A FAMILY of four welcomed staff from a housebuilder to their new Shinfield home as they gave it a Hindu blessing.
Sakthi Vaiyapuri, a professor in cardiovascular and venom pharmacology at the University of Reading, moved into the Langley Mead property in June, and invited Linden Homes’ sales team along to a presentation to explain the significance of the ritual.
He also highlighted the importance of the design of the home, which his wife Maha Subbarao and two children Sumi, 14, and Sashmi, 11, will live in. Features such as the position of the front door, kitchen and pooja room – a prayer room – were discussed.
Of the ceremony, Sakthi explained: “On the day we moved in, the priest arrived at the house at 4am. That was an auspicious time for us as Hindus and it only involved the immediate family, including my mother who had travelled over from India for the first time in her life.
“The priest was there to bless the house to ensure that any negative energies were banished so we could look forward to a life of good health and prosperity.
“We continued the blessing through the day and later many friends and colleagues, the Linden Homes sales manager, Nic James, and the senior sales consultant, Sylwia Wabia, joined us in our home, which was lovely.
“It was like a lovely party to have numerous friends and colleagues to make this wonderful occasion a memorable one. A luxurious south Indian lunch was also arranged for everyone.”
The family had lived in a two-bedroom flat in student accommodation for six years, where he worked as a hall warden. They are now enjoying the extra space in their three-bedroom Walton home, as well as the relative quietness Shinfield has to offer.
“We were keen to move to a more peaceful environment as life on the campus was extremely busy, especially when I was on call,” Sakthi said.
“Now we live in a quiet street on a lovely development in the gorgeous village of Shinfield.
“We all love our new home, the first one we have bought. My wife and I came to the UK 19 years ago with a dream of making a life here and now we have a house to call our own and two wonderful children.”
Maha also works at the University, in the technical services department, while Sakthi spends his days lecturing and conducting research into finding an anecdote for fatal snake bites. His work focuses on the Indian Big Four venomous snakes: the Russell’s Viper, cobra, krait and Saw-Scaled Viper.
