On Sunday mornings at sunrise, T.R. Rangarajan begins an ancient Hindu mantra spoken in Sanskrit. "Om Sri Ganeshaya Namaha." His strong, soothing voice echoes through the marble corridors of the Ganesha Temple - one of the oldest Hindu temples in North America – located on Bowne Street in Flushing, Queens.

"Om Sri Ganeshaya Namaha," means "Ganesha, I pray to you," says Rangarajan, a small and cheerful South Indian priest. He continues his holy and rhytmic prayer. He has repeated these sacred words over a lifetime. But over the past 32 days, he’s repeated them for the victims one of the worst earthquake in India's history.

More than one month ago on Jan. 26, an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale killed an estimated 20,000 people in northwestern India. The death toll is expected to rise to 30,000, according to reports from the Indian state of Gujarat’s Home Ministry.

As devastation and despair riddled India, more than 12,000 miles away, the glow of burning camphor dances slowly and sensuously, in Queens, on the marble walls of the Ganesha Temple. According to Rangarajan, over the past five weeks the temple's daily prayers and a weekly Sunday morning, 0830am, prayer session, dedicated specifically to the victims of the quake have raised in more than $40,000. Food stuffs and clothing have also been donated and shipped to northwestern India.

"We are all trying to go home in a spiritual sense," smiles Rangarajan. "Sometimes that journey is harder for some rather than others ... as it is for the victims, survivors and all the families who have suffered from this earthquake. My role is to help in the journey home," he says warmly. "It's as though we are all running the marathon of life. I am like an aide providing you with water, a dry towel and a helping hand along the roadside," says Rangarajan, who studied in India to be a Hindu priest for 15 years.

Dr. Uma Mysorekar walks with a purposeful stride through the Ganesha temple. She is president of the Ganesha Temple and a former obstetrician and gynecologist. Her feet are bare. Her solid lime-green silk saree is neatly draped and pleated. Her gray hair is combed back into a tight braid. She has worshipped at the temple for more than 30 years. And she is proud of its devotees and their spirit. "It was a overwhelming response and a show of unity within the Hindu community at the temple here," says Mysorekar,

Parkash Chohan, a 66-year-old auto mechanic in Queens, has worshipped at the temple for 10 years. Chohan, and his wife Rekha, are active members of the temple's senior citizen community. "It is good to see this place of worship not only as a place for prayer but now also a focal point for gathering relief." Chohan feels the Ganesha Temple has not only "reached out to Indians overseas in New York, but Indians in our motherland as well." "This is our desi spirit," says Chohan.

Desi is a colloquial name for people who trace their ancestry to South Asia. Pronounced "deh- see," it is the Hindi word meaning "from my country."