SVPB Udumalpet Soundararajan

June 19, 2018, 12:36 am

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Referred to as their "Kerry Packer" by the Coimbatore Cricketing Fraternity, Industrialist M Soundararajan revolutionized the way Cricket was played in the region

His wards, M Senthilnathan  captained India in the Inaugural U19 World Cup and UR Radhakrishnan almost made it to the Indian Test Team in New Zealand

His Two Early picks  - S Sukumar and NP Madhavan - have remained loyal to him for several decades

For over three decades from the 1930s, the Udumalpet Cricket Club (UCC), one of the oldest cricket clubs in the Coimbatore district, languished at the bottom of the circuit. Time and again, they were thrashed by teams in the Coimbatore league that dashed the young dreams and hopes and led to a shattering of confidence and self belief.

And then arrived on the scene a young 20 year old visionary who was to go on to transform the way cricket was played in the region. He provided the local cricketers from Udumalpet with a cricketing exposure that was hitherto not seen in the region and helped local talent reach the summit.

The Grand Son of the legendary industrialist GV Govindaswamy Naidu (who had founded the Sri Venkatesa (Textile) Mills in 1933), M Soundararajan returned to Udumalpet in the early 1960s soon after graduating from Loyola College to head the newly launched Paper Mills (his grandfather was 80 years old then), an expansion that was driven by the then Industries Minister R Venkatraman.

Soundararajan was a University level tennis player. The sports lover in him could not accept the sad state of cricket in the district. There was very little help for these cricketers and the talent just did not blossom for want of exposure and guidance. Every time UCC went to play a match in the Coimbatore league, he would be disheartened to hear the story of yet another loss. At some point in that low phase in the late 1960s, the pain became unbearable. He was simmering inside to correct this anomaly.

He wanted to really break the shackles and prove to the world that cricketers from a remote village too could play as competitively as their city counterparts and villages too could produce outstanding cricketers.

The Tease that led to the transformation

In the early 1970s, his sister married the owner of Ramakrishna Steels, a company that was actively involved in the Senior Division league in Coimbatore. Through the early part of that decade, each time he went to his brother in law’s house, he had to hear the long story of how Ramakrishna Steels handed out a severe beating to the Udumalpet team and how incompetent his team was. This infuriated Soundararajan further. He just could not take it any longer. He promised to himself after one such meeting that he would revolutionise the way cricket is played in Udumalpet and went about it aggressively.

Ropes in Ram Singh to Coach Udumalpet Players

He roped in the legendary left arm spinner AG Ram Singh to coach the cricketers in Udumalpet one and a half months in a year. For the first time in their lives, the young cricketers of this remote village were closely monitored by a top cricketer who taught them the nuances of batting and bowling. 

Ram Singh was extremely good at initiating technical points into the minds of young cricketers and they clearly benefited. Soundararajan was delighted at seeing some improvement in the cricketers with some bright individual performances but the team continued to lose badly at the hands of the top teams in Coimbatore. He simply could not digest the fact that his team came back every time with the heads down.

The First Signing - From Salem to Udumalpet!!!

In 1974, on the suggestion of AG Ram Singh, he called on a young 17 year old college boy from Salem. The boy had just completed his first year B.A and his coach in Salem, Narayanan, spoke highly of him. After watching him at the nets, Soundararajan asked the young boy to continue his studies from Udumalpet. It was an improbable suggestion. For a teenager to think of shifting from Salem to Udumalpet just for the sake of cricket was something no parent could contemplate in the 1970s. However, Soundararajan was insistent on securing the boy and convinced him and his father. The boy’s coach Narayanan too endorsed the move. And indeed he shifted base to Udumalpet that same summer. Soundararajan provided him accommodation at a house on Ansari Street and enrolled him in the 2^nd year in a college in Pollachi. 

He signed the boy for the SVPB (Sri Venkateswara Paper Boards) team for that season. That youngster played for combined districts and the University team in that phase also scoring a century on debut in the University match against Calcutta. Immediately after he completed his graduation a couple of years later, Soundararajan offered him a ‘cricketing’ job in the company in 1976. 

Opening bat S Sukumar was the first big signing of Soundararajan and remained one of his favourite cricketers. The signing of Sukumar was an indication of the aggressive intent of Soundararajan.

The 2nd Batch - Peter Fernandez and S Srinivasan
A couple of years later, Soundararajan signed in Peter Fernandez from Madras. And soon after came S Srinivasan, from Bombay, a cricketer who had played alongside Sunil Gavaskar. With the hiring of these three, SVPB’s performance began to improve. By the beginning of the next decade, SVPB had become lot more competitive. But the big wins were still elusive. 

A young Soundararajan is seen standing third from right

Following AG Ram Singh, Soundararajan brought  in the revered Audi Chetty as the Coach. He was to enjoy a great relationship with the players for well over a decade and was an integral part of the team that won many championships in the 1980s.

Roping in a Ranji Player

In 1982, NP Madhavan (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/05/np-madhavan.html), who had already had a century under his belt in Ranji Trophy and was working with IOB in Madras mentored by V Krishnaswamy (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/08/krishnaswamy-v.html), came to Coimbatore to explore options with LMW, a strong cricket team in the Coimbatore First Division. However, former Ranji star B Kalyanasundaram (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2011/08/kalli-b-kalyanasundaram.html), who had moved to LMW at the end of his Ranji career, did not meet the financial expectations of Madhavan and was not ready to go the extra distance to secure Madhavan. And hence he returned quietly to Madras. However, in a dramatic turn of events, he was asked to come and meet Soundararajan within 24 hours. Madhavan took the Kovai Express in the morning and returned to Coimbatore. Soundararajan was so impressed with the stroke play of Madhavan as well as his conduct that he was inclined to hire Madhavan but the latter could not take an immediate call.

To leave a banking job and to move to a remote location such as Udumalpet was unthinkable in those days.  Soundararajan was determined, though.  Very soon, he met with Madhavan’s father and asked him to permit his son’s move to Udumalpet, in a way similar to how he had convinced Sukumar’s father the previous decade.

Madhavan’s father belonged to a middle class family and Madhavan had taken a housing loan from the bank for the construction of a house in Madras. These were points of worry as well for the family. Soundararajan assured Madhavan’s father that he would take care of his son and in return wanted a 3-5 year commitment from Madhavan. Not only did Soundararajan offer him more than double of what he was earning at that time, he also committed to taking care of the housing loan.

Madhavan’s father relented and Madhavan quit IOB to join SVPB in Udumalpet. It was Soundararajan’s biggest signing to date – An in-form Ranji player moving from a banking job in Madras to his team in Udumalpet. In his very 2^nd match in Coimbatore that season, Madhavan slammed a century at the Forest College ground to secure SVPB a victory, leaving Soundararajan delighted.

Madhavan looks back at those few days in complete disbelief ‘I never had any plans to move to Udumalpet. Since LMW was looking for players, I came there along with another close cricketing friend but returned immediately as that did not materialize. My plan was to continue in Madras. The call from Soundararajan within hours of my return took me by total surprise. Only after my father was fully convinced that it was a good move for me and only on his direction did I accept the offer.”

The 1980s – The Big Turnaround for Udumalpet

Both Madhavan and Sukumar were terrific contributors for SVPB at the top of the order during the 1980s. 

That phase remains Soundararajan’s happiest moments in life. SVPB began beating the then star teams LMW and Ramakrishna Steels in the Coimbatore league, quite comfortably. They began winning Championships in Coimbatore. The team performed remarkably well in outstation tournaments as well and had become so strong that Soundararajan had a 2^nd team (Sri Venkatesa Paper Mills) in the first division league in Coimbatore. Buoyed by the success, Soundararajan gunned for bigger roles for his players.

SVPB Under Brijesh after winning the Championship at the Forest College Ground

Just providing opportunities in the Coimbatore league for players from Udumalpet was not enough. He wanted the budding talent to blossom in the first division of the prestigious league in Madras. By the time he was in his 40s, Soundararajan had taken many big business risks in his life and he says ‘this was one such’. He wanted to prove that players from small town could achieve big if their talent was harnessed properly at the right time. And thus he took over the running of Globe Trotters in 1984. In the years that followed, he spent an unbelievable sum of money on cricket, a size that was unimaginable for a team from the districts but Soundararajan gave them the best of exposure and a platform on which they could learn and grow.

Securing Brijesh Patel for SVPB

Soundararajan had a business relationship with India and Karnataka star Brijesh Patel and his family for his textile business. In one of those business meetings, he asked if Brijesh could play for his team and thus he secured for SVPB, the biggest outstation signing in TN cricket at that time. Brijesh was a big brand name in national cricket having amassed runs a plenty in Ranji Trophy and to sign him on for SVPB was a coup that Soundararajan struck.  Brijesh was a father figure in the team and he mentored many of the upcoming players in Udumalpet helping them graduate to the next level in the 1980s. 

“Brijesh Patel was the greatest inspiration to all our cricketers in the 1980s. He molded the entire set of players into a strong unit and brought us many trophies” says the 75 year old Soundararajan as his eyes light up recounting those memories of signing up Brijesh.

Beating a strong SPIC team captained by Venkataraghavan and winning the MCC Dyanora Trophy beating Chemplast remains etched in Soundararajan’s memory.

Big Hopes on Two Local Boys

It was also the phase when he signed up the upcoming VB Chandrasekar (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/01/vb-chandrasekar.html),who had come to Coimbatore to pursue his collegiate education at CIT , teenagers UR Radhakrishnan and M Senthilnathan (both local boys in Udumalpet). It was Soundararajan who signed up the teenager Robin Singh in the mid 80s and also supported his college education through that period. It was he who gave the big early exposure in Indian cricket to Robin Singh.

Soundararajan had big hopes of the two local boys whom he had seen from their school days. He was confident that Radhakrishnan and Senthilnathan would scale the peak. 

Within a couple of years, Senthilnathan (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2013/10/cricket-stories-of-1990s-torturous.html) had elevated to the national level captaining the India U 19 team to Australia much to the delight of Soundararjan. Senthilnathan was part of the Ranji Trophy winning team in 1987-88. But it was downhill for him since and did not quite meet Soundararajan’s expectation of him. 

“Senthilnathan was immensely talented and it was a great moment for all of us when he captained the India U19 team in Australia. He was fit as a fiddle in those early days and his fielding was a delight to watch. But somehow his attitude changed after that, he put on a lot of weight and was never the same again. He should have definitely played higher grade of cricket for the talent he possessed” says Soundararajan as he looks back at Senthilnathan’s downfall with a tinge of disappointment and sadness. 

UR Radhakrishnan (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/03/ur-radhakrishnan.html) was signed up as a young teenager in the early 1980s after a casual stint at the open cricket ground in Udumalpet. By the end of that decade, he was on the verge of selection for the Indian team in New Zealand. He scored a double hundred and a century in Ranji Trophy as well as big hundreds in Duleep Trophy. Radhakrishnan was desperate to play for India and fulfill Soundararajan’s vision of producing a player for India from Udumalpet. He knew that the industrialist had pinned his biggest hope on him and he tried to give his best. That unfortunately did not materialize though Radhakrishnan’s non inclusion was not necessarily on merit!!

Radhakrishnan looks back at not being able to make it into the Indian team as his one regret “It was Soundararajan’s dream that I should play for India. He was confident that I would. He encouraged and backed me all the way through my teenage phase. For his sake, I wanted to play for India. The fact that I could not fulfill his dream remains my big regret in life.”

Off Spinner M Subramaniam (Idly Subba) and AP Suresh Kumar too made significant contributions for SVPB in that phase. Kerala Ranji players such as K Jayaraman and Balachander and Karnataka stars such as Prakash and Sanath Kumar too played for SVPB in the 1980s.

It was a golden period for SVPB. Many championships in the Coimbatore League, outstation tournament wins, solid performances in the first division league in Madras made it the happiest decade for Soundararajan in his life.  For some of the tournaments, he brought in big national stars such as Ashok and Rahul Mankad, Balwinder Sandhu and Ghavri to play for SVPB. Legendary Gundappa Viswanath too played for SVPB. It was a great experience for the local boys of Udumalpet to play alongside these legends.  

Madhavan at No. 10, Srinivasan bats No. 11 for SVPB

Sukumar remembers a match from that decade. With Ashok Mankad captaining that match, he asked as to how good S Srinivasan and NP Madhavan were. Soundararajan told him that they had scored centuries in Ranji Trophy for Tamil Nadu. Ashok heard him out and told him ‘Okay. Good. Then Madhavan will bat at No. 10 and Srinivasan at No. 11’. From losing to local teams in the Coimbatore league, SVPB as a cricket club had gained national recognition.

Sukumar almost had an offer letter on hand from RBI along with off spinner NS Ramesh but he refused to be lured leaving Selvakumar furious at this talented opener opting for an unknown club and corporate in Udumalpet as against the ‘Central’ Bank of India. “For many years, he did not talk to me angered at my decision to continue with SVPB in Udumalpet” says Sukumar looking back at his loyalty to Soundararajan. At that time, the salary at RBI would have been higher but in these four decades he has had absolutely no regrets for the treatment by Soundararajan and the management has been truly amazing.

We still cherish memories of playing alongside Brijesh, GRV, BS Chandrasekar and Ashok Mankad in that period in the 1980s ‘He has taken care of my happiness in a way very few others would have. Such has been the large heartedness of Soundararajan.”

Soundararajan’s drive was the prime reason for cricket to flourish in the Coimbatore region. There was a period in the 1980s when even big named players could not get into the Coimbatore districts team such was the strength of the team. It was Soundararajan who had made it so.

Cricket Support from his two brothers

His brothers - Velusamy and Amarnath too were very fond of cricket. The three of them never missed a single Pongal Test played at Chepauk in those decades in the 60s and 70s. Velusamy and Amarnath supported Soundararajan completely in his cricket initiatives. At different points of time, all of them played for in some form or the other for the teams from Udumalpet. Each of the brothers would take turns to be present for SVPB's matches and would encourage the team in taking on the bigger guns in those early formative years.

Amarnath flanked by Sukumar and Madhavan at the new temple under construction

If Soundararajan led the cricket initiative, it is Amarnath who is now leading the exercise to build the largest Perumal Temple in Udumalpet off Thali Road. Soundararajan is of the view that without the unflinching support from his two brothers he could not have embarked on such a large cricket initiative.

A Great Human Being as well

Sukumar also points to the great human side of Soundararajan  “While he did a lot for cricket in the region, all of us also learnt a lot from him on life. Even when he was well into his 40s, he would never sit in front of his father that was the respect he had for elders. The care he showed for his parents was something one had to see to believe."

"To actually spend in lakhs on cricket in the 1980s when the production was just upwards of 10 tons was a sizeable investment. But such was his passion for cricket and his vision to get district cricketers from Udumalpet on to the next level that he roped in high profile players to help the local players get the exposure of playing alongside top notch cricketers"

"He had the mind to spend a lot of money on cricket and clearly there were a number of cricketers who benefited immensely from Soundararajan and each of us are extremely grateful to him for his contribution to cricket.”

India's Fastest bowler from the 1980s TA Sekar (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2013/08/ta-sekar-fastest-indian-bowler-of-1980s.html) echoes Sukumar's sentiments "Soundar is a very good human being and encouraged a lot of cricketers from Udumalpet. He was a good friend of mine. When ever he came to Madras, he would call on me and we would meet at his guest house on TTK Road and have a long and engaging chat on Cricket."

It may be recalled that when SVPB wanted to hand over Globe Trotters after 4years in the TNCA First Division, it was MRF, of which TA Sekar (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2013/08/ta-sekar-architect-behind-worlds-best.html) was an integral part, that took over and has since been running the club for the last three decades.

