mantapam components. The parts were all gold plated and looked beautiful. Perumal’s vigraham
was beautiful to look at just as we had expected. It was only when we began assembling the
mantapam that we realized that it was not going to be an easy job. While the sthapati had done a
very good job as an artist, the mechanical construction of the hardware was crude. The bolts and
nuts would not work well and it was hard to align the parts and so on. With the design they had
used, it took three persons working for an hour or more to assemble the mantapam. It was nowhere
near my idea of a “light” “easy-to-assemble-in minutes” mantapam that can be carried in a car from
city to city and house to house and easily assembled at site by one man at the devotee’s house.
However, with all this setback, the mantapam dazzled and looked beautiful when assembled. We
showed the Perumal and mantapam to the Acharya and he was very pleased. I then went on some
errand and when I returned to the Mtaham , I couldn’t find the dolai mantapam and Perumal. On
inquiry, I learnt that Acharya had already asked for Perumal and the mantapam to be placed in the
Hayagreeva sannidhi next to the Original Lakshmi Hayagreeva Moorti during the Aradhanam and
shattrumurai time. I rushed to the sannidhi and I can never forget what I saw that day. There was
our magnificent dolai Lakshmi Hayagreeva seated in a dazzling golden mantapam draped in flo vW'0