Gaurav and Ripla Malhotra met with Bodhinatha at the SpringHill Suites in Chicago. It was quite a challenge to have little Aran appear in this photo. He likes to play "hide and go seek" with the camera. The Malhotras are always very helpful with airport shuttles, helping with luggage, showing us around the city and providing delicious dal makhani and parathas. Along with meeting with Bodhinatha, they were introduced to a color meditation found here: http://himalayanacademy.com/study/color-meditation.shtml

Panshula is a dikshasishya member of Saiva Siddhanta Church. He spent some time at the monastery in the late 90′s with Gurudeva. After some training, Gurudeva sent him on a mission to live with his parents and receive a higher education.

Panshula lived as a brahmachari, focusing on his studies.He went on to university and recently received his Masters degree in English. He begins teaching English at a community college this fall. Mission fulfilled.

Panshula and his fiance, Jill, met Bodhinatha in Chicago on August 3, 2011. Jill is a librarian. She wants to help place the Trilogy and Loving Ganesha into the library system. They were both quite interested in the two books Bodhinatha gifted them, Hindu Children’s Modern Stories.

Here is Selvanathan Sthapati visualizing the Nandi Mandapam steps Yesti Stone.

Yesti stones flank the sides of the steps in the traditional temple architecture.

Basically they act as a barricade at the sides of the stone steps and also as a kaipidi wall a piece of small wall that serves as a railing we hold to get down the steps.

Here is sthapati composing an elephant based yesti design.

More detailing….endless corrections.

Ageless tools and experienced technique.

And finally a composition ready for the stewards approval. If everything goes well, we will have a cement model made and then carving starts.