After he joined SVPB, Madhavan struck a century for Tamil Nadu in the knock out of the Ranji Trophy in the mid 1980s and he too had several luring offers“I continued to get many exciting offers through the 1980s from various banks and corporates but Soundararajan took great care of me that I never felt like I missed anything in life. Not once since 1982 did I ever contemplate moving out of Udumalpet and the SVPB Group.” 

Both Sukumar and Madhavan have risen to the post of Vice President in the company and built large and beautiful villas in Udumalpet something that may have been unlikely in Madras. 

                      NP Madhavan's house in Udumalpet

The Cricket Revolutionary from Udumalpet

From being beaten by the smallest of teams in the lower rung of the Coimbatore league in the early 1970s, SVPB emerged as a strong competitive side giving the best of teams a run for their money in the TNCA 1^st division, the prestigious Arlem and Tripanuthura tournaments in the 1980s. 

Now 75, Soundararajan closely watches Dhoni on the big screen from his sprawling house East of Udumalpet on the Madathukulam Highway and wonders if one or two from his team could have scaled that peak  in those decades gone by like the small town boy that Dhoni was!!! Two local boys from Udumalpet who studied in the Government school reached the top, well almost. M Senthilnathan captained the Indian U19 team in Australia in the late 1980s and UR Radhakrishnan was on the verge of selection for the Indian Test Tour to New Zealand.

Soundararajan has the greatest words of praise for the two boys who he personally went after – S Sukumar, the first cricketer he roped for his team and NP Madhavan, who he forced to quit IOB and join SVPB "Both have remained loyal and humble for four decades despite their achievements Their contribution, both to our cricket team as well as to our Group has given me great satisfaction.” 

Players from a remote and unknown cricket district of Tamil Nadu had an opportunity to share the dressing room with the best of Indian cricketrs in the 1980s, something that no player in that region could have dreamt of a decade earlier. Coimbatore became the most competitive district in Cricket in the 1980s.

One man was the sole architect of this transformation. The cricketing fraternity of Coimbatore refers to him even today as the Kerry Packer of TN cricket, for he revolutionized the way the district cricketers thought and played. He made them dream and helped their dreams come true. He supported them all the way, treated them as his own family, took care of their education, their marriage and even their children’s education and marriage expenses.

He gave the cricketers in the district ‘a never before experienced’ confidence of taking on the big boys in cricket. M Soundararajan was a cricketing visionary who single handedly changed the face of Coimbatore cricket in the 1970s and 80s.

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Othuvar Muthu Kandaswamy Desikar Malaikottai Thayumanavar Temple

June 22, 2018, 3:22 am

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For almost six decades, the legendary 81 year old Othuvar from Thiru Kodikkaval has presented the Thevaram Verses at the Thayumanavar Temple in Malaikottai - a voice that was heard on the banks of Kollidam

He refused a Lucrative Offer in the 1990s from a temple in London and has continued to be dedicated to the Lord of Malaikottai from a small house at the foot of the rock temple

Othuvars have been in the limelight in the recent past with a High Court order by the Madurai Bench directing the HR & CE to pay them a fair remuneration for their services.

Muthu Kandaswamy Desikar, who turned 81 the Sunday before last, is the oldest Othuvar in action in the Saivite Saint Poets praised Thevaram Sthalams and has been part of the Kasi Mutt of Thirupananthal for six decades presenting the verses at Thayumanavar temple but despite all his years of experience, he is paid only Rs. 2400 per month up from Rs. 70 when he started off way back in the 1960s.

For his age, he has remarkable memory of the Thevaram verses as he rolls out one after another from each of the four prominent Saivite Saint Poets. His vast experience of almost 6 decades has equipped him with the power to pull out the meanings from 5000 verses and to give detailed explanations. "These verses even contain information on what to look for in a girl, how to conduct marriages and the art of living a good dharmic life".

Formative Years

Muthu Kandaswamy Desikar belonged to Thiru Kodikkaval (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2013/11/thiru-kotteeswarar-temple-thiru.html), a remote location near Mayiladuthurai that is home to one of the few temples dedicated to Yama and Chitragupta. He had his primary schooling there before moving on to Sirkazhi for higher secondary education.

1950s – Thevaram Initiation - A Legend in the making

Later, he was initiated into the sacred Thevaram verses for over 5 years at the Dharumapuram Aatheenam in Thirupananthal. His Acharya was the brilliant R Velayutha Othuvar who also trained well over 300 other Othuvars in Tamil Nadu.  The revered scholar used to identify talented students very early into his training. He saw the light in Muthu Kandha Desikar and identified him as one with the potential to be a legend in this service. When Muthu Kandha Desikar was in the very first year of his Thevaram initiation, his Guru brought him into the 5^th year class and made him sing along with them. It was a privilege none others had received in his lifetime, such was the potential that the acharya saw in this young student. 

Muthu Kandha Desikar came out of school in 1958 after 5 years of Thevaram initiation and went to the Kasi Mutt in Thirupananthal. He became a Kattalai Othuvar there. He presented service at the Thiruvannamalai temple and a few others in the initial period but even as a teenager Thayumanavar found a place in his heart and he seemed to have a permanent connect with the Lord of Malaikottai.

Dedication to the Lord of Malaikottai

One day he went up to the authorities at Kasi Mutt asking for him to be stationed permanently at Thayumanavar temple in Malaikottai, Tiruchirapalli. Earlier, the HR & CE had wanted him to join the Thayumanavar temple as an employee but Kasi Mutt did not approve him becoming a staffer there. Later he joined the same temple under the condition that he would not be exclusively bound to them. For over five decades, he has presented the Thevaram verses at the Siva Siva Ul Mandapam in Thayumanavar Sannidhi for an hour each day. 

HR and CE invited Muthu Kandaswamy Desikar as a full time staffer at many temples including Madurai Meenkashi Amman Temple and Palani Dhandayudhapani temple but he refused all these offers sticking to his presentation at the Thayumanavar temple.

A Voice that was heard till Kollidam!!!

In the 1960s, his voice over the speaker system was heard on the banks of Coloroon, such was the clarity in the voice of his devotional rendering and modulation of the verses.  Even after the current infrastructure development in the Srirangam- Tirichirapalli region, his voice is heard till the banks of the Cauvery. Over these decades, he identified and developed several Ragams for the Thevaram verses.

An irresistible Offer in UK Pounds!!

When he once presented these verses in a highly devotional tone in London, so impressed were the authorities in the temple that he was offered an extremely lucrative ‘deal’, one very few would have refused. Muthu Kandaswamy Desikar distinctly remembers that day in history “It was so high that I could have built four houses in Malai Kottai. But I was committed to presenting before Thayumanavar and hence let go of the financially remunerative move.” 

Students who learnt from him in London went on to release CD and Thevaram albums. They were so grateful for his initiation that they funded a entire trip of his to London on another occasion.

Lankans – The most devoted people

He has gone to Ceylon 49 times to present in two Padal Petra Sthalams there. During Vaikasi, he presents the sacred verses at Thiru Konamalai (Ravana performed pooja for this Lord), a temple that Thiru Gnana Sambandhar sang praise of from the shores of Rameswaram. On the Maha Sivarathri night, he presents Thirumurai at Thiru Kerichalam, a temple where Raja Raja Chozhan contributed in rich measure. 

In the decades of his visits to Sri Lanka, he found the devotion among the people there to be the best. He says that the people of Lanka have inherited the bhakti of Ravana, a great devotee of Lord Shiva “Each time I present before the Lord, I found that tears rolled down like a river from the eyes of the devotees – both men and women – there. That indicated the intensity of their Bhakti.  I have not seen such bhakti anywhere else including in Tamil Nadu, the UK, Singapore and Malaysia.”

Yaazh was such a popular devotional musical instrument and finds place in several verses of the Saint Poets. It was also Ravana’s favourite instrument. Hence, the place was referred to as Yaazh Paanam. 

Differentiated Presentation

Innovation in his presentation has been a key differentiator. He gave special effects to the Thevaram verses to arouse the bhakti in devotees and those who heard him once wanted to come back again and listen to his devotional rendering. Such was the devotional style of his presentation. His imaginative mind, his ability to create and change Thaalam and Ragam kept the devotees engrossed in temples during his recitals. 

Muthu Kandha Desikar has received 40 prestigious awards for his devotional rendering over these 6 decades including the Kalaimamani award and the TTK Memorial Award for outstanding service in temples.

The Next Generation – His Hopes on Somasundaram Othuvar

In the last few decades, he also passed on this art to students but as is the current trend many could not withstand the rigorous process and guidelines and pulled out mid way. Thevaram verses are quite difficult and presentation by the Othuvars requires years of effort as they have to understand the meanings and present in musical form.

Typically, at a Patshala, the students are initiated into 200 verses that would come into use in their every day presentation. It is then left to the students to expand their horizon and learn the entire set of the sacred verses of the Saint Poets.

The best of his disciples is the 29 year old Somasundaram in whom he has a lot of confidence to take this service into the next generation of Othuvars. Somasundaram completed a 5 year diploma course in Thevaram Isai Kalaimani from Annamalai University. Since then he has been performing at Kandha Kottam, Abirami Koil (Dindigul) and Thiruvasi (Trichy). He also continues to perform the hereditary service at the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, him being the 21^st descendant.

Somasundaram has applied for the Othuvar posting at Thayumanavar Sannidhi and has gone through the interview process. He is hoping that with the background and the proven track record of his grandfather having performed for six decades at the sannidhi, he would get the order soon.

Othuvars - The Diminishing Numbers

Once upon a time there were Othuvars in all the temples in Tamil Nadu. During the reign of Raja Raja Chozhan, Othuvars sang in big numbers in the Big Temple at Thanjavur.  In centuries gone by, there used to be Othuvars Ghosti on Swami’s street processions but all that too has become a thing of the past given the shrinking numbers of the Othuvars. Othuvars have reduced dramatically in the last few decades and they are just in a few hundreds across the state. Salary is inadequate to run and take care of a family and many have sought other avenues, given the financial constraints.

Muthu Kandaswamy Desikar Othuvar himself started off with Rs. 70 month. Over the six decade period, this has gone up to just Rs. 2400. Typical of him, he is not too concerned and shrugs off the financial issues saying ‘No amount of money can equate the happiness of presenting the Thevaram verses before the Lord. The inside character of a person is the true reflection of a devotional personality and not the external colour. Thirumurai contains everything for our real way of life and we should follow that." 

He continues to live a simple life from a small house on the South Mada street at the foot of Malaikottai and continues to present the sacred verses of the Saint Poets at the Thayumanavar temple.  Truly Contended with what God has given him. It is unlikely one will find another Othuvar like him again!!!

Thiruvallikeni Prabhandham Ghosti

July 3, 2018, 1:45 am

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Kaaval Kazhani Ananthacharya the Visionary, his student MA Venkatakrishnan the Architect of the renaissance of the Ghosti

The NewGen skip lucrative global offers in favour of the opportunity to present the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham at the Parthasarathy Perumal Divya Desam in Thiruvallikeni 

A 27 year old Professional returned from the US in May 2014 after doing his Masters in CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) at the University of Texas. He had a great offer on hand from a top corporate in the US and the opportunity to start a long career presented itself before him. But his mind was elsewhere, several thousands of kilometers away, back at his roots in Thiruvallikeni. As a teenager, he had developed a great interest in the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham, the 4000 sacred verses of the Vaishnavite Saint Poets Azhvaars having been initiated into this by his auditor father, who himself was part of the first batch of students in the mid 1970s that led to the revival of interest in the historical verses.

His priority was clear. He wanted the recital of the sacred verses at Thiruvallikeni to be an integral part of his everyday life and thus without any second thoughts, returned to Madras letting go the alluring offer in the US. However, he encountered a unique problem when he began searching for a job here in Madras. His sole condition to the prospective employers of not wanting to be sent overseas on assignments left them stunned.

Every prospective employee would typically ask the possibility of overseas engagements but here was one who even in his very first job was stressing on his intention to stay back in the city through the year. This condition took him longer than usual to find that first job.

He is not alone among the new gen at Thiruvallikeni to lay importance on the recital of the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham. Another youngster, in his 20s, who had completed his ‘Pilot’ degree from the University of Florida, too returned to Madras with a specific intent to be part of both the Ghosti as well as the Sri Patham.

A third resident of Thiruvallikeni has just completed his MBA from the University of California Davis and is returning this fortnight also to join the Prabhandham Ghosti and Vedic Recital.

Such has been the transformation in recent times in the Ghosti at this ancient Divya Desam from the not so rosy past. While Thiruvallikeni has historically been renowned for Prabhandham Ghosti, there was a period in the 20^th century when things had taken a downward turn. By the 60s and early 1970s, the size of the Prabhandham Ghosti at the Parthasarathy Perumal Divya Desam in Thiruvallikeni had dwindled driven by a variety of factors.

Across temples in Tamil Nadu, it was one of the worst phases with anti brahmincal wave sweeping the state (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/10/therazhundur-divya-desam.html). There was insecurity all around. It was a period that saw original inhabitants from several ancient Divya Desams and Thevaram Sthalams sell their historical lands and move to cities seeker greener pastures in corporate jobs(http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/07/thiru-mogur-kalamegha-perumal.html). It was also a phase that saw traditionalists in the city move into private corporate positions.

Kooram Bashyam and TA Srinivasaraghavan are both into their mid 80s and have been rendering this sacred service for several decades. They have seen the Ghosti from the 1940s “In those decades, the Ghosti was not big as one sees today. It was purely honourary service and continues to be so. We present day in day out purely out of devotion for the Lord without expectations of any monetary returns.” 

Fighting it all alone-Kaaval Kazhani Ananthacharya

There was also a lot of factionalism in Thiruvallikeni in those days.  Through the tough times in the 1950s and 60s, the legendary Kaaval Kazhani Ananthacharya held the Ghosti team together fighting tooth and nail for their rights ensuring that it did not collapse in the midst of the various differences that existed at the temple in those decades. He joined the Ghosti when he was in his early 20s way back in the 1940s and served as the Secretary of the Adyapaka team for over two decades from the mid 1950s.

Ananthacharya wanted every activity within the temple to be done in a traditional way and did not compromise on any aspect be it the alankaram for the Lord or presentation of Thaligai or the conduct of the Ghosti. He did not tolerate even a minor deviation from tradition, a characteristic that did not always go well with the temple authorities.

Outside of his temple service, Anathacharya held a high post – he was a Tahsildar. But when it came to providing service to the Lord, he would be at the temple on time. He would arrive by the jeep, remove the attire of the Tahsildar and would transform himself into the role of an Adyapaka in a matter of minutes. He paid attention to the minutest of details including on posture of the Ghosti during the recital.

60 year old P Rangarajan, Sanskrit Professor, Chinmaya Vidyalaya  had seen Ananthacharya from close quarters through the late 1960s and 70s since the time he was a young boy "Kaaval Kazhani Swamy easily ranked the best among the Seva Kalam experts. I have not seen anyone as devoted as him in the presentation of Kattiyam.  Half a century later, his style of presenting the Kattiyam on occasions such as Kaithala Sevai and Thirumanjam remains firmly etched in one’s memory. His was one of the most unforgettable presentations.” 

“It was he who taught us the way to present the Arulichayal. He told me one day way back in the 1960s as to the posture when presenting the verses on street processions. From that day, I have always been with folded hands when in front of the Lord and during the Ghosti” says Rangarajan.

When Rangarajan once asked Ananthacharya to teach him the Prabhandham verses, the revered acharya politely asked the little boy to stand by his side and listen to the presentation of the Dhaniyan. And that was how he was initiated into the first set of verses “When he had a few minutes off from the temple service, he would call us and teach us a few verses sitting in the temple prakaram, such was his attachment to the Divya Prabhandham and the positive intent to share the verses with the younger generation.”

55 year old NR Srinivasan (Singan) currently a staffer at Tamil Nadu News Print too was initiated into Divya Prabhandham by Ananthacharya. He attributes the current flourishing nature of the Ghosti to the efforts of Ananthacharya in the 60s and 70s.

