Kottur Maniambala Natha Swamy Temple

March 30, 2022, 3:50 am

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For the last three decades, Sankar Gurukal has been carrying forward the selfless service rendered by his forefathers at this remote temple near Mannargudi - At a Salary now of Rs. 1200!!!

Sankar Gurukal has been at the Maniambala Natha  Swamy Temple, Kottur since the time he was a teenager. His forefathers had been performing archaka service at the temple for over a century. He joined the temple in the early 1990s on a daily wage scheme. In the not too distant past, this had been a vibrant temple with service personnel performing service in good number. North of this temple is Thiru Gnana Sambandar praised Kozhuntheeswarar temple. Till the first half of the 20th Century, his forefathers had been serving at the Paadal Petra Sthalam as well.  And then with shortage of service personnel, the family decide to split the services between the two temples. While his grandfather’s brother performed service at the Kozhuntheeswarar temple his grandfather, Dhandapani Gurukal performed service at the Maniambala Natha Swamy temple. 

A Once Vibrant temple with agraharams around

 During the period of his grandfather, utsavams were integral to this town. Navarathri, Vaikasi Visakam, and Thiruvathirai were grand with devotees in the agraharam participating actively in the Vahana processions. It was a phase when the Mudaliar community managed the temple. They took good care of the priests 

Mass Exodus leaves the Priest all alone

As with many other remote towns in TN, the 2nd half of the previous century saw a mass exodus of original inhabitants and this saw a deterioration in both the infrastructure of the temple as well as a big negative impact on the vibrancy in the Utsavams. Most of the Service Personnel made their way to cities seeking more lucrative opportunities. The Gurukal became the sole custodian of the temple performing pooja as well as doubling as the cook in the madapalli each day of the year. As with many other remote temples, the HRCE took away the utsava idols to the safety locker in Tiruvarur. The vahanas lay in dilapidated condition and with that the vahana processions too have become a thing of the past. 

Agama lessons from appa

Sankar Gurukal, who studied till Class X in the local school, quit academics and learned the pooja karmas from his appa Jatadhara Shivachariar before joining the temple in his teens.

                        Jatadhara Shivachariar

Appa served for decades at Rs.210, Son now serves at Rs. 1200

While his appa served at the temple for over four decades at a salary that did not top Rs. 210, Sankar Gurukal joined at Rs. 350 in the early 1990s and after three decades now gets Rs. 1200 for his solo services. For financial survival, he performs pooja in nearby village temples and participates in Kumbabhisekams. 

Revival of a few Utsavams

Over the last few years he has been trying to revive the historical utsavams. The procession on Thiruvathirai has restarted while he is currently bringing back the three day Vaikasi Visakam utsavam including Thiru Kalyanam and the Pancha Moorthy procession around the four Mada streets. And so too the Theerthavari on Karthigai Rohini at Maniya Kulam. 

Sankar Gurukal has had lucrative overseas opportunities coming his way including from temples in Singapore. But his appa had directed him to stay back at the temple where their forefathers had performed service. And thus unmindful of the low salary (40 per day), he continues to serve into the fourth decade at the temple. Despite the challenging scenario, he has sent his son to the agama patshala in Poonthottam and is hoping that he will continue the hereditary service at the temple. 

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N Kamakodi City Union Bank Tippirajapuram

April 6, 2022, 5:41 am

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Blessings of Kumbeswarar for whom his grandfather had started an Anna Abhisekam during World War II brought him back to Kumbakonam to continue his devotional endeavours with the temples in the Chozha region

While CUB has been in the top bracket on many of the key profit metrics over the last decade, Kamakodi has quietly been playing a transformational role restoring many dilapidated temples 

The 60s and 70s saw a mass exodus of original inhabitants from the hereditary locations that led to a dark couple of decades for temples in Tamil Nadu. Tippirajapuram that is home to two historical temples was also part of this wave of movement into cities. The succeeding decades too saw the continuing of this move of traditionalists away from their hereditary locations into larger towns in search of greener pastures. It was likely that N Kamakodi, current MD of City Union Bank, too would have been part of that wave. Having spent his entire childhood in the agraharam in Tippirajapuram, he had developed a close devotional association with the twin temples as well as those in and around Kumbakonam but like most others, he too made his way out of Tippi. But, Kumbeswarar, to whom his grandfather had begun an anna abhisekam during World War II, had other plans for him. Having been away from Kumbakonam for many years, his appa, V Narayanan, the then Chairman and  CEO of the bank directed him to come back and take charge of the bank. It was clear that Kumbeswarar had nominated  him to continue the noble activities that his forefathers had carried out through the 20th century. In the last 15years, Kamakodi has quietly been creating a transformation in remote temples in the Chozha region restoring many a temple to its historic glory while also ensuring that the century old banking brand is protected and grown. Here is the story.

A Vibrant Agraharam

The agraharam remained vibrant despite the next gen of residents leaving the temple town in the 1970s/80s. Kamakodi remembers waking up every day to the vedic recital of the students next door where several students graduated out of the well run Patshala. Vedas was always in his ear during his childhood. It created an ever lasting positive impact in the then young boy on the need to protect our traditions and culture. Marudanallur, a nearby village, was home to Naama Sankeerthanam and thus exposure to music and bhajans was high for Kamakodi at a very young age. During the holidays, for two hours every afternoon, he learned the stotrams. It got imbibed in his mind and became a normal way of life. 

It was his grandfather Venkatrama Iyer who rebuilt the Varadaraja Perumal temple at the West end of the North Agraharam in early part of the previous century (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/10/thippirajapuram-vikrama-choleswarar.html). When Kanchi Periyava created a Mudra Adhikari Scheme appointing a representative of the Mutt to ensure the vibrancy in historic locations, Tippirajapuram became the first of those villages to be assigned "A system was created to collect Re.1 from each of the residents and pool the collections and present to the Mutt. It was on the Thinnai of our house that this Sambhavanai was presented by the residents of Tippirajapuram. To this day, we go and hand over the Sambhavanai to the Mutt office in Kumbakonam. Rice too was presented for Mantra during Chaturmasya pooja” says Kamakodi.

Kamakodi's forefathers have been the trustee of the temple for close to a century ensuring that all the utsavams are conducted in a grand way, despite the challenges that they had to face during different phases. As the trustee, Venkatrama Iyer anchored three consecrations of the Tippi Perumal temple in the 20th century. While the coming together of the agraharam residents ensured that the two temples had been well managed and protected through the 20th century including during the 2nd half, many other larger temples in and around Kumbakonam did not find survival easy in that phase. Kamakoti has an interesting reason for the survival of the Tippi temples “The entire ecosystem was established in such a way that everyone respected one and another. There was no battle for supremacy. The relationship was cordial with the lessees of the farming land. It is no surprise that all dues from the lessees of the temple lands here have been paid till this year.”

A well knit community

Venkatrama Iyer, who lived till the age of 95, was active right till the end. “He made it a devotional practice to visit both the temples every day of the year. He kept a close watch on the activities at the two temples in Tippirajapuram. He was a stickler for time. He would address any issue immediately” says Kamakodi of the devotionally active life led by his grandfather.

A special medical gesture

In those early decades, when transport facilities to Kumbakonam were not readily available, Venkatrama Iyer would prepare a list of all the basic tablets medicines and keep stock at home. “When anyone in the agraharam fell ill, they would walk into our house to check the relevant medicine for that particular health issue. All the residents cared for each other in the agraharam” recalls Kamakoti

World War II and the association with Kumbeswarar

As early as the 1940s, when there was shortage of rice at the Kumbeswarar temple (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/02/kumbeswarar-temple-maha-magam.html) arising out of World War II, it was Venkatrama Iyer who committed to the annual Anna Abhisekam at the temple.“We have continued that tradition for almost eight decades” recounts Kamakodi of the devotional engagement with Kumbeswarar temple.

Neglected State of temples

In the 1970s and 80s, the now popular Thiru Nageswaram, Oppiliappan and Sarangapani temples saw a devotional decline arising out of the exodus of traditionalists of these historical temple locations. Kamokadi remembers the pitiful state at Thiru Nageswaram(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2015/02/thiru-nageswaram-naganathaswamy-temple.html) that he witnessed as a school boy “When we went to the Thiru Nageswara temple (it was a period when it not yet marketed as a Rahu Sthalam), my aunt had missed taking the Thiri along with the Oil that we usually carried. The scenario was so bad that there was no Thiri at the temple and the priest actually tore a part of his veshti and converted it into a Thiri.”

It is difficult for those in the current generation to visualize that a temple where devotees now throng in several thousands everyday was in a neglected state in the not too distant past. 

Appa's Temple association

Narayanan, who took over as the Chairman and CEO of City Union Bank in 1980, carried forward the deep temple association of his appa. He played an active part in the consecration of these historical temples in the 1980s/90s. In most cases, it was the first big restoration for decades that also marked the revival of these temples. For the people in Kumbakonam and around, Narayanan had become the focal point of contact on temple related issues. He brought together like minded people in the society and through public involvement restored temples in the region.

The annual vacation at Mudikondan

Throughout his schooling days, the annual vacation was spent at his grandfather’s (amma’s appa) place at Mudikondan, famous for the Kothandaramar temple (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/12/mudikondan-jawahar-bhattar.html). Kamakoti remembers the vibrancy at the temple “Devotees congregated in good numbers for the Rama Navami and Navarathri utsavams. There were scores of cows in each house in the agraharam.”

Even as a young school boy, Kamakodi went to Kurnool (AP) for Chaturmasya. When he was 13, he went to Kanchipuram to seek the blessings of Periyava. His grandfather’s uncle had taken Sanyasa after taking blessings from Periyava. 

Temple Trips an ongoing feature during the growing up phase

As part of the devotional upbringing, the family went on regular trips to temple destinations with his appa educating him on the historical aspects of the Paadal Petra Sthalams and Divya Desams. “Alangudi and Thiru Karugavur were two other temples that I visited regularly through my childhood.  We would take Kozhakattai on Aadi Friday and present it to Pillayar at the Alangudi temple. However, what struck me in those times was that there very few devotees in any of these temples and most remained deserted in that phase.”

Protecting our heritage and culture

While the Thyagaraja Utsavam in Thiruvayaru (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2014/11/thiruvaiyaru-pancha-natheeswarar-temple.html) has become hugely popular in recent decades, it was not so in the century gone by. It was Narayanan who was keen to protect this annual festival and contributed significantly that led to the popularity of the festival. So too the Maha Maham festival in Kumbakonam that now attracts lakhs of devotees. It was Narayanan who contributed financially in challenging times in the second half of the previous century.

Destiny leads Kamakodi back to Kumbakonam

After graduating in Chemical Engineering from REC Trichy, Kamakodi did his Masters in Hongkong. At that time, Vikrama Choleswarar and Sarangapani temple seemed way off the radar for him and it did not seem likely that he would head back to his hereditary location anytime in the near future. He had worked for a brief period in Surat. However, God carved a different path for him and a highly devotional one at that. One day in 2002, his appa called on him and asked him to take charge of the bank, a call that took him by surprise. A nod would have meant a move to the headquarters on TSR Big Street in Kumbakonam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/06/tsr-co-legendary-enterpreneur_19.html). He had married just a year earlier. In line with the trend of the time, it was unlikely that a move back to Kumbakonam would have been acceptable for an overseas Masters Grad. “My wife too was from Kumbakonam.  The bond with this historical temple town was too strong for both of us. That made for an easy call. In any case, we were brought up in a way to respect our parents’ words and I could not have said No to my appa.”

26 year old heads back to Kumbakonam to lead CUB

And thus Kamakodi, aged 26, returned to Kumbakonam to join City Union Bank in 2003, something that he had not visualized anytime during his growing up years. His grandfather, with whom he had been very close right from his childhood, died in that phase. And his appa too passed soon after in 2004. It was a double setback for Kamakodi who had not yet turned 30. But he has faced life bravely ever since and in the last decade and a half expanded the bank’s presence. In 2011, he took charge as the MD of the bank. Despite its strong performance, he is not too buoyed by this constant talk of ‘aggressive growth’. “A century old bank was handed to me. It had enjoyed a great reputation among the depositors and customers. My task was to protect the brand that my appa had built in the previous decades. While it is fanciful to talk about fast paced aggressive growth, it may not always be the right thing to do for a bank that should see itself as a custodian of customer’s hard earned money.”

