Development of any Institution or Organization, particularly the one which is growing from a minimal level of infrastructure requires careful planning, services of a band of dedicated people devoted to the cause and putting the resources to optimal use in execution, to derive maximum benefits.
The institution at Jillellamudi, its premises comprising the House of All and the Annapurnalayam built during early and late sixties and which is located in a totally rural setting with practically no infrastructure has witnessed slow and steady growth during the physical presence of Amma, thanks to the services of highly committed people. Their services brought into existence a motorable road connecting the village to the main road, electric power, a telephone and drinking water through pipelines laid from the local tank.
Temples, the other component, came into existence with the consecration of Hyma’s body in 1968 and a temple built over it in 1970 and an addition of another in the form of Anasuya Swaralayam, with the shedding of Amma’s mortal coil, though the foundation for the Temple was made at the hands of Amma at Her initiative and will.
The institution has witnessed development subsequently on several fronts, some during the physical presence of Amma and some later. For example, the Matrusri Oriental College (MOC), the Matrusri Medical Center, the Hyderabad and Madras Guest Houses, a building constructed by the brothers from Visakhapatnam and a building to house the staff and students of the MOC came into existence during the 70s and 80s.
Developments in the premises during the past decade are heartening to those who have been associated with this institution since the early years, though there remains a lot more to be done to make it full-fledged in all respects.
Chronologically speaking, the expansion of the Madras Guest House to create additional accommodation, some sort of renovation of the Hyderabad Guest House, and the renovation of 3 portions in the ground floor of the main building, providing modern amenities are the first to take place with the initiative, and untiring efforts put in by energetic and enthusiastic devotee brother Mr. V.Dharmasuri of Hyderabad
Similarly, the Hymalayam has undergone a sea change, transforming it into a piece of grandeur and splendor during the installation of the marble statue of Hyma in 2002, through the initiative and drive of Mr. M. Purnachandra Rao of Guntur, of course, with the help and cooperation of several brothers involved in this stupendous endeavor.
On another front, an entirely new initiative taken by Mr. B. Ravindra Rao (Ravi Annayya) who labored to raise enough funds, brought into reality a 24-room, two-storied Hostel for boys of the MOC who have been languishing all these years in a stop-gap kind of accommodation. They will find their life more comfortable once they shift there soon after its inauguration, expected to take place shortly.
Each and every one of the devotee brothers committed to the common objective of the development of the institution have been contributing their best in their respective areas of expertise and excellence, each of the areas being equally, if not more, important. In this the priority area of supplying safe and filtered drinking water to the entire campus was chosen by brother Dharmasuri who plunged into action to get the work of getting the laying of filter beds commenced and it is gaining momentum. On the Temple front while a permanent Yoga Shala has already taken shape, brother Tangirala Kesava Sarma is taking pains to see that certain items are added/ installed in and around the Sanctum of the main Temple to fulfill the Shastraic injunctions and the Agama tradition. To bring the Vedic learning to the campus and set it on a firm foundation here, Sri B.L.S.Sastry is making all out efforts to see the establishment of a Veda Pathashala as part of a chain of 60 such Pathshalas countrywide.
Apart from all these, a more ambitious (in terms of cost) project that demands topmost priority, namely, the construction of a full-fledged and well designed dining hall in place of the existing Asbestos-roofed shed has finally received the attention of the management and is now put on the drawing board. A couple of Architects have been consulted who offered their respective plans, keeping in view the requirements here and the ambience of the locale. A brain-storming session was held to discuss and arrive at a consensus, taking the best features from either of the plans to be put before one of the architects, who is expected to prepare the estimates for the management to be able to raise necessary funds. It is expected that the overall cost of construction to see it in the final shape would cross Rs. 1.0 crore (10 million). It is a great idea to have thought of construction of the dining hall along with Annapurnalayam during this Golden Jubilee year of Annapurnalayam. One only hopes it becomes a reality, if not by August 15, 2008 at least very soon after.
There are several other brothers who are doing commendable work in areas such as publicity about the institution through print and Electronic media and publication of literature on Amma aimed at reaching a larger section of people world over.
In this context, it is worth mentioning that it is imperative to get a Master Plan prepared well in time to prevent any haphazard growth and to ensure an ambience for the campus and its surroundings that protects the uniqueness of this glorious institution. Though some lamentations are heard from some of the hard core devotees and even some late entrants who firmly believe Amma as Supreme, over the addition of a couple of more temples to the campus, making it no different from any other pilgrim center and pushing the main temples to one corner, one only has to accept the reality, as nothing happens without Amma’s will or whatever happens is as per Amma’s design.
In the same vein, let us pray to Amma to bless this institution with a design that highlights its uniqueness, with a campus more inviting for people to find peace and tranquility, making it a real House of All!!