"He was a born disciplinarian. It was he who taught us the way of 'Experiencing God' and the manner of conduct when in front of God. A lot of us from that generation owe our learning entirely to Kaaval Kazhani Swamy.  The fact that you are seeing Ghosti in such large numbers at this Narasimha Brahmotsavam over the last ten days is entirely due to his vision of forging a strong Ghosti at this Divya Desam."

Another long time resident of Thiruvallikeni KS Soundararajan too is in his mid 50s and has been part of the Ghosti for many decades. To him Ananthacharya was a true role model “Kaval Kazhani Swamy was a role model for any new aspirant. He had a voice that stood out in the crowd. His attire when he entered for the Ghosti was immaculate. It was he who inspired the new generation on the importance of learning and presenting the sacred verses in front of the Lord.  There were many in the temple who just could not withstand the strict discipline and his stringent traditional ways but even they were stunned at his style of presenting the Kattiyam and stood speechless watching his unflinching devotion to the Lord.”

Golden Jubilee Celebrations and the Big Turning Point

Former Head of Vaishnavite Department, Madras University and author & publisher of sacred books, MA Venkatakrishnan(MAV) was still a school boy when he began interacting very closely with Ananthacharya in the late 60s and early 70s. It was Ananthacharya who initiated MAV into a major part of Nalayira Divya Prabhandham.

1973-74 marked the Golden Jubilee of the landmark Madras High Court Judgment of 1923 which had placed the rights of the Prabhandham Ghosti on the Thengalai Vaishnava Brahmins of Thiruvallikeni and the right to add members on the Adyapakas of the Prabhandham Ghosti. MAV was keen to celebrate the Golden Jubilee in a grand manner and expressed his eagerness to do so, to Ananthacharya.

(A look back The Landmark Judgment of 1923

In the early decades of the 20^th century, there was constant friction between the trustees of the Parthasarathy temple and the members of the Ghosti.  The trustees were elected by the local people. At one point of time, they wanted to appoint the Adyapakas as servants and this was strongly objected to by the Ghosti.  This led to an even greater friction and there was an ‘A’ Ghosti (appointed by the Trustees) and a ‘B’ Ghosti appointed by the residents.  This friction finally led to a case in the Madras High Court.  In a landmark judgment, an order was passed in 1923 placing the right of appointment of Ghosti members on the local residents of Triplicane and away from the trustees)

Following this judgment, an association was formed by the Ghosti and qualifications were laid out for becoming an Adyapaka of the Ghosti at the Thiruvallikeni Divya Desam. One had to be married, had to have a tuft and the traditional attire, should have crossed 25 years, have knowledge of at least 2000 sacred verses (and other verses relating to recital during different utsavams/occasions) and had to have been a resident of Thiruvallikeni for at least (the previous) six months.

Five decades later, when a few of the local residents filed a case citing non inclusion in the Ghosti, the Judge ordered that the right to add members of the Ghosti lay with the elderly members of the Adyapakas (7 out of the current 16 Adyapakas form the elderly members group). 

Ananthacharya hands over responsibility to MAV

Ananthacharya had been solely responsible for the development of the Ghosti leading up to that phase. He was very vocal and had fought for the rights of the Ghosti through his life time. He saw developing the team and expanding interest in the Prabhandham recital as a more important objective than any grand celebrations and used the golden jubilee milestone as an opportunity to revive interest in the Ghosti. 

Knowing the enthusiasm and the inherent networking capabilities of MAV, Ananthacharya saw the potential in MAV and placed on him the enormous responsibility of reviving the Ghosti. He suggested the idea of a Divya Prabhandham Patshala to coincide with the Golden Jubilee and asked MAV to create afresh and develop the Prabhandham members for the next generation by initiating them into the sacred verses.  However, what followed may have been even beyond Ananthacharya's wildest imagination and gave him great delight in the coming three years, before his sudden demise in  1977.

MAV’s aggressive style

MAV went about his task in an aggressive way. He was determined to get the youngsters interested in Divya Prabhandham. He put out a notice across Thiruvallikeni about the launch of the Prabhandham class and instilled in the minds of the Vaishnavite residents around the temple the importance of sending at least one member of the family. And the response was remarkable. Very soon he managed to mobilize 70 students, mostly youngsters. Never before had a class seen such great strength all at one time and it showed MAV’s networking ability even at that young age. 

And as a 20 year old, who had just completed his own initiation, MAV began training students into the sacred verses. They all sat in a small packed front room of his house to learn each day between 6am and 7am. He started with Moonram Thiruvanthathi, for that was recited frequently at the ‘Veethi Purapadu’ at the Parthasarathy Perumal Divya Desam. He encouraged the students to be part of the Ghosti during the street processions and recite these Iyarpa verses.

A Unique Model that inspired the students

Ravi Sundar remembers the monthly tests that MAV used to conduct on Divya Prabhandham “MAV followed a unique way to motivate the students. Each of us eagerly awaited the tests and competed with each other in a positive way to bag the prize for the best performers. The tests were a big source of motivation to the students and helped create sustained interest in these sacred verses.”

With the experience of teaching students in those years at the Vivekananda College, MAV knew the art of generating interest among the boys in these sacred verses.

Bhakti Saran, one of the students from that batch of 1974 and who continues to be part of the Ghosti to this day, remembers the inspirational role of Ananthacharya during the first 2-3 years.

"Though Kaaval Kazhani Swamy had placed the mantle of running the class on MAV, he would finish his morning service at the temple and stand at the entrance of MAV’s house and watch the performance of the boys. At the end of the class, he would appreciate the boys for the presentation. The mere presence of Kaval Kazhani Swamy was a big motivation for all of us. Having finished his service at the temple, it would have been fair of him to have gone back home but rarely did he do that. He would always stay back at MAV’s house till the end of the class and took delight in our learning. One could sense the happiness in him on seeing the big size of the class and the interest that MAV had managed to create in the young students."

For the first time in the 20^th Century, MAV brought together such a large bunch of students into one class and initiated them into the sacred verses over the next decade. A sizeable number of these students are now an integral part of the Ghosti at the Thiruvallikeni Divya Desam.

52 year old S Sampath Kumar belonged to the initial batch of students of MAV in the mid 1970s. His mother was instrumental in driving his Prabhandham interest at home.  While he had to focus on academics as a school boy, his mother would enquire every day about the verses learnt that morning and that served as a great motivation for the young boy. He too has let go several outstation opportunities in his career (Insurance Industry) in his endeavour to be part of the Ghosti through the year.

He also remembers the way his Acharya MAV planned the annual calendar keeping in mind the big utsavams “the days around the two Brahmotsavams, Ramanuja Utsavam and Manavala Mamunigal Utsavam were off as was the period leading up to our annual examinations. He wanted us to excel in academics and thus the Prabhandham class was never in conflict with the academics. He went about the entire process in an unhurried way.”

When the elderly saw the buzz around the temple, they too joined the class and were initiated into Divya Prabhandham.  Thus the base for the revival of the Ghosti and the large numbers that one sees today in Thiruvallikeni was created in the 70s and 80s. 

Similar to Sampath Kumar, KV Venkatakrishanan, the youngest son of Ananthacharaya (he was a very young boy at the time of his father's death) too has let go many career opportunities ( in the Mutual Fund Industry) to be in Thiruvallikeni and to be able to present the sacred verses on a daily basis 'Nothing is more important in my life than presenting the Arulichayal'. 

KV Rajappa, the eldest son of Ananthacharya, who has made several contributions presenting Abharanams to the Lord of Thiruvallikeni, has been part of the Ghosti for many decades and is also a member of the Adyapaka team while KV Srinivasan, a photographer with The Hindu has also been performing service at the temple over the last decade or two. Thus the family has followed in the footsteps of their illustrious father. 

The 80s and 90sFollowing the sudden death of Ananthacharya, C Parthasarathy took over the role of Secretary of the Adyapakas and played a key role in the development of the Ghosti for the next 20 years. It was he who roped in MAV into the Adyapaka team in the early 1990s just prior to the Samprokshanam.

There is a healthy mix now of adyapakas aged above 60 (15 out of the 16 are above 60 years), a fair size of middle aged members who had come through in the 1980s and a large contingent of youngsters who are seeing the recital of the sacred verses as an important aspect of their everyday life.

2000 Services Annually

Each day of the week, one of the 7 senior members of the Adyapaka team is bestowed the responsibility of the Prabhandham Thodakkam. There is an unwritten code that the Adyapakas should attend at least 10 days in a month. They meet at least once a year to review the year gone by and to plan for the year ahead to see if anything could be improvised. But they try not to alter anything that has been historically followed. While MAV, who has been the Secretary of the Adyapakas for almost the last two decades, has initiated improvisations once in a while, he has agreed with the larger views of the group and has always wanted it to be a consensus based Ghosti. 

The Ghosti provides 2000 services annually. On some days in the year, the Ghosti presents 7 services. The entire 4000 verses are presented in full five times a year and in a ‘shortened’ way on another five occasions. The Prabhandham team also presents the Iyarpa verses in full during the seven day utsavams such as Vasanthotsavam, Pavitrotsavam, Davana Utsavam and Theppotsavam. On the final day of the two Brahmotsavams, the Ghosti's service expands to 6 hours at a stretch reciting the entire Tiruvoimozhi as was seen yesterday.

The future

Driven by the revival in the 1970s and 80s, the sacred verses are now taught by multiple teachers, each with a set of students, and individually as well by father to the son .

It is refreshing to see kids as young as 10 years joining in large numbers in the recital of Divya Prabhandham during the street processions at the Thiruvallikeni Divya Desam. Youngsters in their 20s who have let go big overseas career opportunities are serving as an inspiration for the school boys and teenagers with their devotional rendering every day to make the recital of the sacred verses an important part of their lives. 

Despite minor differences of opinions that crop up every now and then, the Unity of the Prabhandham Ghosti has been a big differentiating factor at Thiruvallikeni. Four decades after the launch of a concerted exercise to drive residents of Thiruvallikeni into the recital of Nalayira Divya Prabhandham, the transformation seems complete. Kaaval Kazhani Ananthacharya as the visionary and MA Venkatakrishnan as the architect have truly done a remarkable job in the renaissance of the Divya Prabhandham Ghosti at Thiruvallikeni.

Srirangam Madapalli Transformation

July 5, 2018, 9:21 pm

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From IT in the US to Madapalli in Srirangam

The Madapalli at the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam is currently witnessing one of the biggest transformational changes in temples in Tamil Nadu in recent decades. Two software professionals have quit high paying jobs in the corporate world and have joined the Madapalli in an endeavour to dedicate their lifetime to the service of Lord Ranganatha and with a vision to restore the Madapalli to its ancient glory.

40 year old V. Lakshmi Narasimhan had been in a plump job in the IT industry for close to two decades serving as a software architect in top tier 1 Companies. All his life he has been a multi faceted personality. As a student of the Hindu School, Triplicane, he won the budding mathematician award. He was also a poetry writer, violinist and a school topper in Table Tennis. His father Venkatapathy was proficient in the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham and an expert in Sri Bashyam and initiated him into these. But computers dragged him away into the IT world in the late 1990s. During this period in the IT industry, he has been associated with social and religious service organizations and has contributed to charities to propagate the service minded approach of Vaishnavite Saint Ramanuja.

The Big Call – From IT to Madapalli

He had always cherished a dream to perform service at the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam.

During the time, he was contemplating a move back to his roots in Srirangam, he came to know through Vaishnavasri Krishnamachari, publisher of Vaishnava Sampradayam books based in Srirangam that the temple was looking for devoted personnel at the Madapalli. After quitting his job in the IT industry last year, Lakshmi Narasimhan spent time at two ancient Divya Desams – Ahobilam and Badrinath to try and explore divinity. The period there gave him a lot of clarity and refinement on his way forward in life. And he took up the big call to move away from the corporate world to perform service at the madapalli and to propagate the Ramanuja Sampradayam.

When Pon Jayaraman, JC of the temple took charge at the temple a few years ago, he felt a shortage of quality people to run the Madapalli in the traditional way. The Madapalli staff did not even sport the traditional attire while at work inside the temple. He was keen and determined to restore the Madapalli to its ancient glory days but found committed people not easily forthcoming to take up service at the Madapalli.

And when he sent out word that he was looking for devoted people to perform service in a traditional way, Sri Vaishnavasri Krishnamachari managed to elicit a positive response from C.L. Srivatsan, a Post Graduate from NIT Trichy. He was just 31years old and had worked at reputed firms such as Cognizant and IISC, Bangalore. Excited at the opportunity to perform service at the feet of the Lord of Srirangam, Srivatsan quit his high profile job, packed his bags and headed to Srirangam last year along with his pregnant wife. 

Months after Srivatsan joined, Lakshmi Narasimhan took the call to move away from the corporate world and he too has now been serving at the madapalli for since the beginning of this year. 

Securing the IT Professionals for the Srirangam Madapalli
Sri Vaishnavasri Krishnamachari who assisted the temple in roping in these two, has always been a strong advocate for the traditional way of service at the temple“Madapalli is a highly sacred place and there is a certain tradition in the way things are done at the Srirangam temple including the attire - sporting 12 Thiruman, wearing Panchakacham and having a tuft. For decades, the personnel at the temple have disobeyed even the basic tradition."

"Both Lakshmi Narasimhan and Srivatsan were highly qualified professionally and were drawing big salaries. They have sacrificed everything, let go of the financial interests and entered the Madapalli as a cook with a service motive.  There are thousands of Vaishnavites to talk and give speeches on idealism but very few when it comes to practical living and execution. This is particularly visible in the temple Madapalli. There is an opportunity for Vaishnavites to serve the Lord but no one is eager to come forward. Lakshmi Narasimhan is a benchmark for Temple Madapalli across the state. He lives by the tradition. A few more of his clone is required to help in the transformation process at the Srirangam temple.”

Financially Lakshmi Narasimhan, who has also been mentoring Srivatsan, younger to him by almost a decade, does not even get 5% of what he received in his last job in IT. However serving the Lord and performing service in the way Ramanuja wanted has been a truly fulfilling experience for him. In the few months that he has been here, he has received backing from the JC for this traditional way of service ‘The greatest support has come from the JC. He has empowered me to do the right thing in the right way at the Madapalli without fear of opposition.”

Initiating the Transformational Process

Both Lakshmi Narasimhan and Srivatsan have embarked on a number of initiatives that is slowly helping the revival of the Madapalli back to its traditional days.  Cleaning of the sacred well, using organic vegetables and the traditional earthen pots for cooking have been a few.

The two of them have been bestowed with the responsibility of preparing the Periya Avasaram (full meals), Sheeranam, Sthala Samba and Aravanai. They are also initiating the process of introducing the traditional ten vegetables for the Periya Avasaram for the Periya Perumal. Both of them also recite the Ramanuja Nootranthathi while performing their service at the Madapalli.

The feedback even at this early stage has been very positive. The quality of food has been like never before in recent decades. 

Lakshmi Narasimhan says that while money is essential for basic living, it also poses as a hurdle for Wisdom.  He firmly believes that God would do wonders when one offers complete surrender and is looking forward to this new journey of ‘Sastras’ based life. He is of the view that sacred food presented with sincere devotion to the Lord can transform people.

A Life Defining Change

Madapalli was an unexpected opportunity that came his way and Lakshmi Narasimhan has grabbed it with both hands letting go of everything else in life. He works through the day and night by the fire, bathes in well water, eats just once a day in the traditional way like his ancestors and walks bare foot most of the time. Having dedicated everything to the Lord, he is suddenly feeling a sense of stress free life. If the Lord wills, he does not want to leave the Madapalli at Srirangam in this life time. He is hoping that more like minded people will join him soon in this devotional transformation journey.

Only time will tell.