He is happy that the bank, that had been set up in 1904 as part of the Swadeshi Movement to fight the British Banks, has been in the top bracket on many of the key metrics over the last decade but his feet are grounded and he considers it a blessing to be handed the reigns of the bank that has seen sustained growth over the last century.

While he has been anchoring the growth of the bank over the last two decades, returning to Kumbakonam also gave him an opportunity to participate in activities that have been closer to his heart right from his childhood. “When we grew up, devotion and temples were a way of life. When my grandfather and appa found a requirement at a temple, they organised it without a buzz. They saw it as a blessing to be able to be associated with temples through their lifetime. I am blessed that God has given me an opportunity to be participating in temple activities.”

Restoration of Dilapidated Temples

Just under a decade ago, this writer had written a story in The Hindu Friday Review on the dilapidated state of Parthanpalli Divya Desam in Thiru Nangur (https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/shrine-dedicated-to-arjuna/article4558178.ece) and the deplorable condition of the huge tank south of the temple. It was Kamakodi who single handedly restored the tank that has now led to the revival of the historical theppotsavam. He has also been closely involved in the restoration of water management system in Vaitheeswaran Koil, Thiru Kadayur and Chidambaram. The Viraja Theertham at the Narayana Perumal temple in Thiru Nangur too was restored by him. 

His elder N Sriraman, Head of Diesel Finance at Sundaram Finance, is his guiding force on all his temple endeavours.

While TVS' Venu Srinivasan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/07/venu-srinivasan-historical-temples.html) has restored several temples South of Pandya Capital over the last 25years, Kamakodi and his forefathers have played a stellar role in transformation of remote temples in the Chozha region. He considers it a blessing to have been part of a thriving agraharam in Tippirajapuram with Patshalas around that instilled in him a lifetime commitment to protect our rich heritage and culture.

Madhava Perumal Temple Next Gen Bhattar

April 10, 2022, 11:58 am

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A 22 year old Bhattar displayed his special alankaram skills during the ten days of the Rama Navami utsavam

Soon to complete his Masters in Commerce, Ashwin Bhattar is all set to take full charge at this ancient temple in Thyagarajapuram, Mylapore

It has been a refreshing ten days at the ancient Madhava Perumal temple in Mylapore. For two years, all the utsavams had come to a halt. The atmosphere inside the temple had been down through this period. The annual Brahmotsavam that takes place in Chitrai coincided with the peak of Wave 1 and Wave 2 leading to cancellation in both the years. The devotee crowd had dwindled, archanai was restricted. Overall it had been a gloomy two years.

The ten day Rama Navami celebration was the first big utsavam at the temple. A positive outcome of the Pandemic is that a young priest is all set to take charge at the temple. Ashwin Bhattar is just 22 years old and will shortly be completing his Masters in Commerce from the Madras University. While the trend has been for the next gen among the priests to move into the corporate world given the challenges the previous gen has faced in temples, Ashwin Bhattar has decided to join his appa Sundar Bhattar full time at the Madhava Perumal temple.

During the ten days of the utsavam, he showcased his devotional attachment to Lord Rama with delightful alankaram on each of the evenings. The big episodes and the multiple turning points in the Ramayana were presented as Thiru Kolam through the utsavam.

The utsavam began on April 1 with Ashwin Bhattar presenting the episode of a young handsome looking Rama protecting Sage Viswamithra’s Yaagam. While every evening after 5.30pm the devotees were stunned with the beautiful decorations, very few knew that it was the solo hand of the 22 year old whose had spun a magic on Lord Rama.

Through this week, Ashwin Bhattar worked on alankarams relating to different episodes from the Ramayanan including Ahalya Curse liberation, Rama breaking Shiva’s bow, Sita Kalyanam, Baratha meeting with Rama in the forest and the killing of Mareecha.

 

Three differentiated Thiru Kolams stood out during the week that created devotional excitement in the people who visited the temple. 

Kulasekara Azhvaar as Hunter King Guha

It is not often that a hunter king and a boat specialist is given importance in an utsavam relating to the historical epic. When Rama was banished to the forest for 14years by King Dasharatha following the redemption of the two boons he had given earlier to his wife Kaikeyi, it was under the leadership of hunter king Guha that Rama, Sita and Lakshmana went past the Ganges in a big sized boat for a life to be spent in the forest. Much later, when brother Bharata came to know the background to Rama’s 14 year exile and his departure from Ayodhya, he left the capital city to try and locate Rama in the forest and get him back to the kingdom. Once again it was Guha, an expert boatman, who created a special boat for Bharata to cross the Ganges to meet with Rama in the Chitrakoota forest.

Ashwin Bhattar brought alive this great contribution of Guha on the fifth day of the Rama Navami utsavam at the Madhava Perumal temple. Seated on a boat, Kulasekara Azhvaar decorated as Guha was seen ferrying Rama, Sita and Lakshmana.

The Nose Cut Thiru Kolam

On the 7th day of the Utsavam, the Soorpanaka ‘Nose Cut’ episode from the Ramayana was presented to the devotees.While Rama was spending time in exile at Panchavati along with Sita and Lakshmana, Ravana’s sister Soorpanaka, who had the magical power to transform herself to a beautiful woman, was overcome by the handsome features of Rama. When despite her pleas, Rama refused to accept her love, Soorpanaka seeing Sita as the hurdle, attempts to kill her.

It was then Lakshmana intervenes and chops off her nose. It is this episode in Panchavati that led the angry Soorpanaka to head back to Lanka to describe the beauty of Sita and create the lust in him to attain her.

Till this episode, Rama and Sita ably assisted by the dutiful Lakshmana had been leading an enjoyable life in the beautiful Panchavati, almost forgetting that they were in exile in the forest. It was as a consequence of the chopping off of Soorpanaka’s nose that Ravana came to the forest to carry off Sita back to Lanka leading to the battle between Rama and Ravana.

With Rama and Sita watching, Lakshmana giving Soorpanaka a nose cut with his sword and she lifting her left hand writhing in pain left the devotees glued to this beautiful decoration.

Following Soorpanaka’s nose cut, she sought revenge on Rama by describing the beauty of Sita to her brother Ravana leading him to seek the help of his uncle Maareecha who was now living the life of an ascetic in a far away ashrama after having been given a 2nd life by Rama when he had tried to disrupt Sage Viswamitra yaagam (day 1 Thiru Kolam). Maareecha saw that his end was near. If he did not listen to Ravana, he was likely to be killed by him. Hence he found it fit for his life to end in the hands of Rama and took the form of a never been seen Golden Deer to take Rama and Lakshmana away from Sita. This episode of the Maareecha turned Golden Deer was presented to the devotees on the eighth evening by Ashwin Bhattar.

The Grand Finale

As the summer heat clocked its peak for the month, Ashwin Bhattar had a long day at work on Sunday. It was Rama’s birthday and he had a dual task on hand. It was going to be the only procession of the ten days of the utsavam. Later in the evening, Rama was to provide darshan in the Hanumantha Vahanam and Ashwin Bhattar began his twin alankaram shortly after noon. 

When the screen opened at 5.30pm, the devotees who gathered ahead of the procession were treated to a twin delight. Rama was seen in a grand green silk vastram with a beautiful glittering necklace across his chest. The young priest added beauty to the decoration with a special ‘Kodi Sampangi’ flower garland that caught the attention of the devotees.

Through the ten days of the utsavam, the Prabhandham members, though in small numbers, showed great devotional commitment in presenting the entire Iyarpa and Tiruvoimozhi verses. 

While the celebratory evening began with a 90 minute recital of Kulasekara Azhvaar’s verses in praise of Rama followed by the final canto of Nam Azhvaar’s Tiruvoimozhi, the devotees’ eyes were all on the presentation of the handsome Rama atop Hanuman. Just after 7pm on Sunday evening, the Prabhandham members were back to lead the procession with their presentation of the Ramanuja Nootranthathi. Devotees were delighted to watch Lord Rama take a majestic princely walk around the temple complex carried effortlessly by Hanuman. A bunch of young vedic students followed the Lord chanting the Vedas.

It was a grandeur they had not seen for two years and the devotional fervour was back at the Madhava Perumal temple.

At 22, Ashwin Bhattar is clearly turning out to be an alankaram specialist at the Madhava Perumal temple and that augurs well for this ancient temple. One now looks forward to his alankarams during the annual Brahmotsavam that starts on the 24th of this month.

PC Prakash TN Ranji 1980s

April 15, 2022, 12:12 pm

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Topped the TN batting charts in his first two Ranji seasons and gained an immediate entry into the Zonal squad but failure to convert solid starts into big hundreds in key matches including against visiting international teams dashed his hopes of a place in the Indian team

At 60, PCP is one of the very few in TN cricket to have been actively associated for five decades

"His delayed debut for TN slowed down his progress - An early break could have changed his cricketing fortunes" - Alwarpet and TN teammate WV Raman

In the first half of the 1970s, a No. 3 batsman who had been in prolific form for the varsities and included in the Ranji squad sat out for four years without playing a single match. Frustrated at this treatment, he quit serious cricket and headed back to Coimbatore to pursue his profession as a lawyer. Four decades later, he has earned a name for himself as one of the top lawyers in the Textile city (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/10/pr-ramakrishnan-coimbatore-cricketer.html). 

Move on to the 1980s, history seemed to repeat itself in TN cricket with another No. 3 batman, going through the same heartburns. His special fielding skills meant that he was the preferred ‘12th man’ for Venkat (Venkataraghavan@75) and the slightest injury to a player brought him on to the field. Unlike the lawyer, this Engineer was a local Madras lad and with a cricketing family to back him, he continued his cricketing pursuits. He finally made his Ranji debut at 24 five years after having been inducted into the squad and went on to top the batting aggregate for the state in the first two Ranji seasons. His strong performances earned him a place in the Zonal team as well as opportunities against international oppositions. If he had converted a couple of the starts into big hundreds, it was likely that he would have made it into the next level.  But he did not and faded out in subsequent years after playing over 35matche. In the next three decades, he has continued his association with cricket in many modes – running /managing multiple clubs in the TNCA league, being a state selector for five years and a coach for a decade. At 60, he is one of the very few in the state who have had an uninterrupted five decades run with cricket. Here is the story.

Pathamadai to Kollam to Madras

PC Prakash (PCP) hailed from a cricketing family. His forefathers belonged to the temple town of Pathamadai, infamous now for a priest who has been receiving Rs. 19 per month as salary for decades from the HRCE (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2014/10/pathamadai-kariya-manikkam-perumal.html). His grandfather moved to Quilon in search of greener pastures. His father PS Chandrasekaharan (Chander to those in the cricketing circles) settled down in Madras.  

                  Karisulntha Mangalam, Pathamadai

Mambalam Mosquitos - To nurture budding Talent

His father and uncle were cricketers of merit and played for the Junior state. In the 1940s, Chander made an important contribution to the society at large by launching a cricket club ‘Mambalam Mosquitos’ with the objective of nurturing budding talent. Thus PCP grew up in familiar cricketing territory with the talks throughout his childhood centering almost entirely on cricket. Playing street cricket in Kamaraj Avenue, where his father had moved to from West Mambalam, the school boy refused to get out even in tennis ball cricket angering his Adyar friends. His motto right from the age of five was to never get out when he had a bat in hand even if it was the friendliest of games. That temperament held him in good stead in later years when he went up the cricketing ladder though his extended defense did earn boos from the Chepauk crowd  on many occasions. 

      Appa PS Chander

The Great DB years with KS Kannan

Though he grew up in Adyar, his amma suggested that he move to Don Bosco in Egmore from the local school that he had started out with. He would board No. 23 (PTC bus) to reach Egmore before 6am to be in time for legend KS Kannan’s coaching session, one that made a big early impact on his cricket. He recalls the phase from the late 1960s/early 70s “I grew up watching The Hindu’s K Balaji (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/09/a-blossoming-cricket-career-was-cut.html). He was the big name at Don Bosco at that time along with Ashok Thambuswamy and was a rock star in school cricket. The biggest blessing in that phase was to be coached by KS Kannan. He was a fantastic coach and taught me the basics of batting and fielding. Even way back then, 50 years ago, the net sessions were very well organised and it was a joy to wake up at 5am to be part of his nets every morning.”

