Hindu Temple Society of Mississippi (HTSM) honored Dr. Prakasarao Velagapudi for his dedication and profound knowledge on September 27, 2025 in Jackson Mississippi. It was an emotional experience to return to Jackson and receive honors. 
As some of you aware that Prakasarao Velagapudi was one of the founding members of HTSM and served as the founding Chairman from 1984 thru 1991. The Temple was completed and Pranapratishta was done on May 28 – June 2.  It was 7 thousand square feet big hall with 12 deities. We had nine Board of Directors who completed that phase of the Temple without having loans. The Hindu community was very small, but with the firm faith and dedication, the project became a reality. It was a home coming. Dr. K R Rao and Dr Indira initiated the ide of HTSM honoring Prakasarao and they jumped on it and executed the event.
 The emblem on top of the Plaque you see a stunning drawing by one of the greatest artists. Bapu, whose real name was Sattiraju Lakshminarayana, was a multifaceted artist known for his contributions to Indian cinema, art, and literature. He was a film director, painter, illustrator, cartoonist, screenwriter, music artist, and designer. If we pay attention to the drawing that you will see almost all the major deities that we see in the Temple. Lord Krishna, Rama, Shiva, Venkateswara and Vishnu symbols are incorporated in the drawing. When approached by Prakasarao, Bapu asked all the details of the Temple and drew that picture to incorporate the diverse deities represented in the Temple.
With growing needs of the devotees, a new brand-new Temple was built and Kumbhabhishekam was built in 2010. 
Then Prakasarao met Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji, and his spiritual and religious pilgrimage took a different turn.
We want to express our appreciation to Veera Vasamsetty, Dr. Kumari, Vijay Yerra, Sridhar Gollapudi, Senthil, Prasad and others who participated in awarding the plaque. My contemporaries at the time, Dr. Ramesh Patel, Amruth Patel and Dr. K R Rao spoke and recollected the efforts made during that period. 
One gentleman came to the podium, and we were surprised by his speech. He happened to be from my native village, Akunuru. He was eleven years old when he saw us for the first time. It was 1971, me. My wife Nandini and my one-year-old son, Pratap, returned to village. He explained how excited all the children were to see us from the top of a building while we came to our house. He came to Jacksom to his daughter’s house and tried to find where he live and wanted to meet us. He just happened to come to the Temple and when he heard that we were coming to receive the honors, we can imagine his excitement.
I spoke for about ten minutes about the need to protect Sanatana Dharma and Bharata Mata. Bharath is in danger. She is being attacked and ambushed from all directions. It is our dharma to protect our mother and motherland. Talking time is over. We cannot remain silent and indifferent. We cannot remain spectators to see our mother attacked. Then I explained about 18 projects Global Hindu Heritage Foundation conducting in ten different States in Bharat and Bangladesh. I requested everyone to get involved and protect her as if it is his own mother. Otherwise, future of Bharat will face numerous problems.