PS: A version of this story featured in today's The Hindu Friday Review 

Cheran Maha Devi Amma Nathar Koil

July 8, 2018, 6:38 am

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The 2^nd among the Nava Kailayam Temples, the Amma Nathar Koil has beautiful sculptures and inscriptions dating back at least a 1000 years

Archakar has been performing daily service for two decades and now gets just Rs. 1400 every month for his selfless service!!! 

Located 4kms off the Railway Station on the Southern Banks of Tamaraibarani on a long winding dark road without Street Lights is the huge Ammanathar Koil in Cheran Maha Devi, the 2^nd among the Nava Kailayam temples and one dedicated to Chandran among the Nava Graham.  The Lord is flanked on his right in a separate sannidhi by Avudayambal (Gomathi Ambal).

Sangili Bhoothathar seen in a separate sannidhi in front of the temple is said to provide security to the temple. Historically there was a road leading from the Appan Venkatachalapathy Perumal temple (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2011/09/appan-venkatachalapathy-temple-cheran.html), just half a km away. However, in recent decades, this road has been shut and hence the archakar as well as the devotees have to take long winding dark route through the Ramaswamy temple (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2011/09/cheran-maha-devi-ramaswamy-temple.html). If the authorities relay the route connecting the Srinivasa Perumal temple and Amman Nathar temple, devotees will be able to reach the temple from the Cheran Maha Devi – Mukoodal highway.

Selfless Service without financial returns

As with many ancient temples in this region, there is a huge amount of land attached to the temple but the income from the lands do not accrue to the temple. Hence it is the same story of the archakar being left in the lurch and having to find that devotee to present something to the Lord including basic requirements such as oil to light the lamp and provisions for the madapalli for the daily sacred offering to the Lord.

Despite the difficulty in reaching the temple, Chandrasekara Bhattar has been performing selfless service at the temple for over two decades. He now gets a salary of a mere Rs. 1400 for his service every month. One wonders as to how an archaka can run a family with a salary from the HR & CE as meager as this. And yet unmindful of the financial difficulty, he is present at the temple every morning before 7am to perform pooja. On most week days, he is seen sitting along with the security, who assists him at the temple, waiting for that elusive devotee find his way through to the temple at the far Northern end of Cheran Maha Devi. And when finally that devotee arrives, his eyes light up and he performs an archanai in a most devoted way chanting in a special loud tone. 

Over the decades, when lady devotees visited the temple in the evening, it was he who ensured their safe trip back to Cheran Maha Devi before locking the temple for there are absolutely no lights anywhere in the vicinity of the temple and the only lights one now finds are the ones from inside the train that runs very close to the temple.

HR & CE's lack of Support and care

The HR & CE which manages the  temple receives an annual income of Rs. 1.5 crore from the Papanasam temple alone, the first among the Nava Kailayam temples. And yet, the salary paid to an archakar within this set of temples is abysmally low.

Support from Venu Srinivasan's Trust??

It is heard that the Venu Srinivasan led TVS Trust, that has transformed the Nava Tirupathi (Perumal) temples, has also been supporting a couple of the Nava Kailayam temples in Srivaikuntam and Thenthiruperai, East of Tirunelveli. It is hoped that he will be able to look into this ancient temple as well and the service this archakar has been providing for a long period of time and support this one as well.

The temple surrounded by big walls on all the four sides has some of the most beautiful sculptures on the pillars. There are also a number of inscriptions on the walls dating back a 1000 years. Kulothungo Chozha is believed to have contributed improvements to the temple. 

Romasa Rishi’s penance – Tamaraibarani banks

Seeking Mukthi, Romasa Rishi, the disciple of Agastya, went to this preceptor who was performing penance at the Pothigai Hills and asked for the way to attain this. Agastya picked up 9 Lotus buds from his Kamandalam and let them down. He asked Romasa Rishi to install a Shiva Lingam at each of the places where this bud rests and to invoke the blessings of Lord Shiva at each of those places.  

It was at Cheran Maha Devi that Lord Shiva presented darshan as Amma Nathar to Romasa Rishi. There is a stone sculpture of the rishi performing the penance invoking the blessings of the Shiva  Lingam in front of the Amma Nathar Sannidhi.

Nandanar stood at the entrance of the temple and sang praise of the Lord but the Nandi was blocking his darshan. It is said that the Lord asked the Nandi to move slightly so Nandanar could have darshan of the Lord from his standing position.

The Devoted Sisters

The story goes that two sisters, who wanted to make contributions to the temple, chanted the name of Lord Shiva and grounded paddy on a traditional stone grinder. When they presented their offerings to the Lord, they were surprised to find gold coins as prasadam, an indication of how the Lord rewards sincere prayers of devotees.

They used this to renovate and make improvements to the temple. In memory of this episode, one finds a sculpture of the two sisters grinding the stone at the entrance to the main sanctum.

Festivals

Aipasi Uthiram Kalyana Utsavam

Aani Anusham Varusha Abhishekam

Margazhi Aruthira for Moolavar Natarajar

On Maha Sivarathri in Maasi, the temple is open the whole day with four Kaalam pooja in the night. 

Liberation from Chandra Dosham – Monday Pooja

Monday Pooja is special at this temple. To liberate one from Chandra Doshma, five Abhisekams are done with Pomegranate and Venpongal or Kalkandu Chakkarai Pongal is presented to the Lord on Monday morning.

How to reach

From Cheran Maha Devi bus stand, an auto to the temple will cost Rs. 80. There are no buses to the temple.

The temple is open between 7am-10am and 5pm-6pm. Contact Chandrasekara Bhattar @ 94422 26511.

Coimbatore Junction Retiring Rooms

July 10, 2018, 11:52 pm

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Online Booking through IRCTC is not available for the Newly Constructed 4 Retiring Rooms /5 AC Dormitories at Coimbatore Junction

The Existing IRCTC – SBI Platinum Card Service counter on platform 1 could be used to offer online booking service of retiring rooms as a value added service 

The Newly constructed Retiring Rooms and AC Dormitories that were launched a couple of years at Coimbatore Railway Station have not been included in the online booking facility  on the IRCTC Web Site leaving the rooms vacant on many days as the passengers are having to go through the tedious manual application process after they alight from the train at the Coimbatore Station. These 4additional AC rooms and 5 AC Dormitories are available on the first floor of platform number 1 at the Coimbatore Junction but one cannot book online through IRCTC as they have not been added to the previously existing retiring rooms.

Railway Retiring rooms and dormitories in Tiruchirapalli  (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2008/08/retiring-room-tiruchchirappalli.html) and Madurai Stations, among others are a big hit in the Southern Railway Section.

AC Retiring Rooms are available for around Rs. 700, Non AC rooms at around Rs. 450 and AC Dormitories for around Rs. 250. These provide great convenience to the passengers in addition to safety especially for women passengers and are also quite economical considering the hotel rates in the area around the railway station.

5% online booking discount

Despite the huge popularity of online booking of retiring rooms in other stations in the Southern Railway, for some reason, the recently constructed AC Dormitories and the AC retiring rooms are not available for booking online on the IRCTC site, this despite the continued thrust of the Prime Minister as well as the Railway Minister for Online Transactions. There is also a 5 % discount available for booking of retiring rooms online as an added incentive to passengers. It has been found in the recent past that a large percentage of the booking of retiring rooms has been done online, thus moving away from the old system of filling forms and getting station master’s approval. 

Passengers have to go through Manual Application Process

Many other stations in the Southern Railway offer online booking of retiring rooms (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2009/04/madurai-junction-retiring-rooms.html). But it leaves one to wonder as to why an important Junction and a business center such as Coimbatore does not allow online booking of retiring rooms and dormitories. For 9 of these rooms, a passenger has to go through a strenuous manual process that involves physical checking of the availability, a manual filling of application and approval from the station master. It also involves daily cash deposit by the care taker (staff) of the retiring rooms and dormitories.

Online booking of these retiring rooms and dormitories will do away with the tedious process of cash collection and deposit by the staff.

No Actual Check in – Check Out System for Retiring Rooms

Also, while the passenger books for a specific period, currently there is no online system to maintain an actual check in and check out of the passengers using the retiring room. The Indian Railways should introduce a system of online check out by the passengers so they can track the availability of the rooms, better. Currently, when a passenger checks out early, the room does not automatically become available as the booking of that earlier passenger was for a particular period and the room status continues to be shown as occupied despite the passenger having vacated the room earlier.

Loss of Revenues for Railways

In recent times, one also finds a high marketing pitch at the Coimbatore Junction of the IRCTC- SBI Platinum Card. Since personnel are readily available at the counter for this card service, the Railways could extend this offering to provide online booking of retiring rooms as well. This will be a value add for both the passengers as well as the IRCTC and could dramatically improve the occupancy rates of the retiring rooms at Coimbatore Junction, which has in recent times lost a lot of revenues with the retiring rooms and dormitories remaining vacant. 

The infrastructure has been set up and the rooms are available.  They are clean, convenient, cost effective and more than anything safe for passengers. And yet Southern Railway is losing out on opportunity to increase its revenues by not making a simple online booking available for a number of rooms at the Coimbatore Junction.

It is hoped that the Railway Ministry will look into this and introduce online booking for all the retiring rooms and AC dormitories at the Coimbatore Junction. It is also hoped that the Ministry will initiate the actual check in and check-out system for online retiring room bookings so the rooms automatically becomes available when the current passenger checks out.

More Trains on Coimbatore Pollachi Rail Route?

Only last month, this writer had written about the lack of utility of the Coimbatore Junction- Podanur- Palani- Dindigul rail route even though it had over a year since the launch of the new broad gauge section on this route.  The Coimbatore Pollachi national highway is currently witnessing serious congestion because of the construction of flyovers at multiple points and it sometimes takes close to two hours to cover the 45kms by road. Hence it is an ideal opportunity for the Southern Railway to introduce many more trains on this route to help passenger commute (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/06/coimbatore-pothanur-junction.html).

Umpire Ravi Major Milestone Sabina Park Jamaica

July 12, 2018, 8:00 am

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S Ravi moves above VK Ramaswamy to become the 2^nd most capped Indian Umpire behind Venkataraghavan

‘Ravi will go even higher than where he is today’ – VK Ramaswamy 

'I have seen a transformational change in Ravi' - Mentor S Radhakrishnan

It was a historic moment for Umpire S Ravi(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2013/08/s-ravi-set-for-umpiring-test-debut.html?m=1) when he walked on to the field along with Richard Illingworth this Thursday (July 12) morning (8.30pm IST) to officiate in the 2^nd test between West Indies and Bangladesh at Sabina Park in Jamaica for he became the second most capped Indian Umpire behind the legendary S Venkataraghavan.  This is Ravi’s 27^th test match as an on-field umpire and he went past VK Ramaswamy, who had officiated in 26 tests during the 1980s and 90s.

Only recently, Ravi was inducted for the fourth straight year on the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, a no mean achievement for the RBI staffer from Madras. Ravi is very proud of his achievement to be on the Elite Panel “It is a great experience to be part of the Elite Panel and I have cherished every moment of it over the last three years. I take lot of pride being on the Elite Panel.”

For a man who for a large part of the first decade of this century was unsure about his future, this really is a monumental achievement as he has stamped his class on the international scene alongside international players turned umpires on the Elite Panel. He is unflussed, though, with the presence of cricketer turned umpires “I always try to better my performance and as such I don’t compete with anyone.’

Ravi will scale higher peaks - VK Ramaswamy

Talking from his home in Hyderabad, 73 year old VK Ramaswamy, who umpired in the first ‘Neutral Umpires’ test match way back in the mid 1980s, expressed happiness at handing over his long standing record to an outstanding umpire like Ravi  “I am so happy for Ravi. He truly deserves this. He is such an outstanding umpire. I watched him when he began as a BCCI umpire. He was highly skilled and very good even at that time and I knew that he had it in him to reach the top.  I am confident that he will go even higher than where he is today.”

Former BCCI Umpire S Radhakrishnan(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2013/08/s-ravi-has-it-in-him-to-become-no-1.html?m=1), who mentored Ravi at a crucial phase in the early part of his umpiring career and who had predicted seven years ago that Ravi would become the World’s best, is delighted at the transformational change in his mentee. 

It was under Radhakrishnan’s Tutelage that Ravi’s level of motivation in umpiring grew in the mid 1990s.  While he was a very good umpire, especially on the technical skills front, it was under Radhakrishnan’s guidance that Ravi developed the ambition to become a top umpire. The two of them umpired many matches in that phase and Ravi picked up intricate insights from Radhakrishnan. It was in that period that he became keener than ever to progress in his umpiring career.

A Transformational Change in Ravi
Radhakrishnan’s joy knew no bounds when Ravi was inducted recently into the Elite Panel for the fourth year in a row ‘From what I saw of him in those early years to what he is now is a transformational change. The poise and equanimity he exhibits on the field is phenomenal. His body language has transformed beyond my imagination.  Above all, the respect he seems to command from players is an indication of the growth in his stature as an umpire.’

Radhakrishnan remembers a match in the first division league in Chennai when Ravi banned a batsman, from SBI, for the rest of the match for disputing his decision. And there was a match when he sent Rahul Dravid out of the field “He used to react very strongly to situations. I told him that strong reactions was not acceptable for umpires and that open confrontations should be avoided. He had this instinctive quality to ‘react’. Usually the basic quality in a human being is very difficult to overcome but Ravi has mastered it and this quality to ‘react aggressively’ has gone away completely. That is a stupendous change for a human being.  It is this quality to transform that is taking him miles in his umpiring journey. He sharpened out the rough edges quite unbelievably much beyond my expectations. And that has made him a complete umpire,today.”

The Toughest Series

Ravi counts the controversial South Africa- Australia series earlier this year as one of the toughest he has officiated in, over the last 5 years “It was a very tough series because of the fact that lot of things happened both on and off the field. And it was a challenging experience to manage.” It was the transformational change that Radha cited that has helped Ravi manage such difficult situations with ease, amidst all the media glare.

His most memorable Tests

His roller coaster ride in recent years has included officiating tests at Lords and the MCG as well as the first Pink Ball Test. Looking back, he says that his first ever test at Lords in May 2015 and the first pink ball test in 2016 as being the most memorable moments in his umpiring career.

Radhakrishnan is quite surprised that Ravi could transform himself in such a short period of time ‘He doesn’t get ruffled at all.  Not just the external appearance, I could even feel inwardly that he was cool even in the toughest of situations. Ravi had strong values in life even as a youngster but the execution of those Values in Action is what matters the most on the cricket field. He has been able to do that. Ravi is a perfect role model for any umpire.”

Improvement Areas still!!!

Radhakrishnan, the mentor has a case for improvement for his mentee ‘Once in a while, when there is a beautiful swinging ball that beats a batsman, Ravi shows a mild 'facial expression' immediately after the ball passes the bat. He should work towards improving that. Knowing him, I am confident that he will master that one as well.”

Standing between him and the all time Indian record is Venkataraghavan, considered the best in his time. However, Ravi is not setting his eyes on that record just yet and says in his typical humble way “I don't aim to beat Venkat's record, am just taking one match at a time and trying to give my best on the task at hand. I would like to continue as long as I can and lets see where I end up.” 

Ravi's technical skills, body language, handling difficult situations, carrying himself on the field, the respect he commands from the top players and the ability to remain calm and unflustered makes him a very special umpire.

Umpiring Tests at Chepauk??

Unfortunately, back here in Madras, fans have not been able to watch him umpire tests at Chepauk for this ground has always been special for interenational cricketers from Tamil Nadu. While saddened by his inability to do tests at home, he is all for neutral umpires in tests “I feel it is better to have neutral umpires in tests.”