His strong defensive technique was harnessed by hours of the 'throw downs' from his appa and uncle who spent hundreds of hours during his childhood throwing tennis balls at him at good pace. PCP also credits Vaai Vasu and R Pattabhiraman, who played first division cricket in the late 1980s, for the years of selfless bowling on the streets of Adyar and at CLRI and Anna University.

An important league break - Youngsters' Sashikanth

Aged 14, he signed up for his first league team on June 30, the last day for the registration process. When every other club gave this teenager a pass considering him too young for league, it was that passionate cricketer Sashikanth, another cricket maverick, who gave him his first break in league cricket and the much needed early league boost. (Sashikanth once took all 10 wickets in a league match!!!)

PCP made lots of runs at the Sub Junior and Junior levels and was in the city and State schools teams. He was also selected for the South Zone Schools captained by Arshad Ayub.  After playing forù in the controversial year when the bank was relegated to division two after being found guilty of match fixing!!! 

During PCP’ college days, KS Ramanujam (this writer umpired his first league match with the former RBI fast bowler who passed away a few years ago) played a great mentoring role bowling at Somasundaram ground. Prakash recalls the great contribution of Tunga “He would bowl to me for a couple of hours every morning at Soma.  He loved to bowl and just never seemed to tire. His spells on that open field helped me sharpen my batting skill.”

Two Good years at Viveka

Just past mid teens, there had been significant developments on academics side of his life. Though his entire childhood was spent with a bat in hand, he was good on the academics front as well and was in the top ten ranks all through his schooling days. Cricket continued to be his only priority and he joined PUC at Viveka. When it came to the choice of the graduation degree, he went in for B.Sc Physics having already tasted cricketing success at Viveka under S Srinivasan. 

Engineer PCP

There had been a seat on offer at the Guindy Engineering college but the high in cricket at Viveka meant that he chose B.Sc over a professional degree. It was Nedumaran (who later joined him at Alwarpet) who came home and convinced his mother to get him to join Anna University “I had no interest to do Engineering for I had this psychological feeling that Engineering may restrict my cricketing progress and hence continued at Viveka after PUC. I was also enjoying my cricket with the likes of TS Mohan/ TS Mukund, VBC, KAK and captain Srinivasan but Nedu managed to convince my amma that led me to discontinuing B. Sc to join Engineering a year late.”

The famous words of the GEC PD still rings in his ears “You are the only one who rejected this prestigious engineering seat when it was handed to you on a platter.”

Alongside Ranji Stars at Alwarpet

After a year at RBI, he was roped in by Alwarpet, a start studded team that included Ranji Stalwarts Satvinder Singh, S Vasudevan and captain P Mukund. Satvindar recalls PCP from the early 1980s “When I think of PC, I am always reminded of him as a serious cricketer who would slip in a witty remark once in a while. I liked his batting and he made some good scores for Alwarpet. He was a very likeable person.”

His younger brother PC Naresh too continued the cricketing tradition and went up to the Junior State level. Unlike his elder brother, he chose the safety of a bank job and has been with SBI for over three decades.

Following in Ramki’s footsteps

He captained the Junior State team and did well. He continued to score a lot of runs in the league for Alwarpet. He was picked in the TN Ranji team when he was just 19. While he was delighted to be picked early and the sense of excitement was palpable, it soon turned into frustration much like it had for PR Ramakrishnan a decade earlier “It was an amazing feeling to be sharing the TN dressing room with four international players and TN legends such as S Vasudevan and Abdul Jabbar. As time went by, I found myself to be a permanent fixture as a 12th man. The initial excitement of being in the TN squad faded away when I found that I was donning the role of a substitute fielder. Venkat had a particular liking for good fielders and I found myself on the field most of the time.”

He vividly remembers being on the field through an entire day watching two brilliant knocks by Ashok Malhotra at Chepauk in the knock out game against Haryana in February 81.

After his professional Engineering degree, he joined Sundaram Industries but rarely put his Engineering brains at work for he spent almost all his life on the cricket field.

It turned out to be a frustrating five years for him and he felt exactly the same way as Ramki had in the mid 70s. “I was thrilled with the fielding opportunities and watching Venkat and Vasu bowl from close quarters but I realized I had to be more than just a ‘substitute’ fielder. Being on the sidelines helped me strengthen mentally and I fought it out through big runs in the first division league and Buchi Babu tournament.”

In the summer of 1985, he had one of his best cricketing experiences – a month long tour to the UK organised by Bharath Reddy “It gave me great exposure and was an enjoyable tour, one that was funded by TVS’ Ratnam.”

When he came back, he began in a brilliant fashion including scoring a century against the Championship side SPIC that his former college captain S Srinivasan (Bombay and TN Ranji) remembers. “He scored a classy century against SPIC at Marina against TA Sekar, K Arun Kumar and S Vasudevan.” 

Finally at 24, he made his Ranji debut under Bharath Reddy in the 1985-86 season.“I had always done well under Bharath having started out in the 1970s for Madras Varsity. Once again, I started out under him in my debut season in Ranji.”

PCP had to make up for lost time and that he did very quickly. In both his first two seasons, he topped the batting charts for TN, quite a significant achievement.

An early break could have turned his cricketing fortunes

Alwarpet and TN teammate Raman looks back at those early years in the 1980s and feels a little sorry for PCP "He was absolutely obsessed with cricket. It was unfortunate that he did not get a break for five years. It slowed down his progress. LS and I made our debut very early on in our cricketing lives and we could correct some of the mistakes that we made. PC was a determined sort of cricketer and completely dedicated to the game. But by the time, he made his debut, age was not on his side and he could ill afford to make mistakes. Against this backdrop, I think he performed really well in the opportunities that he got. He clearly showed that he was of a different mould." 

The Debut season - Jabbar’s gracious gesture

It was December of 1985 when he played his first Ranji match against Kerala, a rain affected match that TN won in two days. Prakash is grateful to Abdul Jabbar for a noble gesture from the veteran in his debut season“I was slated to bat only at No. 6 but it was the gracious gesture of Jabbar that helped me move a slot up and it made a big difference. He sacrificed his slot for me and I am ever grateful to him for that. His decision gave me a lot of confidence and I wanted to prove to him that his sacrifice would not go waste.”

Talking to this writer from Hyderabad, Jabbar, who rarely talks about his own self, recalls those moments in 1985“I had already played for well over a decade. PC had been in the squad for a few years but had not made his debut. It had been a frustrating period for him and I was sensitive to the feelings of a young cricketer all excited to make his debut. I volunteered to move to No. 6 so he could have more opportunities to showcase his batting skills and seal a permanent place for himself in the TN team.”

And that Prakash did brilliantly with successive centuries in his debut season. In his very second match, he shared a century partnership with Jabbar in the process also scoring a century. He followed this up within a week with another century, this time against a strong Karnataka team in front of one of the biggest crowds he had seen at Dharwar.“Abhiram and Khanwilkar had run through our top half and we were struggling at 40odd for 6. It was mind blowing with 20000 crowd rooting for the home team and the pressure was really high. They all wanted to bundle us out quickly. My century helped us to a score of 200+. It gave me a lot of satisfaction and confidence.”

PCP continued his rich vein of form in the league stage into the knock outs and scored half centuries against UP and Bombay (in an inconsequential 2nd innings).

Misses a Century on Duleep Trophy Debut

His aggregate of close to 500runs in the first season earned him a place in the South Zone team for the Duleep Trophy. He had a terrific debut in October 1986 scoring 81in the Semi Final against North Zone in the process being involved in a big partnership with Test star Azhar but he failed to convert that into a big century “I was bowled by Maninder playing across the line. I had a century for the taking and missed the opportunity to convert that start into a big century that would have brought me into immediate limelight.”

Last minute exclusion 

In the final against West Zone, he once again had a good start and was looking good when he was stumped down the leg side of Mokashi. These two knocks earned him a place in the Rest of India squad for the Irani Trophy against Delhi at Jodhpur that followed within days of the Duleep Trophy Final. PCP was sure of a place in the XI until Vengsarkar decided very late to make this a practice match for his comeback. Vengsarkar had not played in the Duleep Trophy final and was not in the original squad in the ROI team but he expressed a late interest to showcase that he had indeed recovered from the injury. The India batting legend joining the squad on the eve of the match meant that PCP had to make way for him the next morning and he lost out on an opportunity to showcase his skills at a time when he was in prime form. 

This was not to be the only last minute exclusion in that phase. A month later, he was slated to play in the XI for India U25 against Sri Lanka at Gwalior when at the last moment, captain Chandrakant Pandit decided to play as a batsman and handed the keeping role to Saba Karim. This meant that Prakash was left out just a few minutes before the toss. He lost out on two big opportunities in the space of a month - a major setback for him in his cricketing life in terms of proving himself on the big stage when in the form of his life.

Opponent GRV’s advice

In his second season in Ranji cricket, in 86-87, having tasted early success in Duleep Trophy, he moved to the No.3 spot which he was to hold till the end of his Ranji career. He scored his 2nd successive ton against Kerala in two years and it looked like he would follow exactly the same trend as the first year with another century against Karnataka. 

When Karnataka came to Salem in December 86 in the week following his century against Kerala, PCP was once again in top form though TN was struggling chasing Karnataka’s 500+. Three decades later, he recalls the great words from the batting legend GR Viswanath “He was fielding at slip. While we were not going to get the first innings lead, we chased 300 to secure the additional bonus point. I was taken aback when the batting legend came up to me and asked me to go for my second successive ton against Karnataka instead of the bonus point as he felt that we would not be able to get that bonus point.”

GRV had gone out of his way  to seed the thought of a century in the youngster  but  PCP  lost his wicket going for a big shot chasing that bonus point.

If he had scored a century, it would have been two successive back to back centuries against Kerala and Karnataka in both his first and second Ranji seasons. Like in a few other important games in his life, he did not bat through to the century.

Prakash was even more startled when GRV came up to him in a match in Gwalior a year later and recalled as to how the ‘youngster’ did not heed to his advice and lost out on a century “It was amazing that a legend like him cared and encouraged me unmindful that I was in the opposition. Not only did he suggest to go for the century but also remembered it a year later and reminded me as to how I let go a great opportunity to score a century.”

Against Pakistan - Fails to convert the start

However, he did get to play in the XI against the Visiting Pakistanis in January 1987, a team that included Wasim Akram.  “I batted for over 2 1/2 hours and had posted a half century partnership with Rajput when I got out to Mansoor Ilahi. Manjrekar scored a century in that match and soon after was drafted into the Indian squad. In those days, the match against the international teams was crucial for youngsters. Big runs against them got the next gen into the Indian squad. I missed out on converting my start into a bigger knock against Pakistan.” 

He continued his form into the one day cricket scoring a half century on debut in both the Deodhar Trophy and Wills Trophy tournament in early 1987.

Joins SPIC

By this time, he had joined SPIC after six years at Alwarpet, though he also had an offer from his Varsity captain Bharath Reddy who was by then making waves at Chemplast. During the initial years there, the then budding left armer Charan Singh spent a lot of time bowling to PCP at the nets getting him used to 'left arm over'.

1987-88 Ranji winning season

A lot of youngsters emerged during the season. PCP was in good form that season but once again he failed to convert the starts into big knocks. He had multiple scores in the 40s. In the final, he remembers encountering a fine spell from veteran left arm spinner “Hyder was almost unplayable for a period. Decades later, VBC and I continued to discuss as to how we overcame that spell. We put on 140runs that laid the foundation for the 700plus runs that TN posted in the final."

Misses out on Irani Trophy

Despite scoring a half century in the final and forging a century partnership with VBC( https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/01/vb-chandrasekar.html?m=1) Prakash did not find a place in the playing XI in the Irani Trophy.

One of the things that had been held against him in that phase was that he did not get things to move on. PCP himself felt the 'scoreboard' pressure coming as he did after two belligerent openers. Right from his childhood, he had grown with the idea of safeguarding his wicket and that was sometimes overbearing on him while batting. He says that there was pressure on him to push the score along and many a time he walked into boos from the crowd, especially at Chepauk, as they felt they were going to encounter a boring phase in the game. But really, he was the one who steadied the ship and it was around him that the middle order batted. 

