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On a humid morning, the information
technology professional was waiting outside the temple, the size of a small
closet – barely enough room for the lone priest to stand and perform puja or
rituals for the beloved elephant-headed deity, believed to be the remover of
obstacles.
Viswanathan was among about a dozen
visitors, most of them there for the same purpose: To offer prayers so their
U.S. visa interviews would go smoothly and successfully. Viswanathan came the
day before his interview for an employment visa.
“I came here to pray for my brother’s U.K.
visa 10 years ago and for my wife’s U.S. visa two years ago,” he said. “They
were both successful. So I have faith.”
The Sri Lakshmi Visa Ganapathy Temple is a
few miles north of the airport in Chennai (formerly Madras), a bustling
metropolis on the Coromandel Coast in southeast India -- known for its iconic
cuisine, ancient temples and churches, silk saris, classical music, dance and
sculptures.
This “visa temple” has surged in popularity
among U.S. visa seekers over the past decade; they can be found in almost any
Indian city with a U.S. consulate. They typically gain a following through word
of mouth or social media.
A mile away from the Ganesh temple is the
Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Navaneetha Krishnan Temple, where an idol of Hanuman – a
deity who has a human body and the face of a monkey — is believed to possess
the power to secure visas. Also known as “Anjaneya,” this god stands for
strength, wisdom and devotion. In this temple, he has earned the monikers
“America Anjaneya” and “Visa Anjaneya.”
The temple’s longtime secretary, G.C.
Srinivasan, said it wasn’t until 2016 that this temple became a “visa temple.”
“It was around that time that a few people
who prayed for a visa spread the word around that they were successful, and
it’s continued,” he said.
A month ago, Srinivasan said he met someone
who got news of his visa approval even as as he was circumambulating the
Anjaneya idol — a common Hindu practice of walking around a sacred object or
site.
On a recent Saturday night, devotees
decorated the idol with garlands made of betel leaves. S. Pradeep, who placed a
garland on the deity, said he was not there to pray for a visa, but believes in
the god’s unique power.
“He is my favorite god,” he said. “If you
genuinely pray – not just for visa – it will come true.”
At the Ganesh temple, some devotees had
success stories to share. Jyothi Bontha said her visa interview at the U.S.
Consulate in Chennai went without a hitch, and that she had returned to offer
thanks.
“They barely asked me a couple of
questions,” she said. “I was pleasantly surprised.”
Bontha’s friend, Phani Veeranki, stood
nearby, nervously clutching an envelope containing her visa application and
supporting documents. Bontha and Veeranki, both computer science students from
the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh and childhood friends, are headed to
Ohio.
Both learned about the visa temple on the
social media platform Telegram.
Veeranki said she was anxious because she
had a lot riding on her upcoming visa interview.
“I’m the first person in my family to go
the United States,” she said. “My mother is afraid to send me. But I’m excited
for the opportunities I’ll have in America.”
Veeranki then handed over the envelope to
the temple’s priest for him to place at the foot of the idol for a blessing.
“We’ve been hearing about applications
being rejected,” she said, her hands still folded in prayer. “I’m really hoping
mine gets approved.”
If she and Bontha make it to Ohio, they
want to take a trip to Niagara Falls.
“I’ve always wanted to see it,” Bontha
said.
Mohanbabu Jagannathan and his wife,
Sangeetha, run the temple, which Jagannathan’s grandfather built in 1987. Their
house is on a cul-de-sac, which is considered bad luck in several Asian
cultures. In Chennai, it is common to find a Ganesh temple outside cul-de-sac
homes due to the belief that the deity has the power to ward off evil. At
first, only neighbors came to the temple, Jagannathan said.
“But over the years it started earning a
quirky reputation,” he said. “A lot of visa applicants who came to the temple
spread the word that they found success after praying here.”
In 2009, his father, Jagannathan
Radhakrishnan, reconstructed the temple and added the word “visa” to the
temple’s name. Jagannathan said the success stories are heartwarming; visitors
sometimes stop by his home to thank his family for keeping the temple open.
“I’ve never been bothered by it,”
Jagannathan said. “We offer this as a service to the public. It’s a joy to see
how happy people are when they come back and tell us they got their visa.”
His wife said she was touched by the story
of a man who came all the way from New Delhi to pray for a visa to see his
grandchild after eight years apart. She remembers another time when a woman
called her in tears, saying her visa application was rejected.
“Sure, some don’t get it,” she said. “God
only knows why.”
Padma Kannan brought her daughter, Monisha,
who is preparing to pursue a master’s degree in marketing analytics in Clark
University. Kannan believes her daughter got her visa because of this powerful
deity.
“I found this temple on Google,” she said.
“I was so nervous for her, and so I prayed here.”
Monisha Kannan said she is not so sure she
got her visa because of this temple, but she said she came to support her mom.
“I’m skeptical,” she said. “I’m just
someone who goes with the flow.”
Her mother takes a more philosophical
stance.
“We pray for our children and things happen
easily for them,” she said. “I think when they go through the rigors of life
themselves, they will start believing in the power of prayer.”
Viswanathan said he is not someone “who
usually believes in such things.” When his brother got his British visa a
decade ago after offering prayers here, Viswanathan chalked it up to
coincidence. He became a believer when his wife got her U.S. visa two years
ago, he said.
The day after he visited the temple this
time, Viswanathan’s employment visa was approved. He’ll head to New Hampshire
in a few months.
“It’s all about faith,” he said. “If you
believe it will happen, it will happen.” -AP