There is still a lot of Umpiring left in Ravi, despite the non stop overseas trips he has had to make over the last many years and the long periods of time he has had to be away from home. He began to umpire in the local league in Madras as a teenager way back in the 1980s in order to meet his monthly expenses. For someone who then waited 25 years for his international debut bearing through some frustrating periods in the middle, Ravi will not be short on patience. While he is not gunning for the record, it will be no surprise if one day he goes past Venkataraghavan. And at 52, Ravi has age on his side too.

Papanasam Nava Kailayam

July 16, 2018, 11:45 pm

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In memory of the historical episode, Lord Papanaswamy and Ulagambal provide Kalyana Kolam Darshan to Sage Agastya on Chitrai Vishu in the grandest of the festival at this temple 

The richest temple in the entire region gets an annual income that tops Rs. 1crore but the salary of the priests still remains pretty low and the temple is under staffed as well

The first among the Nava Kailayam temples is located at the foot of the Agasthiyar Falls in Papanasam, just under 10kms from Ambasamudram.

When Sage Agastya was dejected at not being able to witness the wedding of Shiva and Parvathi in Kailasam as he was given the task of balancing the earth by standing in the South of India, the divine couple promised to come to his place and provide an exclusive darshan.

When Sage Agastya was undertaking penance in the Pothigai Hills, it was here at Papanasam that Shiva and Parvathi provided the Kalyana Kolam darshan to him on the Chitrai Vishu day. 

A Unique story – Liberation from Dosham

A sister and brother were separated soon after birth. When they grew into teenagers, they married unaware of their earlier relationship and were hence afflicted with a dosham. Providing a solution to them, the learned rishis handed them a black blanket and ask the two to have bath in different rivers.  They were to be liberated from the dosham when the blanket turned white. Having had bath in various rivers, the two came here to Papanasam and invoked the blessings of the divine couple after bathing in the river. To their delight, the blanket turned white. Hence this temple is believed to be one of liberation from all kinds of Dosham and came to be referred to as ‘Paapa’ ‘Naasam’.

Huge Income but not shared among the staff

Given the popularity of the temple as one that liberates all the doshams of devotees offering sincere prayers, devotees throng the temple in large numbers even on normal weekdays.  In recent times, the annual income of the temple has topped Rs. 1crore. And yet much against HR & CE's claims and stated position of sharing the income of the temple for its own development, the comparative salary of the priests remains pretty low despite the huge income that accrues to the temple. The temple also seems understaffed, currently.  And the Raja Gopuram wears an old ‘Black and White’ look with repair works not having taken place for almost two decades.

It was also here after having invoked the blessings of Lord Shiva that Indra was liberated from Brahmma Hathi Dosham for having directed his Vajra Astram at his Guru in anger. 

Pandya Period Construction

It is believed that the outside mandapams and the temple in its current form and structure were constructed during the rule of Vikrama Singa Pandya. Many fish symbols are seen on the pillars and walls as an indication of the Pandya Period construction.

Festivals

The 11 day Brahmotsavam is the biggest festival in the region with the Theppam on Chitrai Visu and the Chariot Festival on the last day of Panguni. It is during this festival that the Lord goes on a 2km procession to Vikrama Singa Puram.

Caution

Monkeys are seen in large numbers inside the temple complex and have the ability to catch the devotees by surprise. And once caught unaware, it is likely one will have to follow them atop the Pothigai Hills to recover the bag.

The temple is open from 6am-1pm and 430pm-8pm Contact Hari Hara Subramanian Bhattar @ 94874 51547.

When here, also visit Agasthiyar Koil, 2kms from here. Also, visit Agasthiyar Falls, one where water flows perpetually right through the year.

The 2nd among the Nava Kailayam temples is about 25kms from here at Cheran Maha Devi
(http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/07/cheran-maha-devi-amma-nathar-koil.html).

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Perur Patteeswarar

July 18, 2018, 1:17 am

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The Largest Saivite Temple in the region has beautiful Sculptures and Lord Shiva in different exquisite postures depicted on Stone

Sundarar praises the temple as one where devotees offering their prayers with sincere devotion will be liberated from rebirth 

It is 230pm on a Monday afternoon and there is a big crowd that has already gathered outside the Eastern Raja Gopuram of the Patteeswarar Swamy Temple at Perur in the Western outskirts of Coimbatore. It is the Pradhosham day in Aani, a day that is celebrated in a grand way at this ancient Karikala Chozha period Appar and Sundarar praised temple.

By 330pm, the crowd outside the temple had gathered steam. Devotees came in large numbers in cars. The buses to Perur ran full. The face of the coconut vendor wore a delighted look for his entire bunch of over a 100 had been sold out by 330pm ahead of the coconut water abhishekam for Nandikeswarar. For a couple of hours, the several hundreds of devotees chanted the name of Lord Shiva as they watched in absolute devotion the archakas presenting the Abhishekam. Prasadam was presented in large quantities to every devotee in a traditional cup.         

It is heartening to find that there are multiple archaka families presenting pooja for the Lord at this temple as contrasted with the hardship that those in remote Thevaram locations have been going through in recent decades.

The temple, located on the banks of Kanchima River, is rich in history with the construction in the current form dating back to the period of Karikala Chozhan and architecture being the very best in the Kongu region.

The story goes that when the calf was drinking milk, her leg slipped and was stuck below the ground. The mother used her horn to dig the ground to help rescue the leg. Delighted at the commitment of the mother, Lord Shiva provided darshan here to the cow and hence came to be referred as Patteeswarar.

The Kanaka Sabha

The Mandapam in front of the Nataraja Sannidhi on the North was built about 450 years during the rule of the Nayaks of Thanjavur. Lined on either side of the Sannidhi are exquisite stone sculptures on the pillars depicting the various forms of Lord Shiva. The Nayaks were great devotees of Lord Rama. Hence, there is a beautiful Ramar Pattabhisekam sculpture at the entrance of the Sannidhi.

The Inscriptions on the outer Walls

On each of the walls of the outer prakaram, one finds innumerous inscriptions dating back a 1000 years that provide insights into the contributions to the temple during that period. Around the temple one finds various beautiful sculptures depicting various historical episodes.

Appar and Sundarar’s Praise

Appar and Sundarar have sung praise of the Lord of Perur. Sundarar in his praise of the Perur Lord says that there will be no rebirth to one who offers his sincere prayers at this temple and invoking the blessings of the Lord.

ஆரூரத்தஆயிற்றமுதேஅழப்பூர்அம்மானே

கரூர்பொழிங்கள்உடைசூழ்புரதி

கருகாஓரானே

பேரூர்உறைவைபட்டிபெருமான்இறவாநதியானே

பாரூர்பலரும்தோற்றபடுவாய்பாசூர்அம்மானே -Sundarar

Special Features

As proof of that, when one goes to the burial ground after three months of the death, one finds the body having turned into a stone instead of remaining a skeleton.

When one takes the Tamarind seed from here and places it in another town, one finds much to one’s surprise that the seed does not find growth in that new region outside of the temple zone.

The cow dung of Perur is said never to lose its flavour.

The Archakas of Perur

Viswanathan Gurukal’s father M Subbu Rathina Gurukal performed great service at the temple for 75 years. Viswanathan Gurukal, who supported his father at the temple from a very young age, has now been here for three decades. There are four Sthaaneegams who have historically taking care of the poojas at the temple.  They are now well support by many Gurukals, whose assistance is essential to take care of the huge devotee crowd that is seen at the temple especially on weekends and on festive occasions.

Festivals

10 day Brahmotsavam is celebrated in Panguni with Kalyana Utsavam on the sixth day and the Chariot Festival on the seventh

On the 10^th day of the Thiruvathirai Utsavam in Margazhi, Lord Nataraja on a Silver Chapparam and Ambal on a Golden Chapparam go around on a street procession in the morning at 7am after an abhishekam at 3am.

The temple is open between 6am-1pm and 4pm-9pm.
Contact S Viswanathan Gurukal @ 96294 37922.

Buses every five minutes from Coimbatore Junction. Auto from Railway station will cost Rs. 150.

Meenakshi Amman Temple Phone Ban

July 20, 2018, 4:30 am

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Will the successful implementation at this high profile and crowded temple lead more temples to introduce a ban on cell phones

    

Two Years ago, I had written about the issues relating to Photo menace inside temples and during processions(http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/06/temple-darshan-photo-video-menace.html). Saint Poets had praised the manner in which devotees thronged on to the streets to have darshan of the Lord. However, in recent times, with phones becoming ‘smarter’, holding a phone high over the head and clicking photo and video shots of the Lord had become a new fad. The first activity of an utsavam as the screen opens during procession is not to worship the Lord with folded hands but to get the camera ready for the first click, mostly at the cost of darshan for many of the devotees at the back row. 

In light of the above scenario, the recent ban on cell phones at the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai assumes great significance.

Following a Public Interest Litigation that cited safety issues, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court had in February this year directed the prohibition of carrying and using cell phones inside the Meenakshi Amman temple in Madurai. The ban, a first of its kind in temples in Tamil Nadu, comes at a time when the use of mobile phones inside the temple is on an upward trend. Friday Review takes a look at the scenario five months after the ban.

The implementation of the ban - though the primary purpose was from a safety and security point of view- has done wonders for the Meenakshi Amman temple and brought about a transformation that is almost unthinkable in modern times.

The Existing Scenario prior to the ban

Over the last few years, since the proliferation of camera phones, it had become common practice for devotees to take photographs at all places inside the temple including of the Deepaarathanai. And within a few minutes such photographs were circulated all over the world via social media platforms. The hands that rose to take such shots proved a great hindrance to devotees especially at important sacred moments. The phone menace had reached such unbearable levels that devotees were seen talking even while going around the prakaram on a pradakshinam. Even sacred of occasions like Pradhosham were not spared and the loud talk on cell phones clearly disturbed peace darshan at the temple. Taking of Photographs and talking over the mobile always ended in confrontations with the more traditional devotees seeing this as an intrusion into their prayers.

Othuvar Somasundaram, who has been presenting the Thevaram Verses for the last seven years at the Meenkashi Amman temple, talks about the issues he had to endure patiently “Selfies near the Tank and the Kodi Maram had taken out the sanctity of the temple. In recent times, the electrical and electronic equipments with their flash lights had taken away the ancient ways of devotion. The nonstop Hello-Hello on the phone was quite a distraction to our presentation. Since it had become a way of life for most, we could not do anything about it.” 

The Othuvar, who has 10 festive days of presentation in a month at this temple, is very vocal about the negative impact of using cell phones “When a phone rings, not just the receiver of the call but the concentration of all others is also immediately affected in a negative way. Our mind goes away from God in those few seconds.”

K Balakumar, former Editor of an evening daily who spent his entire childhood and college days in Madurai in the 1970s and 80s has nostalgic memories of those decades of visiting the Meenakshi Amman Temple.“In those decades, with no mobile or technological intrusion, people focused on the purpose of their visit - to pray and enjoy some peace of mind.”

Even after the transition to a smart phone, his mobile has always been on silent when inside the temple. He is quite saddened by the turn of events in the past decade “People using mobiles in places where you would expect some quietness is irritating. While each one of us has our own way of worshipping and making some spiritual connection, cell phones have been a major put-off. People have to maintain certain etiquette in mobile usage at temples. But sadly many don't.”

New System in place

With the imposition of the ban, anyone entering the Meenakshi Amman temple has to now deposit the phone in the vault provided at the counter outside. There are a total of 10000 such vaults at the different entry points to the temple. A Self Help Group has been assigned the task of servicing this new process. The temple has also gone in for insurance.

Joint Commissioner N. Natarajan who has been at the temple for the last four years finds it a risky proposition “The administration of the ban is fraught with risk and initially there was a sense of fear as a lot of these are high end expensive phones. However, we have created a foolproof system and it has been working well.  We are charging a token sum of Rs.10 for each deposit. The devotees are happy and comfortable with this process.”

He is delighted at the outcome of the ban and is of the view that it has take one back to the good old devotional days “The biggest outcome from the ban is that we are witnessing devotion like it was in the 80s and 90s.  In the last few years, devotees had started taking photographs with their cell phones of even the Aradhanai. Previously, there was an urge to look at the phone every few minutes. Now, there is absolutely no distraction. For the first time in many years, I see a special bond between the parents and their children with the doing away of the phone. And that is a real good sign.”

Othuvar Somasundaram is ecstatic at this unexpected ban, which did not look likely at the beginning of the year “The ban has dramatically changed the way of devotion as the (mobile) rings have ceased to exist. Selfies have gone away too. This is a ‘Great Positive’ for us. Devotees are now listening to our presentation (on the mike) in a peaceful manner sitting in different locations within the temple complex. Calmness has returned and one can sense overall happiness among the devotees. The ban is definitely a blessing in disguise for the devotees of the temple and for us, the Othuvars.”

One’s ‘Life’ is Pledged outside!!

Devotee R. Shiv Kumar, who has been a frequent visitor to Thevaram Sthalams across the state for the last two decades, has an interesting view on the cell phone ban and how it impacts human life “With no phone allowed inside, one has to be mentally prepared to be without it for a few hours. For almost all the guys, their 'life' is pledged outside till they come.” 

A Penalty instead of a Total Ban?

Temple Activist and President of the Temple Worshippers Society TR Ramesh questions the rationale in the perception of mobile phones being a security threat and is unhappy with the ban “The temple should have ensured swift and certain (definite) penalties for usage of mobiles inside inner prakaras and enforced prevention of misuse of mobile phones inside temples instead of a total ban.”

 

However, Balakumar is of the view that the ban should be implemented strictly “It is a ban that was much needed. If the authorities stick to the rules, it will certainly pave the way for hassle-free darshan. And a certain amount of sanctity, needed in matters of tradition and culture, will be, hopefully, ushered in.” 

More Temples to ban?

Positive enquiries have been pouring in to Natarajan from other temples including many privately managed temples on the process and system adopted by the temple in relation to the ban.

The possibility of the mobile ringing at an inappropriate moment has been done away with completely at the Meenakshi Amman Temple. There is now a sense of sense of calm prevailing all around the temple. A surprising and an unexpected outcome has been the amount of time that parents are now spending in one on one conversation with their children explaining the rich history of the temple, something that was a rare sight in the years gone by.  

The successful implementation in a high profile and thickly crowded temple such as the Meenakshi Amman temple will serve as precedence for possible replication in other crowded temples across the state. If the feedback in the last few months at this temple is anything to go by, then implementation of and extending the ban to other temples could lead to restoration of peaceful darshan in temples across the state.

Kanchipuram Varadar Dhavana Utsavam

March 6, 2018, 1:46 am

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Varadaraja Perumal provides darshan in Venugopalan Thiru Kolam at the Thottam
Presentation of the Prabhandham Verses by the 86 year old Ghanta Venkata Varadan Kesari was a big highlight on the concluding day of the three day Utsavam

It is the season of moving into the summer phase of the year.  Historically, Maasi is the month when Dhavana Utsavam is celebrated welcoming the Lord into the Nandavanam to watch the blooming of the Fragrant Dhavanam Flowers.

This ancient Utsavam was celebrated in a grand manner over three days at Varadaraja Perumal Divya Desam in Kanchipuram at the Thottam in the North West end of the huge temple praised in several verses by Vedantha Desikar.

In Adaikala Pathu, he refers to this temple as one of the most prominent places to seek Mukthi.

பத்திமுதலாம்அவற்றில்பத்திஎனக்குக்கூடாமல்

எத்திசையும்உழன்றேடிஇளைத்துவிழும்காகம்போல்

முத்திதரும்நகர்எழில்முக்கியமாம்கச்சிதன்னில் 

அத்திகிரிஅருளாளர்க்குஅடைக்கலம்நான்புகுந்தேனே

On the third and concluding day of the Utsavam, the Bhattars were up early in the morning at the Alankaram Mandapam to decorate Varadar as well as Perundevi Thayar for the day’s outing. By 11am the two of them were ready at their respective abodes for the procession.