Former India fast bowler TA Sekar(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2013/08/ta-sekar-fastest-indian-bowler-of-1980s.html), who played alongside him at RBI and later for TN, says that he was technically very sound and had a good temperament and was particularly suited for the longer version (3day/4day games). But there was a tendency for him to get bogged down as he seemed to 'admire' his own batting.

Raman's Eden Gardens Knock-PC's role

When the Ranji winning team went to Western Australia in November 88, PCP top scored with 37. Within a week, he once again top scored for TN this time against the visiting New Zealanders with a knock of 71. A few months later, in March 89, he was involved in a mammoth chase against Bengal in the Ranji Semi Final. Chasing 595, he put on a partnership of over 250 with WV Raman, who played one of the best innings seen at the Eden Gardens. PCP scored 75 holding one end up and the two seemed to be taking TN to a record run chase. 

Raman found the call for PC to play more shots quite paradoxical "There was often this criticism that he did not play shots more often. He was asked to develop his stroke play. As a sincere cricketer, e worked hard on developing this ability as well."

"It was paradoxical that one with a compact technique and a strong defense was asked to play more shots. With VBC and Srikkanth at the top, one simply did not have a clue either about the pitch or the opposition bowlers for they slammed the good balls and the best of the bowlers. It was PCP who actually provided solidity at No. 3 and brought a sense into the proceedings. He showed some decorum in batting.  He was good at leaving the ball quite in contrast to the two openers of the time. Unfortunately for him, the crowd too often had high expectation of the No.3, the one following the dashing VBC and Srikkanth but slowly they understood the value he brought to the team. He was a courageous cricketer and had the guts to face the fastest bowlers with spectacles (those days you did not have the contacts). He simply did not flinch while batting and that's the character he showed in that huge run chase against Bengal."

Raman recalls that partnership “I still remember that partnership against Bengal. We were in the game though we were chasing close to 600. He was rock solid taking care of one end. It needed a snorter to get him that day. The moment he got out to that unplayable delivery, I knew the final day would be difficult as the pitch was getting worse.”

"Players like PC Prakash, R Madhavan and NP Madhavan were real nice guys on and off the field. Unfortunately, being a ‘nice guy’ did not always work in their favour in TN cricket."

When Western Australia came back for the return leg in September 1989, PCP forged big partnership with VBC twice in succession prompting Graeme Wood to pronounce that Prakash was the most difficult batsman to dislodge but by this time he was on a downward curve. He failed miserably in the Ranji season that year and gave way to the new generation of cricketers.

A new addition to the cricketing family

If there was not already enough chit chat in the family on cricket, he added another cricketing member with TN wicket keeper from the 1980s D Girish marrying Prakash's sister. And ever since, there has been nothing other TN cricket discussion at home. Girish now heads the TNPL council.

S Srinivasan played for Bombay and TN in the Ranji Trophy. He was PCP’s captain at Viveka and shared many good partnerships for SPIC in the late 1980s “PCP was a highly dependable top order batsman. His batting & fielding techniques were picture perfect. He played as straight as possible. To excel in any Sports at the top level, it is advantageous if one is an athlete first & then a good player. He comes under that category of athletic players. His fielding was always brilliant due to his athleticism.”

"Despite not making it to the top (playing for India), he was at peace with himself & easily approachable to others. His great love for the game was seen in the way he has continued to associate himself with the game in various capacities. He is a well respected teacher who is still a great student of the great game."

It would have been a different story had he converted the starts in key matches into big hundreds but surprisingly long hours of concentration that had been a hallmark of his batting gave way at crucial moments in his career. He continued to play for SPIC for ten years till the mid 1990s. When an offer came from HCL to promote a cricket team in the league, he took that up and played for two years building a team. It had always been appa’s dream to get Mambalam Mosquitos into the first division. When it entered the top league in 2000, he formed a strong team investing a lot of money. PCP had just left for the US after his Engineer wife found an IT job there. But PCP’ mind was on cricket back home and he headed back to the city grounds to play at the start of the season. 

For five years from 2002, he was a state selector under VBC’s Chairmanship. With an eye of coaching, he went through the levels and has for the last 15years been engaged in coaching assignments including donning the role of the TN batting coach just over a decade ago. 

A Master Class at SPIC - past 50

Over the last decade, he was back at the SPIC ground that had been his home for over a decade. Well past 50, the passion at the batting crease had not diminished one bit. He had been a regular in the T20 in ter club circuit, something that you would not easily associate PCP with. He may have seemed a bit out of place but his philosophy remained unchanged- "Do not give away your wicket, Do not hit ball in the air and find the gaps in the field to strike your boundaries". He could not be dismissed even in those T20 matches and contributed with the bat in no small measure for the Alumini club playing delectable square drives and flicks bringing back memories from the 1980s. 

In addition to playing a bit of T20 cricket, he has also been a coach of a TNPL team. For a man who rarely hit the ball in the air throughout his playing days, this was an interesting experience to be around coaching boys for whom fanciful shots was an integral part of their armoury.

Not often do you find someone living a cricketing life day in day out for over five decades. But for this 60 year old Engineer his entire life has centered around cricket. He currently manages three cricket teams in the TNCA league in addition to donning the role of the coach at the TNCA Academy. With the new season of TNPL likely to start end of June after a Covid break, PC Prakash could well be back this year as a coach. The hair may have gone blonde but one simply cannot keep this maveric away from a cricket ground!!!

Iyyappan Sastrigal Muttam Kattu Mannar Koil

April 19, 2022, 1:08 pm

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This Veda Sastrigal family from Muttam, now firmly entrenched in Mylapore, has remained traditional 

Hailing from a hereditary Veda Sastrigal family from Muttam agraharam near Kattu Mannar Koil, Iyyappan Sastrigal moved to Mylapore over 25years ago to explore opportunities in the heart of the city.  He had been stricken with poverty in his childhood as the decades of the 1960s and 70s turned sour for traditionalists. His forefathers had been involved in performing ‘Vaideeha’ activities and they had been leading a peaceful life until then.

His appa Ramanathan Sastrigal passed away young at a time when medical facilities were minimal. Iyyappan was just 8 years old and the death left him in a state of shock. At that time, his family could not pay even Rs. 15 as rent. 

“My appa had been ‘aachaaram’ in the true form. He did not go after money and was as straight forward as it could get in those days. We were in poverty but could hold our heads high as we led a dharmic life” says Iyyappan Sastrigal looking back at his early childhood.

Childhood in Poverty

Performing the role of a cook, his amma inspired him to continue the traditional way of life. She was everything to him and her motivation drew him into Vedic Studies. He quit school at 11 and moved into a Patshala in Kanchi and Kumbakonam to learn Yajur Veda. He later learned the Sastras at the Madras Sanskrit College.

He found the early phase of his life in Madras in the 1980s very challenging “There was no respect for vedic personnel in the 1980s. While minimal sambhavanai was presented for veda paranayanam, the fate of Brahmacharies was even worse as the Sambhavanai to them was just one third of what was paid to others.”

Though he wanted to stay in a traditional house in Mylapore, he could not afford the monthly rent of Rs. 350 (and an advance of Rs. 900) and spent the early years in Kotivakkam at a rent of just over Rs. 100.

Earns the respect of Mylaporeans

Being the grandson of Raju Sastrigal of Muttam gave him much needed credibility early on in his career. He joined as an assistant to Swaminathan Vadhyar and a few others and gained valuable experience. His sincerity impressed a number of the Mylapore residents and he began to perform daily Thiru Aradhanam in the house of many top personalities in Mylapore that fetched him a monthly Sambhavanai of Rs. 30 from each of them!!!

Rejects lucrative overseas offers

By the turn of the century, he had moved to Puthu Street in Mylapore and begun to perform Vaideeha activities for the top lawyers, doctors and auditors in the city. He had lucrative offers coming his way from South Africa and Singapore but rejected those as he believed he could gain the confidence of the traditionalists here and lead a peaceful life.

He reflects on his three decades stay in Madras with a great deal of happiness “Vaideeham is all about Aacharam and I have been able to perform it in the way my forefathers had done. I had decided early on that I would perform Vaideeha activities only for those who respected me for my dharmic nature and I have largely stuck to that.” 

Overcomes Challenges - Fullest faith in Kapaleeswarar

If his appa’s death was his first big shock in his life, he has had to encounter several other challenges later on. He survived a heart attack. And a road accident left him with a plate inside his leg. But he has had firm faith in Kapaleeswarar for the last 25years since the time he has come to reside in Mylapore. 

He wanted to remain traditional and chose a home that reminded him of his early days at Kaattu Mannar Koil (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/01/kattu-mannar-koil-annan-srinivasan.html). Over a dozen years ago, he moved to East Mada Street and into one of few remaining traditional homes in Mylapore.

Youngest Daughter's hand to a traditionalist

His amma, who passed away at the age of 86, had a fulfilling life watching her son turn around the financial fortunes of the family while staying traditional. From a poverty stricken life in the 1970s and an uncertain start in the 80s, he became financially independent and carved a name for himself in the city. Just past 60, Iyyappan Sastrigal is contented at the way life has gone. One of his daughters is a CA. His wife, always seen in a Madisaar, and the youngest daughter continue to follow the practices of a traditional household. And unsurprisingly they have come to be devoted to Kapaleeswarar. Bringing back memories from the century gone by, the family members sit on the floor for a discussion in the evening. There is a Thinnai at the entrance and none in the family is ‘ashamed’ to be living an old fashioned life that has now lost its fancy among the city dwellers. 

Even more interestingly, much against the run of play, Iyyappan Sastrigal is looking to get his (youngest) daughter, a post graduate in commerce, married to a traditional ‘tuft attired’ Vaideeha. And that is great news in a world that is moving the corporate way (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/02/temple-priests-next-gen-mismatch.html). 

There are still those in the city who remind us of the traditional life that once was.

Mahabaratha The origin of ROFL

April 23, 2022, 2:59 am

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Did you know that ‘ROFL’ dates back to an episode in the Mahabaratha!!!

 Yudhistra Installed Idol at Thondanur

Once the Pandavas defeated the Kauravas and Yudishtra was crowned King, he performed an aswamedha yagna. It was customary for everyone to be invited to this Great Horse Sacrifice. A weasel, half in gold, appeared at the venue and after 'Rolling on the Floor' burst out into laughter. 

The Weasel then narrated the story of the 'ROFL' to the large audience starting almost in a derogatory manner “There was once a poor brahmana in Kurukshetra who gifted a ‘flour’. This great horse sacrifice of Yudhistra pales into insignificance when compared to that simple gift of flour of the brahmana.’

Rajaji explains this episode right at the end in his famous book ‘Mahabaratha’ under the title ‘Pound of Flour’.

This brahmana lived his life by gleaning in the fields. When the family did not find the grain, they would fast until the next day. When drought struck the area, they were left starving for many days. And finally when they managed to find a small quantity and were all set to eat, a guest arrived. Playing the role of a true host, he handed his share of the flour to the guest but his hunger did not subside. And as great hosts, the wife, the son and the daughter in law too presented their little share of the flour to the guest

The Guest remarked that even the pious when suffering the pangs of hunger, lose their steadfastness' but you have placed dharma above all else. And they were taken directly to Vaikuntam.'

Rolled on the Flour on the Floor

The Weasel who rolled on the flour that was on the floor of that brahmana’s house found one side of the body turning into gold. Unfortunately there was no more flour left in that house and thus just the one side stayed golden.

Since then the Weasel, in an effort to turn its other side into gold, had been rolling on the floor where great sacrifices had been conducted but even at Yudhistra’s Yagna when the Weasel rolled on the floor to see if the other side turned into gold, it was disappointed that this sacrifice too did not match the one of the Kurukshetra Brahmana from the past. 

And hence the reason for the Weasel’s sarcastic 'Rolling on the Floor (Flour) Laughter' (ROFL) in front of the huge audience present at Yudhistra’s Ashwamedha Yagna.

