Affectionately and respectfully called 'Anna' ('Elder Brother') by others in the temple, Sri Ketheeswaranatha Gurukkal hails from Thirukketheeswaram near Mannar in Sri Lanka. After studying under his father Sri Subramaniya Pattar for a few years, he joined the famous Sivananda Gurukulam  to further his knowledge in Sanskrit, Vedanta and Aaghama Sastras, under teachers such as Sri Kaala Hastheeswara Gurukkal and Sri Venkatasubramaniya Gurukkal. He has been serving the Hindu community in temples in Sri Lanka since 1979, maintaining his family tradition. He joined the Richmond Hill Hindu Temple as a senior Priest in 1996. Sri Ketheeswara Gurukkal has a flare for conducting Kumbabhishekam, Brahmotsavam, Chandi Homam etc.

Hailing from a family of Priests from Bangalore (Karnataka, India), Sri Gopala Bhattar is one of the two prime Priests for the Vaishnavite section of the temple attending mostly to Sri Venkateswara, Sri Lakshmi, Sri Aandal and Sri Ram Parivaar. Having studied Paancharatna Aaghamam and Veda under Sri Sampath Kumar Bhattachariar in Paancha Ratna Aaghama Bhavan in Bangalore, he went on to study further in Mysore Sanskrit college. He then took up the position of Priest in Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple and then served in Sri Rama Temple, also in Bangalore. He joined Richmond Hill Hindu Temple in 1991 and has been serving here ever since. One cannot but admire the beautiful manner in which he decorates Lord Venkateswara with flowers and clothing,  every week. He is thoroughly familiar with Kumbabhishekam, Brahmothsavam, Pavithrothsavam, Aaghamam etc. A person endowed with an ever-smiling face and a wonderful voice, Sri Gopala Bhattar also conducts Satyanarayana Puja in our temple.

A native of Tanjore (Tamil Nadu, India) and one of the longest serving Priests of our temple, Sri Govindarajan Bhattar is one of the two prime Vaishnavite Priests in the temple. He had his initiation of Naalaayira Divya Prabhandam in Sundaram Iyengar Paadasalai & Veda Aaghama Paadasalai near Kumbakonam, under Sri Kannan Bhattachariar. He has been serving as a Priest since 1967 that includes temples such as Thirunaangur temple near Seerkaazhi (one of Divya Desam sites) and Kaattu Mannar Koil near Tanjore. He joined our temple in 1988. Sri Govindarajan Bhattar is specialized in Nitya Puja Anushtaanams. We are indeed blessed to have his services. Tallest of the six priests, he is distinguished by his personal attention to devotees and a sense of humour. If the Prasad that you obtain from the temple tastes exceptionally good, it goes without saying that it was prepared by Sri Govindarajan Bhattar!

Born in Jaffna in Sri Lanka in a family of Priests, Sri Uma Ramana Gurukkal is a new addition to the Temple. Endowed with a very melodious voice, Sri Uma Ramanan's family has maintained the famed Kathiramalai Sivan Devasthanam in Sri Lanka. Having studied Vedas under Sadasiva Sarma, Subramaniya Sastri and Kunjithapada Gurukkal, Sri Ramanan also studied music under Mayuram Rajam Iyer in India for 11 years and was at Varasiddhi Vinayagar Temple, Toronto between 1999 and 2002. He has worked in Australia and Singapore in addition to Sri Lanka and Canada, and has participated in over 250 Temple Kumbabhishekams. It is worth mentioning that Gurukkal has sung during the famous Thiruvaiyyaru Thiagaraja Aradhana and in Tiruchi Ucchi Pillayar Temple as well as famous Sabhas like Narada Gana Sabha, Krishna Ghana Sabha and Music Academy in Chennai, India. He has a flair for making Thiruvaachi (the metallic, artistic frame around the Vigraham in the Sanctum Sanctorum). Ramanans have a boy and a girl, who are in Sri Lanka. We extend a warm welcome to the Gurukkal to our Temple.

Born in Koppai (Jaffna, Sri Lanka), Sri Surendra Gurukkal is the latest addition to Priests in the Temple. His grand father, "Siddhaantha Bhaanu" Sri Subramaniaya Gurukkal (also known as Thambaiya Gurukkal) as well as his father, Siva Sri Soma Sundara Gurukkal are well known in Jaffna area and belong to a multi generation family of priests. He studied Veda under 'Gnyaaya Sironmani' Sri Subramaniaya Sastrigal as well as Sri Mahadeva Sastrigal in Dharma Sastha Gurukulam in Jaffna. He further studied Aaghama Sukshmaas under Sri Chandra Sekara Gurukkal. Sri Surendran has participated in over 40 Mahothsavams in Sri Lanka as well as Canada. He came to Canada in 2001 and functioned as priest in Kandaswami Temple and Nagabhushini Amman Temple in Toronto prior to coming over to our temple. He was awarded the title "Ghaana Vinodh" by Gayatri Peetam of Sri Lanka and was a member of 'Brahmin Youth Association' there. Sri Surendran is a higly accomplished scholar who is thorough in Aaghama Sastra and the performance of rituals connected with temple. Surendrans have a boy and three girls. We extend a very warm welcome to the Gurukkal to our Temple.

We have great pleasure in welcoming Sri Sivasankara Sarma, our Alankara Sivachariyar, to our Temple. Sri Siva, who hails from Jaffna in Sri Lanka, studied Vedas in Inuvil Gayathri Peetam under Sri Mahadeva Gurukkal and Rajaraja Sri Sanmuganatha Gurukkal of Maavai Adheenam. Sri Siva, who is specialized in Alankaram (decoration of Deities) is well experienced and has served in such temples as Girimalai Sivan Temple, Mavittapuram Kandaswami temple (both in Sri Lanka), Canada Kandaswami Temple and Sri Bhuvaneswari Temple (both in Toronto, Canada) prior to joining Richmond Hill Hindu Temple.

Our hearty welcome to Sri Siva once again.