Varadaraja Perumal made his way out from the ‘Malai’ Koil and as he came out to the next prakaram, he was delighted to find Perundevi Thayar waiting for him at the entrance of her Sannidhi. Welcoming her with a smile, Varadaraja Perumal, with Thayar by his side made his way out to the Thottam led by the traditional Vadhyam. 

While a number of Divya Desams wear a deserted look on weekdays, it was heartening to find that the utsavam here at the Varadaraja Perumal Divya Desam was attended by hundreds of traditional devotees most of whom stayed till the very end.

 Big Thaligai on the Day

As he entered the Thottam, one could spot a smile in the Lord’s face as he sensed the beautiful fragrance of the Dhavanam that had sprouted in large numbers. It was also a special day for the deities in terms of Thaligai offered to them. Soon after the entry at the asthana mandapam inside the Thottam, the Lord and Thayar were presented with hot ghee filled Chakkarai Pongal and Cashew Halwa.

Thirumanjanam

An hour and a half later, starting at 1.30pm the couple enjoyed showering of Sandal Paste and fruits on them as part of the 75 minute long Thirumanjanam. Especially pleasing during the Thirumanjanam was the solo devotional presentation of the sacred verses both from Nalayira Divya Prabhandham as well as Desikar Prabhandham by 86 year old ‘Ghanta’ Venkata Varadar.

Unmindful of the nonstop photo clicks by the devotees and the loud gossips by many at the mandapam, Ghanta Kesari presented verses of praise of the Lord describing his greatness and how he always was around to protect the good from the evil. 

However, even this most committed rendering with such devotion was unfortunately not enough to prevent devotees from standing right behind him to click photos of the Lord and engaging in talks!!

And the times that we live in is such that these photos of the Thirumanjanam had hit the social media by 2.30 pm. Even those in the traditional attire did not spare the Lord from nonstop photos during these 75 minutes with their hands held high.

Notwithstanding such distractions, the Lord and Thayar seemed to enjoy the presentation of Ghanta Kesari and at the end sported a big smile commending the utmost devotion behind the rendering of the verses at this old age.

The Lord and Thayar were then treated to another round of delicious Thaligai this time large quantities of Ven Pongal and once again Chakkarai Pongal.

Venugopalan Thiru Kolam

After this sumptuous meal, the Lord prepared himself to provide the devotees with the special Thiru Kolam of the day to mark the culmination of the Utsavam. For an hour, Raja Bhattar and his team worked on the Lord’s attire for the evening procession paying detailed attention to each aspect of the Thiru Kolam from the Lord’s flute to the placing of the feet from the right Abharanams to the folds on the Silk Vastram.

 As the screen opened at 5pm, hundreds of devotees who had gathered at the Thotta Mandapam were thrilled at the sight of watching the two in identical dresses. Varadaraja Perumal was seen in a grand yellow silk vastram to match Perundevi Thayar’s shining yellow silk saree.

Providing darshan in a standing posture in the Venugopalan Thiru Kolam, Lord Varadaraja Perumal was seen playing his favourite flute with the legs crossed. The fragrance from the Dhavanam in the huge garland seemed to make him happy.

Soon after, in line with the Lord’s Thiru Kolam, the Nagaswaram artiste played the ‘Alaipaayudhey Kanna’ song during the Pathi Ulathal much to the delight of the devotees.

Ghosti - Periyazhvaar Thirumozhi

By 7pm, the big Prabhandham Ghosti were waiting at the entrance of the Thottam and as the two made their way out to the Northern Prakaram, the 25 strong Ghosti welcomed the couple from the Thottam with the loud recital of Periyazhvaar’s Vanna Madangal Soozh verses.

While the Prabhandham Ghosti led the procession with the 10 verses from Periyazhvaar Thirumozhi, the Veda Parayanam group followed the couple chanting the sacred verses from the vedas.  After brief stopovers at Nam Azhvaar, Ramanuja and Vedanta Desikar Sannidhis, the couple made their way to the Western Raja Gopuram where the Prabhandham Ghosti presented the Satru Murai for the evening procession.

It was close to 8pm when Perundevi Thayar bid adieu to Varadaraja Perumal as she made her way into her Sannidhi. For the first time on this long day, there was a tinge of sadness on the Lord’s face  and he waited till the very last moment as Thayar ‘disappeared’ into her Sannidhi before moving on to his ‘abode’ at the Malai Koil bringing to end the Davana Utsavam.

PS: While the Thottam is huge including the one at the far East End of the temple, a large area seems to be largely unattended to with big bushes in many places behind the asthana mandapam and near the Eastern Raja Gopuram. Also, the mandapam enroute to the asthana mandapam inside the Thottam is in a dilapidated condition and filled with bats.

Meenakshi Amman Temple Cell Phone Ban

July 20, 2018, 11:18 pm

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Will more temples introduce ban on Cell Phones? 

In June 2016, I had written a story on the phone menace inside temples (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/06/temple-darshan-photo-video-menace.html) and  how technological development and the emergence of smart phones and cameras were becoming a big distraction to devotees seeking peaceful darshan inside the temple.

Following a Public Interest Litigation that cited safety issues, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court had in February this year directed the prohibition of carrying and using cell phones inside the Meenakshi Amman temple in Madurai. The ban, a first of its kind in temples in Tamil Nadu, comes at a time when the use of mobile phones inside the temple is on an upward trend. The implementation of the ban - though the primary purpose was from a safety and security point of view- has done wonders for the Meenakshi Amman temple and brought about a transformation that is almost unthinkable in modern times.

The Existing Scenario prior to the ban

Over the last few years, since the proliferation of camera phones, it had become common practice for devotees to take photographs at all places inside the temple including of the Deepaarathanai. And within a few minutes such photographs were circulated all over the world via social media platforms. The hands that rose to take such shots proved a great hindrance to devotees especially at important sacred moments. 

The phone menace had reached such unbearable levels that devotees were seen talking even while going around the prakaram on a pradakshinam. Even sacred of occasions like Pradhosham were not spared and the loud talk on cell phones clearly disturbed peace darshan at the temple. Taking of Photographs and talking over the mobile always ended in confrontations with the more traditional devotees seeing this as an intrusion into their prayers.

Othuvar Somasundaram, who has been presenting the Thevaram Verses for the last seven years at the Meenkashi Amman temple, talks about the issues he had to endure patiently “Selfies near the Tank and the Kodi Maram had taken out the sanctity of the temple. In recent times, the electrical and electronic equipments with their flash lights had taken away the ancient ways of devotion. The nonstop Hello-Hello on the phone was quite a distraction to our presentation. Since it had become a way of life for most, we could not do anything about it.” 

The Othuvar, who has 10 festive days of presentation in a month at this temple, is very vocal about the negative impact of using cell phones “When a phone rings, not just the receiver of the call but the concentration of all others is also immediately affected in a negative way. Our mind goes away from God in those few seconds.”

New System in place

With the imposition of the ban, anyone entering the Meenakshi Amman temple has to now deposit the phone in the vault provided at the counter outside. There are a total of 10000 such vaults at the different entry points to the temple. A Self Help Group has been assigned the task of servicing this new process. The temple has also gone in for insurance.

Othuvar Somasundaram is ecstatic at this unexpected ban, which did not look likely at the beginning of the year “The ban has dramatically changed the way of devotion as the (mobile) rings have ceased to exist. Selfies have gone away too. This is a ‘Great Positive’ for us. Devotees are now listening to our presentation (on the mike) in a peaceful manner sitting in different locations within the temple complex. Calmness has returned and one can sense overall happiness among the devotees. The ban is definitely a blessing in disguise for the devotees of the temple and for us, the Othuvars.”

More Temples to ban?

Positive enquiries have been pouring in to temple JC Natarajan from other temples including many privately managed temples on the process and system adopted by the temple in relation to the ban.

The possibility of the mobile ringing at an inappropriate moment has been done away with completely at the Meenakshi Amman Temple. There is now a sense of sense of calm prevailing all around the temple. A surprising and an unexpected outcome has been the amount of time that parents are now spending in one on one conversation with their children explaining the rich history of the temple, something that was a rare sight in the years gone by.  

The successful implementation in a high profile and thickly crowded temple such as the Meenakshi Amman temple will serve as precedence for possible replication in other crowded temples across the state. If the feedback in the last few months at this temple is anything to go by, then implementation of and extending the ban to other temples could lead to restoration of peaceful darshan in temples across the state.

GVG owners Udumalpet Temple

July 24, 2018, 11:17 pm

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The Owners of the Paper and Textile firm (now GVG) that once supported cricket in a big way are now embarking on a joint community initiative to construct the Biggest Perumal Temple in the Udumalpet region

With a Three Tier Raja Gopuram at the Eastern Entrance, the Alarmel Mangai - Venkatesa Perumal temple will also house Sannidhis for Dhanvantri and Hayagriva

The Temple is looking for full time Priests and Madapalli personnel 

Having supported cricket and cricketers in a big way in the 1970s and 80s (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/06/svpb-udumalpet-soundararajan.html), the owners of erstwhile SVPB (Sri Venkatesa Paper Boards), now GVG Group of Companies are building the biggest Perumal Temple in the Udumalpet region along with Shanmughapriya Textiles, Udumalpet and with support from the larger public. The new Venkatesa Perumal temple, with a Three Tier Raja Gopuram, will come on a one acre area on the Southern Outskirts of Udumalpet off the Thali Road in Pallapalayam with the beautiful Munnar hills in the backdrop.

While the cricket development was anchored by M Soundararajan, his brothers Amarnath and Veluswamy are anchoring the construction of the temple along with Trustee Ramakrishnan, a well known enterpreneur and philanthropist. The temple is being built at a cost of  Rs. 10 crores.

The best of ancient stones have been sourced for the Perumal Sannidhi from Chittoor and for the rest of the Sannidhis from Vazhapadi. Over 50 experienced temple architecture related persons led by Sthapathy Ramesh and Bhaskar, who recently undertook the construction of the Abirami Amman temple in Dindigul, are working tirelessly in an effort to complete the first phase of construction by the middle of next year. 

The temple has the blessings of Srivilliputhur Jeeyar and has been endorsed by Upanyasakars Ananthapadmanabhachari and Velukkudi Krishnan, who have both visited the temple. Over the last decade, Velukkudi Krishnan has been presenting an annual Upanyasam in Udumalpet.

Dhanvantri, Hayagriva Sannidhis

Venkatesa Perumal will be flanked on his right in a separate sannidhi by Alarmel Mangai Thayar and on his left in a separate sannidhi by Andal.  There will also be separate sannidhis for the God of Health Dhanvantri, the God of Learning Hayagriva, Lakshmi Narasimhar and Chakrathazhvaar, Vishwaksenar and Hanuman.

Amarnath who is personally overseeing the construction says that in the 1960s and 70s, he and his brothers felt that cricketers in the districts did not receive enough opportunities to showcase their talent and that was the reason for their family to support the cricketing fraternity in the Udumalpet region. And the family went the full distance providing a platform for young cricketers from Udumalpet to play alongside and against the best in the country. 

GVG Owner Amarnath flanked by former cricketers S Sukumar and NP Madhavan

On the extreme right is Trustee Ramakrishnan

Similarly, the family is on its way to build the biggest temple“We felt that the region did not have a big Perumal Temple with a Sannidhi for all the Lords.  This prompted us to look for a large tract of land that would have enough space to house all the Sannidhis.”

The Samprokshanam is slated for next Vaikasi.

The temple is also looking for full time priests and person for the Madapalli once the construction is complete. Those interested to participate and support the construction of the temple in any form may contact Trustee Ramakrishnan 98422 27606.

Kodaganallur Kailasanathar temple

August 5, 2018, 9:43 pm

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The second among the Nava Kailayam temples, the Kailasanathar Temple in Kodaganallur has survived thanks to the initiative from a devoted Gurukal who comes every morning from Tirunelveli

Special Pooja on Tuesdays to liberate one from Sarpa Dosham

Located 10kms West of Tirunelveli off the Mukoodal Highway is the Kailasanathar Temple in Kodaganallur, third in the Nava Kailasam temples.  It was here that Romasa Rishi found a Shiva Lingam after the Lotus let afloat in Papanasam by Sage Agastya came to a halt on the Northern Banks of Tamaraibarani.

Belief is that no one dies of snake bite here as Kargodaga the snake attained Moksham at Kodaganallur.

Ambal who is seen seated on a snake is referred to as ‘Sarpayaatchi’ Anandha Gowri Ambal. On Tuesdays, Thuvaram Paruppu rice is presented to liberate one from Sarpa Dosham. 

The current archakar has been here at the temple from his childhood. He current receives Rs. 150 as salary every month. His father had performed service for 85 years at this temple. 

While Papanasam (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/07/papanasam-nava-kailayam.html) the first among the Nava Kailasam temples receives an annual income of over Rs. 1crore, a temple under its control and its priest have been ignored for far too long.

Renovation plans are afoot at the temple and they are targeting to conduct the Kumbabhishekam in 2019.

Auto to reach the temple from the Tirunelveli-Mukoodal Highway: 93450 27779.

The temple is open between 7am -1030am and from 4pm to 6pm. Contact: Suresh Gurukal @ 96597 28621.

The Amma Nathar temple in Cheran Maha Devi, the 2nd among the Nava Kailasam temples is 2kms West of Kodaganallur (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/07/cheran-maha-devi-amma-nathar-koil.html).

Anantha Narayana Perumal Aabaranadhari

August 16, 2018, 10:44 pm

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The only temple where the Moolavar Lord sports ornaments from Head to Toe

The 21 Feet Lord is seen atop the 7 Hooded Serpent and with a beautiful smile

Inscriptions dating back to the 12^thCentury refer to this location as Aabaranadhari Chaturvedi Mangalam 

Located 3 kms East of Thiru Kannangudi Divya Desam is the Ananatha Narayana Perumal Temple in Abaranadhari where the Lord is seen in a sleeping posture sporting a beautiful smile. This is one of the five temples dedicated to Lord Narayana in the ‘Pancha Narayana’ Kshetram. Anantha Narayana Perumal is an Abhimana Lord for the Thiru Kannangudi Divya Desam.

The 21 feet Anantha Narayana Perumal seen in a Sayana Kolam atop the seven hooded serpent is one of the longest among the Perumal temples. This is possibly the only Perumal temple where the Moolavar Lord in a sleeping posture is seen with ornaments from head to toe. As the Moolavar Lord sports ornaments across his body, he came to be referred to as ‘Aabarana’ Dhari, one who adorns Aabaranam.

Vedic Recital

Inscriptions inside the temple dating back to the period of Raja Raja Chozhan refer to this place as Aabaranadhari Chaturvedi Mangalam indicating that vedic recital was integral to this location. 

During the rule of Dippaya Deva Raya, a couple of centuries later, this place was referred to as Aabaranadhari Uthira Ananthapuram ‘Palli Konda’ Perumal temple, giving an indication about the physical features of the Lord and his posture.

Location of the temple

Also, as per the ancient inscription, the location of the Aabaranadhari temple was recorded as being South of Sikkal, home to the famous Murugan temple. 

Large Gifts to the temple

Inscriptions refer to the donation of several tracts of land towards the maintenance of the temple. As with the Damodara Narayana Perumal temple in Thiru Kannangudi Divya Desam, despite the existence of several acres of land, income has not accrued to the temple from these lands for several years. And thus the salary of the priests have remained in three digits for decades and the other support personnel have long gone in search of greener pastures, leaving the single Bhattar to manage the entire activity.

The Moolavar Lord

Sri Devi Thayar and Brigu Rishi are seen invoking the Lord’s blessings near the Lord’s head while Bhoo Devi Thayar is seen pressing the feet of the Lord. Vyasa Rishi is also seen at the Lord’s feet. All the other deities except Garuda are also seen sporting ornaments.