Typewriting Institute Revival Mylapore

April 29, 2022, 5:05 am

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While the IT boom of the 1990s and 2000s spelt death knell for many a typewriting institute, 69 year old Mylaporean Venkatasubramanian hung on passionately and is now reaping rewards for his persistence with a strong revival in demand for Stenos

He has been running Sri Karpagam Technical Institute for close to four decades on Mundakanni Amman Koil street

When S Venkatasubramanian of Nattu Subbarayan Street completed his SSLC, he had no inkling that he would become an entrepreneur for life and a highly successful one at that creating the next generation of stenos in the city. He is touching 70 but has just found a new vigour with the surprising revival in demand for typists and shorthand specialists driven by a Government push. His business is seeing a new high with students thronging his institute on Mundakanni Amman Koil street. Here’s the story.

A Brave Enterpreneurial Venture 

Venkatasubsramanian schooled at PS North. After his SSLC, he went through the then popular typewriting (lower and higher) and shorthand course while also graduating in commerce. Given the middle class background, he began his career early as a steno and worked for a few firms before joining Syndicate Bank as a steno. During this period, he also taught shorthand at a technical institute near Jammi Building in Mylapore. The students were so impressed with his teaching that they seeded the thoughts in him of starting an institute of his own. There were already a dozen institutes in Mylapore at that time and competition was stiff. However, his family was not thrilled with his entrepreneurial thoughts “I was warned that there would be no PF or Pension here as with a Government job and that such a venture was fraught with risks.”

Venkatasubramanian went against the tide and with an initial investment of Rs. 25000 (including sourced from the family) launched the typewriting and shorthand institute on Mundakanni Amman Koil street, next to PS North School in June 1984 at the age of 31. Given the location, he had to pay a high rent of Rs. 300 when he started. He also invested Rs. 10000 on setting up space in the terrace. A staunch devotee of Karpagambal, he named his venture as Sri KarpagamTechnical Institute. He set up 8 new typewriters to start with. 

For someone from his generation it was a brave move to quit a job and become an entrepreneur. But he foresaw the demand and was also confident of his shorthand teaching skills. Much to his surprise, students poured in and all the 8 machines came to be filled in no time. He charged Rs. 25 per month for typewriting and Rs. 20 for shorthand.

Challenges of the IT Boom

Though there was stiff competition, there was enough business for him to sustain. A decade later, soon after the liberalization initiatives in the country, IT took off in a big way and the next generation of students did not bet on typing as a career. Co-incidentally, the next gen of institute owners too saw the same way. They would rather make their way into IT than run a typewriting institute. Many of them shut shop in Mylapore leaving his institute as one of the only three survivors of the downturn.

Despite a slowdown, he says that he never contemplated closing down the institute “I was confident that I will be able to sustain the venture and that students would return sooner than later. My wife (Jaya Gowri) has been a big inspiration encouraging me to continue to run the institute.”

His wife herself worked as a personal assistant to a Chairman of a leading firm in the city for a few decades. “We did not have children and he saw the institute as his own child. It was his passion that has led him to remain in this business for close to four decades”, Jaya Gowri, who now jointly takes care of the institute, told this writer.

Almost 40years on, Venkatasubramanian has found a new wave that is driving students back in a big way into the institute. The Government’s recruitment drive for typists and shorthand specialists has led to a revival in the institutes in the state. And his decades of experience in helping students graduate in Junior and Higher courses is getting students in large numbers at his institute.

A Revival - Surge in Demand

With the early introduction of computers in schools, the Government has lowered the qualification limit for Pre Junior course to Class VI (pass) and to the Junior and Higher courses to Class VIII and Class X. Quite unexpectedly he has seen a surge in the students at his institutes. There are currently over 150students learning at his institute that just under a decade ago moved to another location on the same street, a couple of hundred yards North of Mundakanni Koil.

The Government’s Computer Office Automation course has also generated interest among students and he currently teaches around 15 of them as per the Government prescribed syllabus including on topics such Word, Excel and Powerpoint.

When he launched in 1984, he did not visualize that at 70 he would still be continuing to run the institute but his passion to teach students and the innate ability to instantly connect with students has helped him stay the course.

He does not see the demand surge abating anytime in the near future on the back of the current drive of the Government. Interestingly, with the severe downturn after the emergence of the IT wave, typewriters seemed to be becoming a thing of the past and most manufacturers shut shop citing lack of demand. Venkatasubramanian is now banking on good quality second hand typewriters to keep his institute going. While it is coming at a high cost (seconds in English cost Rs. 8000 while the Tamil ones cost as high as 25000), the demand from students has meant that he has tripled his machines to 24.

Jaya Gowri lauds the commitment of her husband “Not once in the last three decades has he taken off from the institute. He is there every morning just before 7am and again in the evening after 3pm. He has found great joy of teaching and hence has stayed away from all other external activities including attending functions. It is his passion alone that has kept this institute going while I was away at my work for decades.”

His experience also led the industry body to choose him as the General Secretary of the TN Commerce Institute.

Just over a couple of decades ago, one had thought that typewriters would become outdated. While most of the institutes in Mylapore moved away from this business, Venkatasubramanian hung on passionately and he is now reaping the rewards for his patience. 

Reversal of Trend

His has been a case of passion reaping rewards in life. It may have been tempting for him to shut shop when IT boom spelt doom to the typewriting industry but he believed in himself and was confident that even with the emergence of computers, there would be an important role for institutes such as his. He had the foresight and vision that if he hung on, good days would be back again. And that is exactly what he is seeing today - a reverse trend with young school and college students as well as IT professionals joining his institute for 3-6 months so they could get the typing speed which is helping them in their work on the computer. And the Government drive for stenos that is getting people back into institutes such as his.

For all his success, he continues to lead a simple life at Nattu Subbarayan Street with minimal requirements. His only passion in life is to create the next generation of stenos and that he has been able to achieve successfully for close to four decades with several thousands having graduated from the Karpagam Technical Institute.

Vijay Sankar Jolly Rovers takes over Cricketing Reigns

May 1, 2022, 11:28 am

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Great news for Sanmar Players and the cricketing fraternity in the country

N Sankar had managed Jolly Rovers for over five decades winning the Palayampatti Shield a record 21times - Son Vijay Sankar set to continue the cricketing legacy 

Sankar's Final Cricketing Wish - 'He took a promise from me that I would support Vijay till the time he needed me' - Bharath Reddy, Cricket Manager, Jolly Rovers

In an interaction last year with this writer, N Sankar, who passed away two Sundays ago, had expressed apprehension at the way the first division was being sidelined in city cricket and the challenges cricket promoting corporates were facing. Though minimal cricket had taken place in the last two years in local cricket, he had directed Bharath Reddy, his cricket manager, to pay the full professional fees to all his players so they were all taken care during the downturn.

Bharath Reddy, who is completing four decades this year after joining hands with Sankar, too had been frustrated at the way the TNCA was defocusing on the Palayampatti shield and turning its attention to the shorter version TNPL.

The two, who had formed one of the most successful cricketing partnerships in the country, had wondered if it was worth continuing supporting cricket in the current environment. However, the five decades cricket passion of Sankar finally shone through.

On the sidelines of a memoriam event organised in the city on Sunday evening, Bharath Reddy told this writer that Sankar had called on him to take a promise which he could not refuse to the man he saw as his ONLY MENTOR in life “Whenever Vijay takes over the cricketing reigns at Sanmar, please promise me that you will support him like you have supported me over the last four decades” Sankar told Bharath Reddy.

“To the man who has been everything to me since 1982, I handed the promise that I will be with Vijay till the time he wants me.”

Interestingly, in a conversation with this writer in November 2020, Vijay Sankar had said that his focus had all been on managing the large number of companies under the Sanmar banner and that in the foreseeable future, his appa would continue to anchor the cricket management.

Right through his teenage days, Vijay was just as passionate in cricket as his appa and would travel to the city grounds to watch the local league matches. He also managed Kohinoor for a limited period before he went overseas to pursue his higher education.

Former India Cricketer who was one of the first cricketers to arrive on Sunday evening offered his condolences to Vijay Sankar and spoke to him about appa's greatness "My first big offer in cricket came from Sankar in the late 1970s much before I was selected for India. He always spotted early the potential in players."

Srikkanth told this writer at the event that it was because of those like Sankar that several cricketers were able to make their mark in cricket in the late 60s. "He came back in a big way in the 1980s promoting cricketers and providing them with the much needed opportunities to showcase their talent."

 

In a tribute to N Sankar, tennis legend Vijay Amritraj said "Sankar was majestic in the way he played tennis. He was very special in every way and inspired me to play tennis. Whenever you entered his room, you knew you were in the presence of a leader, someone who made you better as a human being. The way he carried himself and conducted himself was a big learning for me in life."

In a country as large as India, the Sanmar Tennis League was the only one of its kind and he left a lasting legacy.

He also taught another important aspect about sports "Take up a sport, play to the best of your ability and make friends for life."

India's greatest all rounder Kapil Dev, one of Bharath Reddy's closest friends in the country, has made it to every big cricketing event at Sanmar in the last few decades. He said that he considered N Sankar as his role model in life "Sometime in life you look up and see who you want to be. For me, he was the role model. He created happiness in some many people. In Indian cricket, there has not been a cricketer who has not benefitted from Sankar."

 

Vijay Sankar takes over the Cricketing Reigns at Sanmar

If there was any doubt on whether Vijay Sankar would continue to support cricket in the current environment, he set it to rest on Sunday evening. In a conversation with this writer,  a tired looking Vijay confirmed that he will be anchoring the cricket management and continuing to support the two clubs that they are currently running.

Sankar had said in earlier conversation with this writer that Vijay was indeed interested in the team’s cricket activities but his professional role at Sanmar and his continuous travel on work had delayed his entry into cricket management at Sanmar but with age catching up with him (Sankar), it was only a matter of time before his son took over the cricketing reigns. Sankar’s passion kept him going right till the end. He would have been happy to see Alwarpet get back into the first division and may be Jolly Rovers winning the Palayampatti shield yet another time.

Happy News for Sanmar Cricketers

The good news for the cricketers from Jolly Rovers is that Vijay Sankar will be continuing to support the club that his father had from the late 1960s. In a speech on Sunday evening, he told the audience of over 700 that when he asked his appa on taking up more responsible roles at Sanmar, he had been told that the transition would take place seamlessly even without him realizing. And Vijay said that it had indeed happened that way. However, in cricket, with the passing of Sankar, for the first time in several decades, there will be a new cricketing leader at the top. 

Having seen Vijay hop on so passionately from one ground to another in the 1980s and 90s and one who has tracked cricket quite closely over the last three decades, this writer is confident that just like in the corporate role, this transition would be seamless and the cricketers of Jolly Rovers and Alwarpet would find Vijay just as passionate as his appa.

In fact, with age on his side, Vijay Sankar would be an ideal man to head the TNCA. He has already been involved with the TNTA in recent years and it would be good for TN cricket if he explored a role in the TNCA.

Here’s wishing Vijay Sankar the very best in his new role as the Leader of Sanmar Cricket.

N Sankar @ 75 -  https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/11/jolly-rovers-n-sankar-75.html

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Madhava Perumal Temple Kodi Erakkam Event

May 2, 2022, 9:14 pm

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The archakas were going to start the Kodi Erakkam Process on the 9th evening of the Chitrai Brahmotsavam even while the Prabhandham members were reciting the Thiru Nedunthandagam verses 

It is a tradition on the 9th evening of the Brahmotsavam to present the 9th and 10th Canto of Thirumangai Azhvaar’s Thirumozhi, and sometimes the 11th Canto as well during the street procession. The Prabhandham members then recite Thiru Kurunthandagam and Thiru Nedunthandagam at the temple complex in case they are not able to complete these verses during the procession.

Thirumozhi presentation during the Street Procession

On Monday evening at the Madhava Perumal temple in Mylapore, this went to plan. The Prabhandham members completed the 9th, 10th and 11th Cantos of Thirumozhi during the street procession. Once Madhava Perumal, in a Pushpa Pallakku, returned from the procession, the Prabhandham members began their recital of Thiru Kurunthandagam and Thiru Nedunthandagam. 

