Ms Sarojini Padmanathan
The Chief Executive Officer of the Hindu Endowments Board (HEB), Ms Sarojini Padmanathan, succinctly summarised her leadership journey and goals using three words: “Love, Knowledge, Beauty.”
She assumed the leadership role in December of last year, and one of her primary goals is to provide excellent, love-filled service to devotees who visit the temples. She considers it essential to find smart solutions and approaches to deliver superior service.
“Currently, we have a wide array of technological devices and tools at our disposal. It is our duty to utilise them effectively to refine and enhance the experience of the devotees,” she said.
She added that providing a beautiful and clean environment for devotees who visit temples in search of peace of mind is another key objective.
Ms Sarojini mentioned that in the past few months since taking charge, her interactions with devotees and the community have helped her understand that most devotees expect a good user experience. Having prayers (archanas) conducted quickly and ensuring that the distribution of annadhanam (food offerings) and prasadam runs smoothly are very important to them. She said that HEB is continuously engaging in various initiatives to further refine these operations.
Beyond improving temple operations, she stated that encouraging more young people to take on leadership roles is another major pillar of their plans.
“Just as experienced leaders are crucial to an organisation, young leaders are equally important. Their contributions will certainly help bring about positive changes,” she explained.
Mr Shekaran Krishnan
Mr Shekaran Krishnan, who recently assumed the post of Chairman of the Hindu Endowments Board, also encouraged young people to take on greater responsibilities. He stated that a major goal of the board is to involve many youngsters in volunteer and leadership roles for significant events.
One such upcoming event is the 200th-anniversary celebration of the Sri Mariamman Temple, which is scheduled to take place next year. Segaran shared that the key highlights of the celebrations will include two exhibitions showcasing the temple’s rich history as well as a book release.
“The role of young leaders is indispensable in initiatives such as reaching out to the public through social media regarding our services and raising awareness,” he said.
In addition to increasing the presence of young leaders, he assured that environmental sustainability efforts will also be a major focus under his leadership.
Solar panels have already been installed at the PGP Hall, and they are scheduled to be installed at the Sri Mariamman Temple next year. HEB plans to reduce the use of plastic and styrofoam products in temples and transition toward using biodegradable materials instead.
Mr Segaran noted that although this initiative might increase operational costs by more than threefold, it is being undertaken for environmental protection.
He also requested that devotees visiting the temples show patience at times, as it would be immensely helpful to everyone.
“Most people working in temples are volunteers who perform their duties as quickly and efficiently as possible. It would be wonderful if devotees could respect their hard work and exercise patience,” he urged.
Mr Sengkuttuvan Kanniyappan
Mr Sengkuttuvan Kanniyappan has taken over as the new Chairman of the Hindu Advisory Board. He expressed immense joy in heading the organisation, which advises the Government and the Hindu Endowments Board on matters regarding the Hindu religion.
“During my tenure, I want to ensure that information on Hinduism reaches people from all walks of life in a consistent manner,” he said.
He believes the primary reason for religious misunderstandings and disputes is that the public lacks adequate knowledge about other faiths.
“Our team’s main objective is to deliver accurate information efficiently to everyone. We will be launching a new learning platform called ‘Vidya Peetham’ in the coming months to achieve this,” he shared.
Through this learning platform, the Board aims to share Hindu traditions, Vedas, and philosophies via recorded lectures and videos. He explained that this initiative is being taken because many rely on social media and smartphones as their primary sources of information today.
“These explanatory videos will be delivered by scholars who are well-versed in the Vedas and scriptures. Consequently, this will help prevent people from getting confused by inaccurate views on other platforms,” he noted.
Mr Sengkuttuvan is also placing strong focus on engaging the youth in the Board’s initiatives. He stated that a key duty for senior leaders like himself is to gradually hand over more responsibilities to the youth to prepare them for future leadership.
Voices of Young Leaders
Ms M.Sneha, 23, has been passionate about social service from a young age and currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Hindu Youth Network.
She explained that Hinduism has always played a major role in her life. Since childhood, attending classes that taught religious values, stories, and lessons made joining the youth network a natural step for her. She assumed this leadership role with the mindset of sharing the joy she has experienced with the rest of the world.
Ms Pooja Suresh, a management committee member of the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, views learning from senior leaders as a great opportunity. The 24-year-old shared that senior leaders expect well-thought-out ideas and proposed solutions from the youth, and her team places a strong focus on delivering those.
Ms Rathi Balakrishnan, 37, volunteers at the Sri Mariamman Temple and wants to be a pillar of support for young people starting their volunteer journeys. Having been guided by elders when she first started, she feels a strong desire to extend that same guidance and support to others.