The Ornaments

A unique feature of this temple is that the Moolavar Lord is seen with ornaments from head to toe. As one sets his eyes on the Lord from the top, one finds ornaments such as Dhandam, Dharanam, Shireshanam, and Ghatakam, Kanganam on his arm, Beautiful long ear rings, Vaira Jada Mudi, Kavacham across the chest, Uddiyanam on his hip and Yagnjopavitham across the body. Down to his legs, the Lord is seen sporting anklets. A ring is seen on each of the fingers of his hands and the toes of his legs.

Alankara Valli Thayar, who too is seen with a beautiful smile, is in a separate Sannidhi. 

Raja Gopuram destroyed by the Cyclone

There was a Raja Gopuram at the Eastern Entrance till the 1950s. This was destroyed in the devastating cyclone of 1952. A Samprokshanam was performed in 1957 and another one almost 50 years later in 2005. The authorities are planning to reconstruct the Raja Gopuram before the next Samprokshanam. 

Utsava Deity in Tiruvarur

As is the trend in so many of the remote temples administered by the HR & CE, the utsava idol has been moved to Tiruvarur for security reasons. And thus, the processional deity is seen only on a couple of occasions every year during the big utsavams in Maasi and Margazhi. In the centuries gone by, Utsavams were celebrated in a grand manner every month but a lot of this has come to pass.

Currently, a 4 day Pavitrotsavam, Thailakappu in Vaikasi, Thirumanjanam in Aani and Thayar Abhishekam in Aadi is performed.

Pancha Narayana Kshtrem

The other Narayana Temples in the region are Damodara Narayanan in Thiru Kannangudi (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2008/06/thiru-kannangudi.html), Deva Narayanan in Thevur, Yadava Narayanan in Kizhvelur and Varada Narayanan in Vadakalathur. Historically there was a Pancha Garuda Sevai at Thiru Kannangudi Divya Desam with the Lords from the other four temples congregating and providing a Garuda Sevai darshan around the big Mada Streets of Thiru Kannangudi.

With the traditionalists moving away from this ancient and historical location, the utsavam had to be done away with. The locals are keen to revive the Pancha Garuda Sevai. Time will tell if this indeed can be revived.

The temple is open between 8am-12noon and 5pm-8pm. Contact: S Kumar Bhattar @ 82203 18842

How to reach

The temple is about 5kms South of Sikkal. An auto from Sikkal bus stop will cost Rs. 100. Contact auto @ 97898 76911. Buses ply once 3 hours on the Sikkal- Aabarandhari route.

When here also visit Damodara Narayana Perumal Divya Desam in Thiru Kannangudi (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2015/11/thiru-kannangudi-dilapidated-state.html) and Soundararaja Perumal Divya Desam in Thiru Nagai (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/04/thiru-nagai-divya-desam-bhattars.html).

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Thiru Nellikaval Nellivananathar Temple

August 20, 2018, 8:24 pm

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Praised by three Saint Poets, this historic temple built by Amala Kesa Chozhan is one of the five ‘Kka’ Sthalams

Sundarar refers to this temple alongside the temples of Kanjanur, Panaiyar and Nannilam 

One of the Five ‘Kka’ Kshetrams, Thiru Nellivananathar temple in Thiru Nellikaval is located 15kms from Tiruvarur off the Thiruthuraipoondi highway. The temple has been praised by Thiru Gnana Sambandhar, Appar and Sundarar. 

Commitment of the Gurukal family

Dhandapani Gurukal has been performing for five decades at a salary of a few hundreds. His 82 year old father had performed service at the temple for over six decades at a meager salary. His grand father too had performed pooja for several decades in the early part of the 20th century, such has been the commitment of the family to keep the service going without much of a salary.

Chozha Period Construction
It is believed that Amala Kesa Chozhan built this temple. His son Uthama Chozhan invoked the blessings of Nellivananathar on the Pradosham day seeking a child. Answering his prayers, it is believed that Ambal herself presented before him as a 3 year old child whom Uthama Chozhan accepted as his own. After she grew into a beautiful young girl, she visited the Thyageswarar temple in Tiruvarur. Much to her delight, an invisible voice told her that the Lord himself would come to Thiru Nellikaval and marry her. Accordingly, he came here on the first Friday of Avani and married Mangalambal. This episode of the celestial wedding is enacted every year on the first Friday day of Avani.

Being a temple built by Amala Kesa Chozhan, this place is also referred to as Amala Kesa Puram.

Ancient Reference

In ancient times, this place was referred to as Panchakshara Moorthy Puram. Thirunathingudi, Thiru Keraveyil, Thiru Thengoor and Thiru Namasivaya Puram are the other four sacred Saivite temples in this region and these along with Thiru Nellikaval constitution the Panchakshara Moorthy Sthalam.

Praise by Saint Poets

Sundarar refers to Thiru Nellikaval as being South of Kanjanur and North of Panaiyur with Nannilam being in the middle.

The connection with Ramayana

A young Susanma, who later went on to become a Rishi, was introduced into wrong habits as a result of mixing with wrong friends. When his father once questioned his wrongful conduct, the young boy killed his father in anger. Struck with Brahmma Hathi Dosham, he went along with his mother to Tiruvarur.  There he was requested the learned rishis to direct him on the route to liberation from the Dosham.

The rishis of Tiruvarur,(http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2015/12/thiruvarur-thyagaraja-temple.html)
who were performing a penance, narrated the story of how Kakasura, chased by the arrow of Lord Rama, came here seeking salvation. After having bath in the Theertham, he invoked the blessings of Lord Shiva and Ambal who directed him back to Lord Rama for liberation.

Being the place for liberation from Dosham, the rishis pointing to the crow’s story asked him to have bath in the sacred five Theerthams of Thiru Nellikaval. Upon reaching here, he had bath as directed and performed the Anga Pradakshinam at the temple. After presenting food to the cow, he invoked the blessings of the Lord and Ambal, upon which he was liberated from the dosham.

Gandharva’s arrogance and liberation from disease

Divyarupan, a Gandharva specialized in music, grew arrogant and presented in ‘abaswaram’. He incurred the wrath of Saptha Matha and was inflicted with a disease. He was directed to Thiru Nellikaval. Here after he had finished his bath in the sacred Brahmma Theertham, he was liberated from his curse when a spot of water from the wet hair of the wife of Susanma Rishi fell on him while she was in the process of drying her hair. 

A special feature of the temple is the five Theerthams. Opposite the Ambal Sannidhi is the Brahmma Theertham.

It is here that Sage Durvasa who is renowned for his instant anger undertook pooja and is said to have attained a softer form here.

Sun’s rays on the Lord

The Sun’s rays fall on the Lord in the evening between 5.30pm and 6pm between the 18^th and 24^th day of Maasi.

‘Kka Kshetrams’

The other four among the ‘Pancha Kka’ Kshetrams are Thiru Anaikka (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2014/12/thiruvanaikaval-jambukeswarar.html), Thiru Kodikka (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2013/11/thiru-kotteeswarar-temple-thiru.html), Thiru Kolakka (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/03/osai-nayaki-thaala-pureeswarar-sirkazhi.html) and Thiru Kurukka (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/09/thiru-kurukkai-verateswarar-temple_13.html).

Appar's praise

In his praise of the Lord of Thiru Nellikaval, Appar ends each of his verses as Nellikaavul Nilaayavaney. 

Festivals

Chitrai Brahmotsavam with Theerthavari on Chitrai day

Chitrai Theppotsavam

Maasi – Sun’s rays on the Lord

As Nellikai is the Sthala Vriksham, it is believed that those offering sincere prayers at this temple will be blessed with a healthy life.

The temple is open between 630am-1130am and 5pm-8pm. Contact: Dhandapani Gurukal @97861 93292.

How to reach

Buses every 15 minutes from Tiruvarur to Thiruthuraipoondi. Get down at Four (Cross) Road. From there, an auto to the temple will cost Rs. 80 (4kms). Contact Auto Ayyappan @ 96557 53604.

Yadava Narayana Perumal Kizhvelur

August 29, 2018, 2:42 am

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It was at Kizhvelur that Lord Subramanya presented sacred cows to the Yadavas to whom Lord Vishnu provided darshan as Yadava Narayanan

Thiru Kalyanam is Celebrated in a grand manner on the Shravanam day in May every year

Located 1km South of the Nagapattinam-Tiruvarur Highway is the Yadava Narayana Perumal temple in Kizhvelur. This is the fifth among the Pancha Narayana Kshetrams around Thiru Kannangudi Divya Desam Damodara Narayana Perumal Divya Desam praised by Thiru Mangai Azhvaar is a couple of kms from here (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2008/06/thiru-kannangudi.html)..

Lord Subramanya undertook penance at the Anju Vettathu Amman temple, the Thevaram Sthalam a couple of hundred yards from the Yadava Narayana Perumal temple. To support his penance, Parasakthi is believed to have protected the place from all five sides. Lord Subramanya secured the spear at Sikkal just over 5kms from here and he completed the Samhara of the Asura at Tiruchendur. When he invoked the blessings of Brahmma seeking liberation from the dosham of killing, he was directed to go back to the same place where he undertook penance and present cows to the devotees.

Thus, Subramanya came back here and presented milk bearing cows to the Yadava devotees of Kizhvelur. When the delighted devotees began invoking the blessings of the Lord and presenting the milk, Lord Vishnu presented himself as Yadava Narayana and provided darshan to them.

The biggest festival takes place on the Shravanam day when Thiru Kalyanam is celebrated. The entire town congregates at the temple on this day to watch the celestial wedding. 

Puratasi Saturdays have also become a day of celebration in the recent past.

The temple is open between 8am and 12noon and 5pm and 830pm. Contact Suresh Bhattar @ 98427 55732.

The 2^nd among the Pancha Narayana Kshtrem, Anantha Narayana Perumal temple in Aabaranadhari is just 5kms East of here (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/08/anantha-narayana-perumal-aabaranadhari.html). 

Sripandaram Krishna Jayanthi Utsavam Srirangam

September 5, 2018, 2:55 am

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The biggest and the best transformation at the Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple has been the restoration of the Sri Pandaram to its ancient glory

A full fledged kitchen had come up at the Sri Pandaram in the 20^th Century with the so called traditionalist Vaishnavites doing brisk business with a ‘food stall’ here - Multi Billionaire from the TVS Group falls at the feet of the unauthorised 'Stall' owner to secure the SriPandaram back for the temple

Lord Namperumal made his annual trip to Sri Pandaram this Monday on the occasion of Krishna Jayanthi Utsavam providing darshan through the day

‘Pilot’ Krishnan Araiyar, who had just become a father to a son, presented a 90 minute devotional rendering at the Sri Pandaram on Child Krishna growing up into a young boy including the making of the salty seedai 

Several hundreds of devotees watched in awe the Sri Jayanthi Celebrations on Monday (Sept 3) at the recently restored 100 pillared Sri Pandaram South of the Manal Veli at the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam, for it bore no resemblance to what even the most long time residents of Srirangam had experienced over the last many decades.

Not even the most ardent of devotee was clued in on the vast expanse of the 100 pillared mandapam at Sri Pandaram, a zone within the Ranganathaswamy temple where Lord Namperumal visits once annually on the occasion of Sri Jayanthi.

This is one of the four 100 pillared mandapam at the temple, each of which is connected through a neat pathway, an indication of the historical importance and relevance of these mandapams.

For decades, as one passed this 100 pillared mandapam from the Manal Veli on the Eastern side of the temple, all one could see was a high cement structure measuring 4 feet in height and 30 feet in width. Seated atop this temporary structure, the so called traditionalists at the temple sold food and snacks in the name of prasadams.

Thus with the passing of time this entire location within the huge temple complex had come to be seen as a ‘food’ stall. Almost none knew that this was for centuries together a huge 100 pillared complex.

Sri Pandaram turns into a Kitchen in the 20^th Century

If this 20^th century raised artificial structure was a shock, what one saw behind this high rise was quite unbelievable. A full fledged Kitchen had been functioning inside the temple with firewood stacked right up to the roof. There were artificial structures to the height of 4feet raised all around the mandapam to carry out the cooking. And a mini catering service had been carried out from within the temple complex. 

The restoration of the Sri Pandaram did not go through during the 18month restoration exercise that had been personally directed by the former late CM Ms. J Jayalalitha. The High Court order restricting renovation works stalled this work at the Sri Pandaram.

It was only subsequently that this was placed before the renovation committee appointed as per the court direction and approvals secured. 

And it was not an easy exercise to move the ‘food stall’ owners out of Sri Pandaram. It was business for them, selling food and snacks in the name of prasadam. Devotees, especially those from outside, continue to believe that this is the sacred food that has been presented to the Lord. Business has been brisk for several decades and those that have been running this have thrived on devotees’ innate desire to consume ‘prasadam’ at the temple.

The Best Restoration work within the Temple Complex

As has happened (and continues to happen), it took the persuasive skills and the devotional convincing powers (falling at the feet of the unauthorised food stall owner in full public view) of Venu Srinivasan, Chairman, Board of Trustees of the temple to get the ‘snacks businessmen’ to agree to give up their occupancy of the Sri Pandaram (it is another matter that they have found  a nearby location from the Sri Pandaram to sell their ‘Prasadam’ food and snacks)

And thus began the restoration of this historical utsavam location at the Ranganathaswamy temple. All the temporary structures were brought down. The heat waves generated from the ‘kitchen’ had blackened the roof completely. It was a humungous task to remove the structures, the heat marks on the pillars and the roof and the dirty filth that had engulfed the entire area outside the 100 pillared Mandapam.

It turned out to be one of the most expensive restoration exercises for a standalone mandapam costing well over Rs. 1crore. The entire flooring was restored to the ancient single stone pieces as against the larger stones in vogue currently.

Avani Rohini – Lord Namperumal’s annual trip to Sri Pandaram

It is the Rohini Star on Monday. Just past 9am in the morning, there is a certain buzz inside the Nazhi Kettan Vaasal at the Srirangam temple ahead of the birthday celebrations of Lord Krishna. Away at the Sripandaram, the flower decoration is on. The entire stretch has been decked with Vritchi Poo.  

At 10am, Lord Namperumal began his procession to the Sri Pandaram, where devotees have already gathered in expectation of his arrival. Even the locals have not seen the Sri Pandaram in its ancient glory for they too believed that this was historically a place to distribute Prasadam. Outstation visitors to the temple too are delighted to find a 100 pillar mandapam that they seemed to be completely unaware of during their earlier trips.

A couple of hours later, 5 Araiyars led by ‘Pilot’ Krishnan Araiyar began their presentation in front of the Sri Jayanthi Mandapam of the first two hundred songs of Periyazhvar Thirumozhi, where the Azhvaar enjoys the mystic experience of handling a child prodigy (Krishna) through the eyes of a mother (Yashodha).  

It is probably the largest zone in the Srirangam temple outside of the 1000 pillared mandapam for an utsavam celebration. 100s of devotees sat in front of and around the mandapam at the Sri Pandaram to watch the devotional rendering of Krishnan Araiyar, who himself had just become a father to a 2^nd child.

Araiyar Sevai  by Pilot Krishnan Araiyar

Through this 90 minute presentation, Krishnan Araiyar, whose passion has been to become a Pilot from a very young age, brought to us the mood in and around Krishna’s house immediately following his birth. Yashodha dotes on him, sings lullaby for the baby in golden cradle, invites him to drink milk, and her friends to come to his house and admire the handsome features of the baby limb to limb. 

The birth of the child, the child’s first steps (Thalar Nadai), swaying dance on the mother’s lap (Sengeerai), clapping hands in happiness (Chappani) and the joy of sighting the full moon (Ambuli) for the first time were presented in detail in these verses.

Later during his presentation, he brought to those devotees present the yearnings of a loving mother who is seeking the embrace of this extra ordinary child, first receiving the hug from the front and then experiencing the embrace from behind leaving her in a state of ecstasy. When Krishnan Araiyar began his sevai of the verses on Lord Ranganatha's favourite flowers, one's eyes instantly moved to the flowers that Lord Namperumal adorned that morning at the Sri Pandaram.