It was past 10.30pm and even as they were mid way into Thiru Nedunthandagam, Madhava Perumal made his way into front of the Kodi Maram and the archakas were going to start the process of downing the flag.

When this writer (as a devotee), objected to this action of the archakas to start the process of Kodi Erakkam while Prabhandham Seva Kaalam of Thiru Nedunthandagam was still going on, they said that the Prabhandham members could continue their recital while they (the archakas) start this process.

When 1-2 of the Prabhandham members pleaded with the archakas for a few minutes to complete the Seva Kaalam, the archakas relented and stopped the process.

MA Venkatakrishnan who has been anchoring the Prabhandham Ghosti for the last four decades at Thiruvallikeni Divya Desam confirmed to this writer that it was inappropriate to start the Kodi Erakkam process when the Thiru Nedunthandagam Seva Kalam was still going on. But he also clarified that these days such processes are decided by the strength of the respective temples. If the archakas are strong, they decide the course of action, while the Prabhandham members play only a supporting role even though presentation of the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham in an important and integral part of the Brahmotsavam.

In temples where there is no structured and a strong adyapaka ghosti, the Prabhandham recital is pushed to the background. He pointed out that even in Samprokshanams in remote locations, one would find the Prabhandham members sitting in one corner of the temple and reciting the sacred verses.

A devotional presentation by Prabhandham Ghosti

While a group of around 10 members presented the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham with great devotion through the Chitrai Brahmotsavam presenting the Iyarpa, the first 1000 verses and Thirumozhi over the first nine days, unmindful of and insensitive to their presentation of Thiru Nedunthandagam, the Kodi Erakkam process was going to be initiated until better sense prevailed based on their request to complete the few remaining sacred verses.

While Thiruvallikeni Ghosti led by a strong and vocal man like MA Venkatakrishnan can hold their own during utsavams, in many other locations in temples in TN, the Ghosti members largely play only a second fiddle to the entire festivities and they adjust themselves to the way the Utsavam is conducted, says MA Venkatakrishnan. 

Prabhandham members pushed to the side on the street

On the 8th day of the utsavam, as Madhava Perumal was making his way to the four Pillared Mandapam from Bazaar street, the Sri Patham pushed the Prabhandham members to the side and moved past the Ghosti recital only for the archaka to pull the Lord with all his might and prevent the Sri Patham from going past the Prabhandham members.

That day as well as on the 9th evening of the Brahmotsavam, the Prabhandham members' conduct was of the highest order, one that Thiru Mangai Azhvaar would have endorsed for they continued their recital in a very devotional way  leaving the rest to Madhava Perumal.

Sunil Subramanian TN Left Arm Spinner

May 10, 2022, 12:34 pm

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He topped the bowling charts for TN in four of his first five years and took around150 wickets in Ranji cricket in that phase but Zonal Selection remained elusive till into his 6th year

Fiercely Competitive and a man who wanted the ball at all times, he thrived on going after the big guns in the opposition batting order

With his two year-120 games experience as India's first professional manager, he can now look forward to similar opportunities on the domestic front 

An enlightening moment with legend ML Jaisimha transformed his life. And a magnanimous gesture by mentor S Vasudevan within an hour of lifting the Ranji Trophy paved the way for an early Ranji debut. He promised to himself that day that he would not let his mentor and that he would surpass his mentor’s tally of wickets for TN. That confidence reflected in his wicket taking spree for TN as he topped the bowling charts in four of his first five years. He went on to beat Vasudevan’s tally of wickets in the process topping the bowling charts in four of his first season for the state but just like his mentor, he too was given a raw deal at the zonal level. At times, he was seen as eccentric and even a maverick but was one of the fiercest competitors on the field. While he did vent his frustrated feelings every now and then, he allowed the red cherry to do the talking for a large part of his cricketing career and he did that in no small measure. His was a glorious contribution for the State. Here’s the story of one of TN’s best ever left arm spinners. 

High on Academics

Sunil Subramanian belonged to an academically inclined family. His forefathers hailed from the Nava Kailayam Sthalam of Kodaganallur, near Tirunelveli renowned for Sarpa Dosham Parikaram(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/08/kodaganallur-kailasanathar-temple.html). His forefathers were oil merchants serving the Royal family of Travancore. His Grand Father was an active participant in the World War. His appa, a sports lover, was in the Air Force and his sister and brother held Masters and Doctoral degrees. He himself was a high performing product of KV and was keen to pursue CA. But by the time he was into his late teens, he was already playing U22 as well as for the Madras University. This turned him away from his earlier interest in professional degree into a life that for the next decade focused fully on cricket. But his learnings at KV made a well rounded person.

An unexpected job offer

Quite unexpectedly, his manager on the University tour, H Sundaram, impressed with his varsity performances (Sunil considers that team as the best he has played in), offered him a job at IOB while he was still in his 2nd year at Vivekananda College.  He had not completed his graduation and his family comprised of people professionally qualified in academics. His appa disapproved the teenager joining the clerical cadre at the Bank. It was one of the first occasions when his eccentric character came to the fore. He did not talk with his appa for a couple of years while he was at the Bank.

Sunil recalls the conversations that were to be the last with his appa for a couple of years “I had no offers from any other first division team. While I was excited to lock heads against the best in the state and had made up my mind to take up the job, my appa expressed his displeasure at my hurry in taking up a clerical job even before graduation.”

Off Spinner M Santosh Kumar dominated the spin attack for IOB in those days and much to Sunil’s frustration he did not get to bowl much. IOB opener from the 1970s and 80s M Sundar recounts those two years that Sunil played for IOB “He was under bowled in that period and played for us primarily as a batsman but he did give us crucial breakthroughs whenever he was given the ball.”

One of his big days in that early phase came in the Indian Express Trophy final in 1986 as a batsman. Sundar remembers that day “B Arun was in the Indian squad for the tied test against Australia but not in the XI. He played the final after getting permission from the Indian team. The belting he received at the hands of Sunil - the batsman- was brutal and that is still fresh in my memory. It was not a treatment that too many in the city meted out to Arun. Sunil's batting won us the final and him receiving the MOM award from Kapil was a big boost to his confidence.”

The MLJ Moment 

Quite (un)surprisingly, his life transforming moment came not in TN but outside. When on TN’s U25 tour in Hyderabad, he had someone tapping his back asking if he would come back and play for a Hyderabad club the next year. It was India Legend ML Jaisimha. 

Sunil looks back at that match in Hyderabad as his transformational moment in cricket “ML Jaisimha was my first and biggest motivator in cricket. After watching me bowl, he remarked that this boy bowls like Ravi (Shastri) and raised the question with the TN Manager as to how I had not yet played for TN. His comments boosted my confidence. Not once in the next decade do I recall that kind of motivational talk from anyone in TN cricket. MLJ was simply inspirational and one who made my cricketing life.”

In that phase, MLJ picked an all India youth team every year led by one international senior (Arun Lal that year). Sunil was chosen alongside Snehasish and Sourav Ganguly. As promised to MLJ, he also went on to play for VST in the Moin ud Dowla tournament. Interestingly, playing for VST, he got 7 wickets against TN, a year in which in he got 23 wickets in 3 matches in the tournament

“MLJ boosted my cricketing confidence in that phase and was the one who instilled the importance of game awareness and that a match was never really over until the very end” says Sunil of the legend’s early impact on his cricketing thought process. That fighting spirit remained with Sunil every time he entered a cricket field.

His mentor- S Vasudevan

After he was grossly under bowled in the two years at IOB, Sunil moved to SPIC where he was mentored by Ranji Trophy winning captain S Vasudevan. At the SPIC Nets, he would often bowl to former Bombay and TN Ranji cricketer S Srinivasan for hours challenging him to bat through the nets session without getting out once. Srinivasan recalls the challenge “He was an excellent left arm spinner who used his height to great advantage and got that extra bounce from any pitch. I witnessed some of his superb performances while playing for SPIC. I had the pleasure of playing him at the SPIC nets and it was always a challenge as he had enough & more variations.”

It was also the season in which this writer and Promodh Sharma, now a 100 million dollar businessman in the apparel space, (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/05/promodh-sharma-cricketer-turned.html) bowled alongside Sunil at the SPIC nets. Through that year, Sunil would ask this writer if his action was exactly that of Ravi Shastri. Even as a 21 year old, Sunil’s confidence was sky high and he always visualised himself as one in the bigger league. He would also challenge the Ranji veterans in the team - P Ramesh and V Sivaramakrishnan - to take him on at the nets. While they would go for the big hit into the nearby YMCA ground, he aimed to fox them with his guile. Most times, he was the winner. He carried the same spirit into every match he played. He was aggressive in his mindset and went after the ‘Big’ wickets in the opposition lineup.  He was vocal even in the nets and expressed himself to those around. 

A Great Learner

S Vasudevan (Vasu Ranji Retirement) had told this writer in a conversation in 2020 at his home as to how Sunil spent a number of hours with him wanting to understand and learn the nuances of spin bowling “He was inquisitive and would always ask questions. He was a great learner and looked to sharpen his skills all the time. It was a delight to be engaging in Spin-Talk with him in those two years. As someone who was closely engaged with him in that phase, it gave me great delight that he converted his learnings into great success on the field.”

Sunil looks back at the period under Vasudevan as the one that transformed him as a bowler “Vasu was the one who handed me the real chances in the first division and that helped me showcase my bowling skills. I watched him closely every time he bowled in the nets and the match. It was from him that I learned the art of spin bowling and widened my bowling repertoire.”

While MLJ was inspirational with his words, S Vasudevan kindled the spin spirit in Sunil imparting technical skills. And that was invaluable for Sunil in the late 1980s “I am ever grateful to Vasudevan for sacrificing his place in the TN team when he could have easily played another 3-4 years given the form he was in at that time. I promised to myself after his great gesture that I would not let down the confidence he had in me and that I would surpass him in the Ranji wickets tally one day.” 

Great Debut Season

And he did that in quite an extraordinary manner.  In the 1988-89 season, Sunil was roped into the squad to play for TN against the visiting Kiwis in Goa. In his debut match, he picked up 6 wickets. In his first year in Ranji, he was the highest wicket taken for TN by a long mile with 34 wickets including three five wicket hauls. In four of his first five Ranji seasons, he topped the bowling charts for TN, quite an unprecedented achievement for a left arm spinner. He went on to do that six times in his career.

Chemplast – The Best Cricketing Phase

An offer from Bharath Reddy led him to Chemplast where he worked for over 6years and played some of his best cricket. Sunil says that it was the best period in his cricketing life “We had a terrific side at Jolly Rovers. Chemplast took great care of us and we lived in style. In return we delivered the results. We played hard cricket and grabbed almost every tourney.”

During his stint at Chemplast,  he worked through the day till 8pm even on evenings when there was a train to catch “Vijay Sankar would help me with his car that would pick my luggage from my house and arrive at the station, while I went there directly after my office work.” This non cricketing work would hold him in good stead once he retired from cricket.

An Aggressive Spinner

‘ATG’ S. Sharath (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/12/sharath-s-tn-crickets-atg.html) who played alongside Sunil through that entire phase at Chemplast and for TN rates him as one of the two best left arm spinners (the other being Raju) that he had ever played with or against “He had everything in him. He was an outstanding competitor, an aggressive spinner who always went for wickets and a match winner who you could turn to at anytime. I saw both Raju and Sunil at the same level in the 1990s.”

Sharath says that Sunil was a different personality compared to many others in TN cricket at that time "He was forthright in his opinion and too straight forward a guy to succeed in TN!!! You could argue anything with him on cricket and he would respect and accept the views of his fellow cricketers. I was happy with the way he was. He was not one who would beat around the bush. I do think that anyone who performed as well as he did and did not get to play fair opportunities to showcase his skills at the next level has the right to throw up their views strongly. And Sunil did that a lot of the time in the 1990s.”

The man who transformed Jolly Rovers from the early 1980s, Bharat Reddy (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/11/bharath-reddy-players-man.html) saw Sunil from close quarters for several years at Chemplast and credits him for being a terrific bowler even on flat wickets. “His outspoken style was often misunderstood for arrogance. He was such a 'mad-cap' competitor that when once his Ranji captain took the ball away from him, he turned towards the D Stand for an entire over (away from the glare of his Captain’s eyes) almost in protest, such was his fierce competitive spirit and most captains found it difficult to take the ball away from his hands.”

