared sense of community and well-being.
Some preferred the cool rose milk, while others made a beeline for the coffee. Some of them stopped at our station to rub vaseline on their feet to avoid sores, others adjusted the multiple layers of socks to fit just right, and all of them refilled their water bottles to continue their trek. From 8.30 am onwards, there was a steady flow of devotees. At our station, we also had small oranges which devotees could eat to restore their energy. I helped serve rose milk and sukkumalli coffee (dry ginger coriander coffee) a unique Tamilian recipe for coffee. Since last year, I have been volunteering to serve refreshments at one of the snack stations that are set up en route. About 150 of us walked in 2011, and this year, we had over 6000 people participating.” With the help of a few friends, we found the trail (Iron Horse regional trail) by biking throughout to make sure that we could navigate the way from San Ramon to Concord without hitting highways or crowded roads. The name of the temple was changed to Shiva Murugan Temple in 1995 after it was purchased by the local Hindu community.įacilities at the Shiva Murugan Temple include a social hall, office building, classrooms and private residence for the priests.Says Solai Alagappan, the founder-organizer, “In 2011, I participated in a kavadi walk in Singapore, and that was the primary inspiration. The deities at the Shiva Murugan temple include Lord Murugan, Shiva, Durga and Ganesh.īesides the regular puja services, Shiva Murugan temple offers priestly services for events like Car Pooja, Navagraha Homa, Satyanarayana Pooja, Gruhapravesha, Anna Prashana, Seemantham, Nama Karan etcĮstablished in 1957, Shiva Murugan Temple was moved to Concord in 1988 from San Francisco to accommodate the growing spiritual needs of Hindu immigrant devotees.įounded on the traditions of Saiva Siddhanta by Sivaya SubramuniyaSwami, the Shiva Murugan Temple was originally called Palaniswami Sivan Temple.
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