ஆமாறு அறியும் பிரானே

அணி அரங்கத்தே கிடந்தாய்

ஏமாற்றம் என்னைத் தவிர்ந்தாய்

இருவாட்சிப் பூச்சூட்ட வாராய்

The clock was ticking to 1pm when the Araiyar began his presentation of the verses on child Krishna growing up to play with boys of his age and above.

Excitement among the devotees of Srirangam

Half hour later, he completed the presentation with a description of his acts of stealing butter and the feelings of the neighbours and their complaints to Yashodha wanting the mother to keep control of her mischievous son. It is a fascinating description of these angry feelings among the entire colony and a despondent mother who after sharing with her the entire list of complaints tries her best to advise him about staying away from his unfriendly neighbours. 

And when it came to the story of Krishna stealing the butter, one could spot a sense of excitement among the devotees with each of them visualizing the child Lord’s mischievous acts.

வெண்ணெய் விழுங்கி வெறுங் களத்தை 
வெற்பிடைஇட்டு  கேட்கும்

The neighbours say that he has gobbled up every ounce of butter on sight. He moves on from one house to another and there are going to be similar complaints from most other houses as well about these ‘wicked deeds’ of his. The neighbours instruct Yashodha that it is important for her to restrain him from such activities. They say that not only does he finish all the butter but he also has the audacity to throw all the empty pots on the rocks in such a way that it seemed he specifically wanted us to hear that thundering breaking noise

For 12 shravanams, her neighbour had made special offerings of rice made of paddy, ghee, cow’s milk, sugar and candy. And she now recollects what happened to each one of these. She bemoans that he finished everything and like an innocent child wanted another piece of it.

Salty Seedai and Delicious Laddus

And then another neighbour arrives. She says that she had made all the special sweets like Laddus and the Salty Seedai. He finished every single savoury. It was meant to be a lean day at home for that lady and she was not expecting any strangers at home. And hence she had gone away for a little while. But in this small gap, this naughty child came and finished off everything. With an intention to shame yashodha, she asks if this is the way for any child to be.

கன்னல்இலட்டுவத்தோடு சீடை காரெள்ளின் 

உண்டைகலத்திலிட்டு என்னகமென்று 

நான் வைத்துப் போந்தேன் 

இவன் புக்கு அவற்றைப் பொருத்திப் போந்தான்

Pilot Krishnan Araiyar ended his presentation with a complaint about Krishna’s act from the last neighbor in the colony.

Knowing Yashodha’s love for her son, the neighbor began with a statement that even Yashodha was likely to be furious with what she was going to hear.

She says that the boy entered her house, removed the bangles from her daughter’s hands, went out through the back door on to the street and exchanged these bangles for a purple fruit. And then as though he knew nothing, he acted with utmost innocence and gave a beautiful smiling face as if nothing at all had happened.

இல்லம் புகுந்து என் மகளைக் கூவிக் 

கையில்வளையைக் கழுற்றிக் கொண்டு 

கொள்ளையில் நின்றும்கொணர்ந்து விற்ற அங்கொருதிக்கு

 அவ்வளை கொடுத்துநல்லன நாவற் பழங்கள் கொண்டு 

நானல்லேன் என்றுசிரிகின்றானே

The rendering of the final set of verses by Krishnan Araiyar brought a smile in the faces of all the devotees present at the Sri Pandaram as they visualized the activities of their own children in their homes.

The devoted Krishnan Araiyar, whose very first presentation inside the Ranganathaswamy temple almost three decades ago, was the verses on Lord Krishna on the occasion of Krishna Jayanthi seemed a satisfied man at the end of 90 minute rendering.

The devotees stayed back for the next couple of hours to watch the Thirumanjanam at the Sri Jayanthi Mandapam. Lord Namperumal provided darshan to the devotees till 6pm on Monday before making his way back to his abode. 

Later in the evening, there was a Thirumanjanam (it was delayed by almost two hours!!!) for Lord Krishna at the Krishna Sannidhi inside the Nazhi Kettan Vaasal.

A day at the Sri Pandaram is enough for even die hard critics to appreciate the extent of restoration that this temple has seen this decade and is sure to set the devotional experience back in one's mind as this Monday showcased to the devotees who were present through the day witnessing the Sri Jayanthi Utsavam at the newly restored Sri Pandaram. 

Othuvar Muthu Kandaswamy Desikar Malaikottai

September 6, 2018, 8:48 pm

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For almost six decades, the legendary 81 year old Othuvar from Thiru Kodikkaval has presented the Thevaram Verses at the Thayumanavar Temple in Malaikottai - a voice that was heard on the banks of Kollidam

He refused a Lucrative Offer in the 1990s from a temple in London and has continued to be dedicated to the Lord of Malaikottai from a small house at the foot of the rock temple

Othuvars have been in the limelight in the recent past with a High Court order by the Madurai Bench directing the HR & CE to pay them a fair remuneration for their services.

Muthu Kandaswamy Desikar, who turned 81 recently, is the oldest Othuvar in action in the Saivite Saint Poets praised Thevaram Sthalams and has been part of the Kasi Mutt of Thirupananthal for six decades presenting the verses at Thayumanavar temple but despite all his years of experience, he is paid only Rs. 2400 per month up from Rs. 70 when he started off way back in the 1960s.

For his age, he has remarkable memory of the Thevaram verses as he rolls out one after another from each of the four prominent Saivite Saint Poets. His vast experience of almost 6 decades has equipped him with the power to pull out the meanings from 5000 verses and to give detailed explanations. "These verses even contain information on what to look for in a girl, how to conduct marriages and the art of living a good dharmic life".

Formative Years

Muthu Kandaswamy Desikar belonged to Thiru Kodikkaval (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2013/11/thiru-kotteeswarar-temple-thiru.html), a remote location near Mayiladuthurai that is home to one of the few temples dedicated to Yama and Chitragupta. He had his primary schooling there before moving on to Sirkazhi for higher secondary education.

1950s – Thevaram Initiation - A Legend in the making

Later, he was initiated into the sacred Thevaram verses for over 5 years at the Dharumapuram Aatheenam in Thirupananthal. His Acharya was the brilliant R Velayutha Othuvar who also trained well over 300 other Othuvars in Tamil Nadu.  The revered scholar used to identify talented students very early into his training. He saw the light in Muthu Kandha Desikar and identified him as one with the potential to be a legend in this service. When Muthu Kandha Desikar was in the very first year of his Thevaram initiation, his Guru brought him into the 5^th year class and made him sing along with them. It was a privilege none others had received in his lifetime, such was the potential that the acharya saw in this young student. 

Muthu Kandha Desikar came out of school in 1958 after 5 years of Thevaram initiation and went to the Kasi Mutt in Thirupananthal. He became a Kattalai Othuvar there. He presented service at the Thiruvannamalai temple and a few others in the initial period but even as a teenager Thayumanavar found a place in his heart and he seemed to have a permanent connect with the Lord of Malaikottai.

Dedication to the Lord of Malaikottai

One day he went up to the authorities at Kasi Mutt asking for him to be stationed permanently at Thayumanavar temple in Malaikottai, Tiruchirapalli. Earlier, the HR & CE had wanted him to join the Thayumanavar temple as an employee but Kasi Mutt did not approve him becoming a staffer there. Later he joined the same temple under the condition that he would not be exclusively bound to them. For over five decades, he has presented the Thevaram verses at the Siva Siva Ul Mandapam in Thayumanavar Sannidhi for an hour each day. 

HR and CE invited Muthu Kandaswamy Desikar as a full time staffer at many temples including Madurai Meenkashi Amman Temple and Palani Dhandayudhapani temple but he refused all these offers sticking to his presentation at the Thayumanavar temple.

A Voice that was heard till Kollidam!!!

In the 1960s, his voice over the speaker system was heard on the banks of Coloroon, such was the clarity in the voice of his devotional rendering and modulation of the verses.  Even after the current infrastructure development in the Srirangam- Tirichirapalli region, his voice is heard till the banks of the Cauvery. Over these decades, he identified and developed several Ragams for the Thevaram verses.

An irresistible Offer in UK Pounds!!

When he once presented these verses in a highly devotional tone in London, so impressed were the authorities in the temple that he was offered an extremely lucrative ‘deal’, one very few would have refused. Muthu Kandaswamy Desikar distinctly remembers that day in history “It was so high that I could have built four houses in Malai Kottai. But I was committed to presenting before Thayumanavar and hence let go of the financially remunerative move.” 

Students who learnt from him in London went on to release CD and Thevaram albums. They were so grateful for his initiation that they funded a entire trip of his to London on another occasion.

Lankans – The most devoted people

He has gone to Ceylon 49 times to present in two Padal Petra Sthalams there. During Vaikasi, he presents the sacred verses at Thiru Conamalai (Ravana performed pooja for this Lord), a temple that Thiru Gnana Sambandhar sang praise of from the shores of Rameswaram. On the Maha Sivarathri night, he presents Thirumurai at Thiru Ketheescharam, a temple where Raja Raja Chozhan contributed in rich measure. 

In the decades of his visits to Sri Lanka, he found the devotion among the people there to be the best. He says that the people of Lanka have inherited the bhakti of Ravana, a great devotee of Lord Shiva “Each time I present before the Lord, I found that tears rolled down like a river from the eyes of the devotees – both men and women – there. That indicated the intensity of their Bhakti.  I have not seen such bhakti anywhere else including in Tamil Nadu, the UK, Singapore and Malaysia.”

Yaazh was such a popular devotional musical instrument and finds place in several verses of the Saint Poets. It was also Ravana’s favourite instrument. Hence, the place was referred to as Yaazh Paanam. 

Differentiated Presentation

Innovation in his presentation has been a key differentiator. He gave special effects to the Thevaram verses to arouse the bhakti in devotees and those who heard him once wanted to come back again and listen to his devotional rendering. Such was the devotional style of his presentation. His imaginative mind, his ability to create and change Thaalam and Ragam kept the devotees engrossed in temples during his recitals. 

Muthu Kandha Desikar has received 40 prestigious awards for his devotional rendering over these 6 decades including the Kalaimamani award and the TTK Memorial Award for outstanding service in temples.

The Next Generation – His Hopes on Somasundaram Othuvar

In the last few decades, he also passed on this art to students but as is the current trend many could not withstand the rigorous process and guidelines and pulled out mid way. Thevaram verses are quite difficult and presentation by the Othuvars requires years of effort as they have to understand the meanings and present in musical form.

Typically, at a Patshala, the students are initiated into 200 verses that would come into use in their every day presentation. It is then left to the students to expand their horizon and learn the entire set of the sacred verses of the Saint Poets. 

The best of his disciples is the 29 year old Somasundaram in whom he has a lot of confidence to take this service into the next generation of Othuvars. Somasundaram completed a 5 year diploma course in Thevaram Isai Kalaimani from Annamalai University. Since then he has been performing at Kandha Kottam, Abirami Koil (Dindigul) and Thiruvasi (Trichy). He also continues to perform the hereditary service at the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, him being the 21^st descendant.

Somasundaram has applied for the Othuvar posting at Thayumanavar Sannidhi and has gone through the interview process. He is hoping that with the background and the proven track record of his grandfather having performed for six decades at the sannidhi, he would get the order soon.

Othuvars - The Diminishing Numbers

Once upon a time there were Othuvars in all the temples in Tamil Nadu. During the reign of Raja Raja Chozhan, Othuvars sang in big numbers in the Big Temple at Thanjavur.  In centuries gone by, there used to be Othuvars Ghosti on Swami’s street processions but all that too has become a thing of the past given the shrinking numbers of the Othuvars. Othuvars have reduced dramatically in the last few decades and they are just in a few hundreds across the state. Salary is inadequate to run and take care of a family and many have sought other avenues, given the financial constraints.

Muthu Kandaswamy Desikar Othuvar himself started off with Rs. 70 month. Over the six decade period, this has gone up to just Rs. 2400. Typical of him, he is not too concerned and shrugs off the financial issues saying ‘No amount of money can equate the happiness of presenting the Thevaram verses before the Lord. The inside character of a person is the true reflection of a devotional personality and not the external colour. Thirumurai contains everything for our real way of life and we should follow that." 

He continues to live a simple life from a small house on the South Mada street at the foot of Malaikottai and continues to present the sacred verses of the Saint Poets at the Thayumanavar temple.  Truly Contended with what God has given him. It is unlikely one will find another Othuvar like him again!!!

Thiru Gnana Sambandhar Othuvar, Sirkazhi

September 11, 2018, 2:23 am

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Presented Thevaram Verses at the historical Sambandhar praised temple in Sirkazhi for over Five Decades

Started with Rs. 18 as monthly salary in the 1950s, retired with Rs. 380 a decade ago 

"No amount of money can equal the satisfaction of having sung in front of Lord Sattanathan"- Othuvar Gnana Sambandhar

Othuvar Thiru Gnana Sambandhar, who will be touching 80 early next year, served at the Dharumapuram Aatheenam administered Thiru Gnana Sambandhar praised Sattanathan temple in Sirkazhi for over five decades in the process refusing several offers from large HR & CE temples and also from Annamalai University.

Born in Thiruvayaru in 1939, Thiru Gnana Sambandhar Othuvar, like Muthu Kandha Desikar Othuvar (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/09/othuvar-muthu-kandaswamy-desikar.html), too was initiated into the sacred verses by Velayutha Othuvar. After completion of his education, he spent a few months at the Thirubhuvanam temple, following which he had the privilege as a young teenager of presenting at the Sattanathan temple where Thiru Gnana Sambandar sang his first verse. And there was no looking back. For the next five decades, he was devotionally attached to this historic temple located at the birth place of Thiru Gnana Sambandar presenting the Pancha Puranam verses during the Saayi Rakshai and Artha Jaama pooja each day. He also was bestowed with the responsibility of presenting Thirumurai on special festive occasions.

Meagre Salary throughout his life

He started off with a monthly of Rs. 18 way back in the early 1950s and ended up with a meager Rs. 380 when he resigned from the post over 50 years later. In addition he was also given a bag of Paddy. 

When the famous devotional singer Sirkazhi Govindarajan was the Dean of Annamalai University, he was keen to rope in Gnana Sambandar Othuvar as a Professor at the popular music department. He would have received a starting monthly salary of Rs. 18000 from the few hundred rupees he was getting at that time, and yet he was unwilling to move away from serving the Lord at the Sirkazhi temple. Much later, at the beginning of this century, he served as a faculty at the Music School started in Sirkazhi close to the temple.

Presentation Overseas

He has sung in almost all the leading Saivite temples in India and Overseas as well, in Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. For decades, he was one of the most preferred Othuvars to participate and present the sacred verses during the Kumbabhishekam festivities in large temples such as the ones in Tiruchendur, Palani, Thiruvannamalai and Swami Malai.  

He finds it difficult to stay on feet these days, and yet gathered the devotional strength to participate and present the Thevaram verses at the Kumbhabhishekam in Pillayarpatti last year.  Another indication of his devotional commitment was when he presented the significance of the sacred verses at the All India Saiva Siddhantha Conference held in Chennai in February this year with two people carrying him up on to the stage.

Awards from 4 TN CMs

For his selfless service at the Sirkazhi temple, he has received prestigious awards from four different Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu.

His income through his five decades long service was just sufficient to take care of the family but even the financial challenges in life was not enough to lure him to more lucrative offers “The greatest happiness to me has been of having had the opportunity to present before the Lord at the ancient Sattanathan temple in Sirkazhi for over 50 years and to have been part of the renowned Dharumapuram Aatheenam for such a long period of time.  No amount of money can equal the satisfaction of singing at the same place where the great Saivite Saint Poet Thiru Gnana Sambandar sang his first song.”