Restless Character

By 1992-93, Sunil had already taken over 100 wickets in Ranji Trophy cricket and was well established as the Number one bowler in the team. But his restlessness on 'off- colour' days remained intact.  When he did not get wickets on a whole day in the Ranji match against Hyderabad in November 92, he could not get sleep and sought the suggestions of Hyderabad legend Abdul Azeem. Buoyed by his motivational words (the second such from a Hyderabad player), Sunil just persevered and picked up a hat trick in the very next match played against Kerala at Thiruvalla, a location famous for the Thiruvazh Marban temple (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2009/10/thiruvazh-marban-in-thiruvalla.html).

Now ICC panel umpire and top wicket-taker for Kerala, KN Ananthapadmanabhan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/09/ananthapadmanabhan-kn.html) played that match and picked five wickets as well. Anantha was also in the Chemplast team for two years in the early 1990s alongside Sunil before he moved to IOB. Speaking to this writer from Pune where he has been umpiring IPL matches he said that Sunil was an outstanding bowler especially on flat wickets and was unlucky not to make it to the top.

High Intensity Player

India U19 batsman from 1988 World Cup G Shyamsundar played with Sunil both at the age group level as well as at Chemplast “He was hard working to the core. His intensity of involvement was very high. On days that he did not bowl well, he would go back to the nets the same evening and bowl for hours. He was a good hearted fellow. Even while at Chemplast, he knew all the nuances of spin bowling.”

Record Breaking Match – 14 wickets at Chepauk

And he came back even stronger with a 10 wicket haul at Chepauk against a very strong Karnataka batting line up helping TN register a win taking them into the knock outs. And there he registered the best ever match bowling performance for TN with 14 wickets against Assam, a team that he was going to play for later in his career. It was a match that also saw M Senthilnathan notch up his highest Ranji score. With this performance Sunil equaled the 14 wicket Ranji record of legends AG Ram Singh and VV Kumar. The record still remains intact three decades later. It was dream run with Sunil taking 31 wickets in three matches after going wicket less against Hyderabad end of November 1992 !!!

In his first five years in Ranji cricket, he had taken around 150 wickets but could not break through into the zonal team, one that left him deeply hurt and frustrated. He was a strong willed cricketer like Ravi Shastri and thrived in a crisis situation. Despite this extraordinary start to his Ranji career, he did not make his Duleep Trophy debut till he picked well over 150 wickets, something that was not entirely new to TN cricketers. In the previous generation, Kalli and his mentor S Vasudevan too did not play for the Zone. 

It was the above performances in 92-93 that finally led him into the Duleep Trophy too he picked up 5 wickets on his debut against North. However, his Zonal stint was short lived. For a man with close to 300 first class wickets, he just played 6 Duleep Trophy matches. Even the lone ROI match he played was a last minute call after the original choice spinner Utpal Chatterjee became unfit. That was the closest he came to national reckoning. He was never selected for India A!!!

Your guys don’t back him- Brijesh in the 1990s

Two decades after his retirement he recalls to this writer the conversation his Chemplast boss PS Vijayakumar had with Karnataka legend Brijesh Patel“When he boldly asked Brijesh about my non selection for Zone, the latter quipped ‘Even your state selectors don’t back him.” Sunil found that the Karnataka selectors were always solidly behind their players while the same could not be said of those here in the 1990s. "Even when Raju was on national duty, a left arm spinner from Goa was picked ahead of me for the Zone despite me picking all those wickets over a long period of time", says Sunil, of his times from the 1990s.

Sunil - A Maverick

Former TN middle order batsman and now a match referee, Arjan Kripal Singh was one of Sunil’s closest friends in Cricket. The two of them played at age group level from U19 and for the State, where they were roommates on many occasions. “He was a terrific bowler and should have played at a higher level than he ended up doing. His performances on the field warranted opportunities at the next level but he was not backed by the state at that time.”

However, Arjan is critical of some of his traits “As a personality, Sunil was a maverick. He was a very moody guy and made comments at the wrong moments that he could very well have avoided. He was not a diplomatic guy for sure and may have rubbed people that mattered the wrong way. It is difficult to say though if his ill timed comments were the reason for TN not backing him at the Zonal level.”

1994 Buchi Babu match - His Best

He counts the Buchi Babu semi final against Sungrace Mafatlal comprising of Tendulkar, Kambli and Sugwekar as his best “Led by VBC, we shocked them in the semi final with me picking up 9 wickets and scoring 85. I took Sachin’s wickets in both the innings and also his wicket the only time I came up against him in a Ranji match.”

Loses Ranji Final, moves to the UK League

After TN lost the Ranji final against Karnataka in 1996, when Sunil went wicketless, he felt he had missed the ‘national’ bus especially with Sunil Joshi coming into prominence. He wanted to take a shot at the lucrative UK league and took the call against the wishes of his bosses at Chemplast. He recalls the decision “Warne and Maninder Singh had been the first two choices. Aussie spin legend pulled out at the last moment while the passing away of Maninder’s dad led him to withdraw.” 

Beats Sobers' three decades record

He went on a record breaking spree capturing over a 100 wickets in the process surpassing Sobers’ decades old record of 97wickets. His century of wickets helped Stone Cricket Club with the championship after 15 years and he was on a high. After his extraordinary performance for Stone, three counties evinced interest in him for the next season.

But by the time he came back, he had lost his job at Chemplast. N Sankar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/11/jolly-rovers-n-sankar-75.html) who passed away last month was firm that an exception could not be made. And after almost a decade of first division cricket, he was left without a club. Being away from office and the first half of the cricket season was not acceptable to the management and they had made it known to him before he made his decision to play in the UK league.  Bharath Reddy clearly remembers the conversation he had with Sunil “The policy was clear at that time and Sunil exactly knew the repercussions of his decision to be away for such a long time. He was a star bowler at that time and I could not have replaced him with another star bowler for a certain number of matches till he came back.”

He was already 29 and with a young family. It was not an age where he could take chances and hence he neither went back to the league nor explored the county options. 

Plays Second Division Cricket!!!

As seen in last month’s story on PC Prakash(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/04/pc-prakash-tn-ranji-1980s.html), HCL took to cricket in 1996 and supported a 2nd division club. In the year that PCP moved out of SPIC after a decade and anchored the building of this team, he had God’s blessings coming his way quite unexpectedly. Sunil was jobless and with half the season gone, there were no takers for him in the first division. “We were looking to take Kohinoor to the first division and the fact that Sunil was looking for a club was a blessing in disguise for me. In a normal situation, it would have been highly unlikely for a player of his stature to be playing for a 2nd division club but we signed him up and he did very well for us not just in cricket but as a staffer at HCL. Everyone at work seemed to like his hard working style and he earned a good name for himself at HCL.”

Always shared his cricketing knowledge

The two had played together the year Sunil joined SPIC and PCP had a special liking for him. “I knew him from his KV days. He was a very committed guy, meticulous and organised in everything he did. He had great regard for elders. Only those who were close to him knew how sweet he was. He was very intelligent and had good values. Many a time he bordered on over confidence and this may have reflected in the way he spoke. People felt he was brash but it was just that most often he did not take things lying down.”

“He has always been someone who was willing to share his knowledge with others. At HCL, even after we entered the first division, he was a great cricketing guy to have. One could throw the ball at him anytime and he would grab it with delight and work towards providing the breakthrough.”

The TN spin twins of the 1960s and 70s were equally matched by the trio (Sunil, Ramana and D Vasu) of the 1990s. Right till the end, he continued to be TN’s highest wicket taker of the season including in 95 and 96 seasons. Injury towards the later part of the 1990s meant that he faded away quietly for TN. He played for Assam for a year as a professional helping them reach the knock out but injuries had taken a toll on him and he quit cricket never to enter a ground for many years. 

He looks back at his dozen years in first class cricket with great happiness “I always gave my best and went after wickets. While I was angry at different points of time in my career, I understood that selection was not in my hands.”

Long ago, Spin Legend S Venkataraghavan (Venkat @ 75) had told this writer that in cricket, the number of matches one plays really depends on circumstances, team composition and such factors. Sunil may have been unfortunate that the combination of these factors did not work in his favour in the 1990s.

A Glorious Working Phase at India Pistons

Much against the trend of the players from the 1990s, Sunil moved away from cricket to a full time corporate role at India Pistons where he took care of their aftermarket sales and collections. “I did not want sympathy as almost every cricketer in that phase remarked that I should have played for the country. It did not sit well with me.”

The first decade of this century was a glorious working phase for Sunil completely away from cricket. Interestingly he was joined there by another cricketing maverick his TN team mate S Mahesh (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/08/s-mahesh-tn-all-rounder.html).

Sunil travelled the length and breadth of the country creating a new market for the manufacturing major.  “I did not enter a cricket ground for several years. I was given complete independence and created a new strategy at IP to boost their aftermarket performance. My appa had worked in the Air Force and I had travelled a lot in my childhood. I was comfortable with multiple languages and hence I grabbed the opportunity to play a national role at IP at a time when people in Chennai did not fancy taking up roles elsewhere. I asked for Mahesh to be moved to my team. He was an outstanding performer and the two of us would even lift the boxes at the warehouses all by ourselves. There was no work that we did not do there.”

Back to cricket 

After over a dozen years, by when he had also made peace with himself and cricket, Sunil quit India Pistons to return to the cricket field and full time coaching. Over the last decade or so, he has been associated in various engagements including at the TNCA academy. He also worked with R Ashwin during challenging phases in his life.

The First Professional Manager of the Indian Team

He had great similarities with Ravi Shastri- the height, action, determination to succeed and thriving in a challenging scenario. With the number of wickets he took early in his Ranji stint, he should have been an ideal choice for the zone and consequently to move up the cricket ladder. But it was not meant to be.  In his second innings in cricket, in a scenario where cricket and cricket management has become lot more professional, he bagged the coveted administrative manager’s post after going through a stringent interview process.

It was the first time in Indian Cricket history that a professional manager was being appointed and Sunil was proud that he was picked from a wide range of candidates from across the country. While he did not get to play for India alongside Ravi though he was right up there with the sheer number of wickets he took over several seasons, three decades later, he did manage to sit alongside him for 120 international games as the first professional manager of the Indian team. It was his greatest cricketing experience as he shared the same dressing room with Ravi Shastri and his former Chemplast and TN team mate B Arun. 

When LS (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/04/l-sivaramakrishnan.html) saw Sunil bowl in the early 90s, he remarked to Bharath Reddy “You have one more test cricketer in your pocket’. Alas that was not to be. Sunil ended up not even playing for India ‘A’ quite a shocker for someone with close to 300wickets who bowled well in all conditions and was especially good on flat wickets. He took five wickets in an innings 20times, 7 wickets in an innings 7 times and on four occasions picked up a 10 wicket haul in a match. In a fortnight, he will be completing 55 and is raring to go further in his second innings in cricket. With the professionalism that has come into domestic cricket, Sunil can now look forward to donning the role of a professional manager of the TN team sometime in the future, given the rich experience he has had with the Indian team over a two year period.

Minjur Varadaraja Perumal Jagannathan Bhattar

May 15, 2022, 2:20 pm

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Over the last two decades, Jagannathan Bhattar has transformed the temple with his selfless service and has made the Vaikasi Brahmotsavam a grand celebratory occasion for the devotees

At the turn of the century, he joined at Rs. 156 per month and his salary has increased to Rs. 2000 in 22 years!!!

While Varadaraja Perumal came out majestically at Chinna Kanchi on Sunday morning, a 52 year old priest was awake through the night on Saturday at Vada Kanchi decorating his favourite Varadaraja Perumal for the Garuda Sevai on the third morning of the Vaikasi Brahmotsavam at Minjur, about 25kms North of Chennai. He has not slept since the start of the Brahmotsavam on Friday morning with he and his wife doubling up as the cook at the madapalli as well preparing multiple dishes for the Lord each day of this annual festival. On Saturday night, the Prabhai did not return till after midnight and then Jagannathan Bhattar worked for over 2 hours till early in the morning decorating the Lord on the Garuda Vahana. By 6am, Varadaraja Perumal provided darshan at the Eastern Raja Gopuram.

