Crowds gather outside some Chennai temples seeking god’s blessings for UK and US visas.
What’s it about? Crowds throng the Sri Lakshmi Visa Ganapathy Temple north of the airport to pray to Lord Ganesha, believing it’ll grant them smooth and successful visa interviews. It’s run by Mohanbabu Jagannathan and his wife, Sangeetha. People come from places as far as Delhi to pray to the gods.
- Earlier, only those who lived close by visited. Over time, more people came once the temple got a reputation for blessing visa applicants with success.
- There’s also the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Navaneetha Krishnan Temple. Here, Lord Hanuman, also called America Anjaneya, is believed to bless his followers with successful visa applications.
Who said what? The Ganesha temple’s secretary G.C. Srinivasan said the place gained popularity in 2016 when word spread about praying at the temple from visa applicants. IT professional Arjun Viswanathan said he got a UK visa for his brother and wife and has now applied for an employment visa to the US.