It is one of the biggest days in the year at the temple. The Brahmotsavam had not been held in the last two years and hence the devotees in and around Minjur were all excited to have their first Garuda Sevai darshan since the summer of 2019. By the time Varadaraja Perumal made his way around the four Mada Streets and returned to the Raja Gopuram, it was 2pm on Sunday.

Jagannathan Bhattar joined the temple over two decades ago at a monthly salary of Rs. 156. In 2022, this has increased to Rs. 2000. He has been all alone over these two decades. On Sunday afternoon his eyes pleaded for rest but there was none. There was a Thirumanjanam soon after Perumal returned to the mandapam.

And he was back for another favourite of the devotees. The Hanumantha Vahana procession was slated for the evening and Jagannathan Bhattar was at it again decorating the Lord from scratch.  

A Poverty Stricken Family in the 60s/70s

His appa was a hereditary priest at the Ramar temple in Vada Madurai near Periyapalayam (North Madras). He spent decades at the temple when he did not receive even a rupee in the Thattu on most days. He had worked at a salary of Rs. 4. It had been a poverty stricken life. Jagannathan Bhattar grew up in his aunt’s place. As was the trend in the 1970s and 80s, his parents driven by the financial challenges they had faced encouraged their son into a life away from temple. Jagannathan graduated in commerce and then completed Law as well. 

He was headed to the court. He worked for 3 years as an accountant and a couple as a legal advisor under his senior. Just at the turn of the century, his father in law, who belonged to Kattur Village, a km from Minjur called on Jagannathan asking if he would be interested in taking up the archaka post. From a young age, he had seen his appa perform pooja and though he was discouraged from getting into temple services, he had developed bhakthi.

A Surprise call from the Minjur Temple

He was not particularly enjoying the legal work in Madras and though he was to be paid just over Rs. 150, he joined the Varadaraja Perumal temple in Minjur at the turn of the century. The family of the previous priests had taken care of the temple in the 2nd half of the previous century and he had to start from scratch. 

He told this writer on a busy Sunday evening that he did not think he would last beyond a couple of years “The first 3-4 years were financially challenging. We had our first child in that phase. At just over Rs. 100 a month, it was difficult to run a family.”

But he was blessed with something big. He could connect with people and was a networking man. With his selfless service he grabbed the attention of the devotees. 66 year old C Rosaiah has lived all his life in Minjur and ran a rice mill in his prime and was a dealer of Aavin and Amul. He has been closely associated with the Varadaraja Perumal temple. “There was no oil to light the lamp. Devotees were almost non-existent. There was no vastram for the Lord. The arrival of Jagannathan Bhattar two decades ago has seen devotees become attached to Varadaraja Perumal. Any devotee who enters the Moolavar Sannidhi is awe struck and refuses to leave. And then they return again and again. We have not seen the temple in this positive state in the last five decades.”

Jagannathan Bhattar began connecting with the people in Minjur and around. With each Brahmotsavam, he received a boost from the devotees who saw him as one who was completely devoted to Varadaraja Perumal. He was an alankaram specialist and he decorated the Lord in a different Thiru Kolam in each session of the Brahmotsavam that captured the attention of the devotees. “Despite the financial challenges, I was clear that I would dedicate my life entirely to Varadaraja Perumal without any financial expectations.”

People from the villages came in for Ekadasi Sevai. He has added four Thiru Kalyanams in the year. Vaikunta Ekadasi and Puratasi Saturdays too have been days when devotees have thronged the temple in large numbers. The three day Pavitrotsavam has been revised over the last decade. 

He had become so devotionally attached to the temple that he got his son initiated into the agamas at the Sankaracharya Patshala. “I am keen that he too performs service at the temple” says Jagannathan Bhattar.

Renovations at the temple

Rosaiah along with a group of likeminded devotees have come together to make the big utsavams a grand one “We built the Raja Gopuram, the Kodi Maram, two new mandapams, the Chakrathazhvaar Sannidhi and a mandapam at the Andal Sannidhi. Similar renovation has been undertaken at the nearby Ekabareswarar temple as well.”

A new common chariot for the Ekambareswarar temple and the Varadaraja Perumal temple too has been constructed.

He says that there has been a big transformation at the temple since the time Jagannathan Bhattar has taken charge. He has inspired bhakthi among the devotees. Varadaraja Perumal is still carried on the shoulders by the Sripatham. 

Jagannathan Bhattar talks as one with the flower vendor as well the Sripatham personnel. Many from the next gen have become devotionally interested to carry the Lord during the procession. And that is a welcome change.

Rosaiah says that an archaka has to be kept happy for him to create a positive vibration for devotees “hence I decided to support the construction of his house near the temple.” He says that on the big Chariot day in Vaikasi, 50000 people participate in the procession.

78 year old R Raghunathan, who worked at Enfield in his younger days, is part of this devotional group that is trying to revive the temple to its historical glory “During my childhood days, there was a theerthakar and the archaka families lived in the agraharam that was vibrant.  Former CM Bhaktavatsalam who is the hereditary trustee of the temple took great care of the temple.”

"There were no transport facilities in those days. Hence devotees flocked in large numbers and stayed here through the entire Brahmotsavam. The night processions used to start well past midnight. On the third evening, Hanuman used to carry Varadaraja Perumal well past 2am and return only after 5am."

Thiru Kanchi Nambi Utsavam - Revival??

He says that a grand utsavam used to be conducted to celebrate Thiru Kachi Nambi but that had come to a halt in the 2nd half of the previous century.  There was also a Davana Utsavam in the century gone by. In those days, the entire Garuda Sevai procession used to be organised at just Rs. 20. With Jagannathan Bhattar's devotional commitment, these could be revived sometime in the near future.

Doubles up as cook as well 

Jagannathan Bhattar searched around for a cook at least for the Brahmotsavam to prepare and present the various dishes to Varadaraja Perumal but they have been in great demand and the financial expectations of these cooks have become too difficult to meet. Hence he, along with his wife, manage the madapalli as well through the Brahmotsavam. 

But the non stop work both in the morning and evening session has meant that he does not get time to even taste these varieties of dishes. The overload on this single individual has meant that he has had to face health issues. “During these utsavams the BP shoots up beyond permissible limits but there is no choice. Work has to go on in the temple" says the priest.

While his relatives turn up at the utsavam in good numbers to support him on all the ten days, both Rosaiah and Ranganathan are keen that he takes care of his health for they believe it is only then that he will be able to discharge his duties in the same way that he has over the last two decades. 

Its Consecration time again

They are also looking forward to the renovation exercise that is expected to follow the Brahmotsavam. The Vahana mandapam is in a dilapidated state and they are looking to get that back in order. The madapalli too is damaged and extensive repair work is expected to be undertaken.

Its just after 9.30pm on Sunday evening. At the alankaram mandapam, Jagannathan Bhattar is providing the finishing touches to the special Thiru Kolam of the evening – Varadaraja Perumal in a Kothandaramar Thiru Kolam with a bow and arrow seated atop the handsome looking Hanumar.

Rockets shoot up into the sky on this full moon night to alert the residents that Varadaraja Perumal is all set for the Hanumantha Vahana procession on this Pournami evening on the first day of Vaikasi. It has been non stop 24 hours of work for Jagannathan Bhattar but the happiness on the faces of the devotees is that matters to him.

100s of devotees who have stayed back through the night chat among themselves on the minute aspects of the alankaram. A young girl has just sung the entire Ramayanam at the moolavar sannidhi. Hot Pongal is served to all the devotees and at 10pm Varadaraja Perumal made his way from the alankara mandapam to the Raja Gopuram for the start of another long procession around the four Mada Streets. 

Jagannathan Bhattar is physically tired but there is an enlightened look on his face after the devotional  alankaram. He says it is the devotion of the people of Minjur that has kept him going these two decades. He is  paid just Rs. 2000 as salary but in  his mind the goodwill he has generated among the devotees is a lifetime award that Varadaraja Perumal has provided him something that he did not quite expect in his teenage years for he was looking to a life in the corporate world. 

But he has become so devotionally attached to Varadaraja Perumal at Minjur that he rarely has left this town in the last two decades. Even during the Pandemic when the Brahmotsavams were cancelled during the two years, he placed his utmost faith in the Lord, His is a story of financial returns not being everything in life. For him, the entire life centers around performing selfless service to Varadaraja Perumal. And he believes there is no greater delight than that.

Udupi Sukhanivas Mylapore

May 17, 2022, 12:30 am

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The Popular restaurant will soon be completing 7 decades at the Luz Junction

Sambar Idly, Semia Bagala Bath, Idiappam and Rava Dosai are the specialties here

The third generation that is now managing the business is confident of taking the seven decades old Udupi(Udipi) Murudi’s Sukhanivas into the next phase of growth despite the challenges relating to the Pandemic and the upcoming Metro Rail work. 39 year old P.H.P. Raghavendra along with his younger brother Rohith have been carrying the legacy of this popular restaurant near the Luz Signal.

From Udupi to Mylapore in the 1940s

Raghavendra recounts the period in the 1940s when his grandfather, P.H.  Rao, who hailed from Udupi, moved to Madras to join the Woodlands as a Dosa Master “My great grandfather who was an accountant passed away when my grandfather was very young. As the Woodlands’ owner too was from Udipi, he roped in my grandfather as a dosa master for his restaurant.

                      PH Rao - Founder Sukhanivas

That was the beginning of a long and trusted engagement with the traditional South Indian food lovers of Mylapore.

Loyal customer base after a slow start

After serving for many years at Woodlands, he decided to start out on his own and launched Murudi’s Sukhanivas (Murudi is their family name) in 1954. There were two other popular joints at that time -Easwari’s café and Shanti Vihar.  The early phase was a struggle and business was dull in the first few years but Rao hung on to build a long standing brand, competing against these two other players . 

"Cho, Nagesh and Srikanth were regulars at Sukhanivas. There was a garden by the side and they would sit around it and have their Sambar Idly and Idiappam before leaving for the drama at Mylapore Fine Arts”, Raghavendra remembers his grandfather telling him.

A few years after the launch of Sukhanivas, Rao started Murudi’s lodge in the same complex with around 10 rooms. That continues to run to this day. 

1970s - Expands from Tiffin to Full Meals

By the 1970s, Sukhanivas had begun to see a steady flow of customers and expanded from being just a tiffin destination to one with a full meals section. The ambience inside the restaurant continues to be simple Udipi style. While Rao resided in Mint, in North Madras, in the 1940s and 50s, he bought a house in Karpagambal Nagar in 1961 where the family has been staying for the last six decades. He managed the restaurant for almost 35years till his death in 1989.

          PH Padmanabhan -2nd Gen

Second Gen - Diversification in the 1990s

Rao’s son PH Padmanabhan, a commerce graduate, took over charge of the restaurant in the late 1980s. He had received intense on the job training from his appa starting out at a very early age. “When my appa took over, he went in for a big diversification. Family crowd had started coming in good numbers in that period and he converted the open terrace to a banquet hall” says Raghavendra on the diversification of the business by his appa.

Third Gen expands business further

Raghavendra and Rohith have both done their Masters in Business Administration. After taking over the mantle from their appa in 2008, the two brothers went for the next major expansion. The entire interiors were re-done just under 15years ago. Raghavendra says that they went in for a major overhaul to reach out to a larger audience "We set up an AC party hall where family functions could be held. In an effort to reach out to a larger set of customers, we also began offering outdoor catering.  Today, we have three generations of customers walking into our restaurant both for our food as well as their family functions’

 

As part of its expansion, the brothers also launched a new restaurant in Royapuram just over a decade ago and that had seen good growth till the Pandemic.

Challenging Times

Raghavendra is a bit worried on the likely impact of the Metro Rail work “Having coming out of two challenges years of the Pandemic, we have some interesting growth plans but the Metro Rail work has forced us to put those on hold. Currently, it is a wait and watch approach on how the Metro work and traffic regulations pan out. Based on that, we will roll out the next upgrades at the restaurant.”

                    Raghavendra and Rohith (Right)

He says with great delight that over the last seven decades, they have been able to build a loyal set of customers. There are those who come in from as far as Tambaram, Medavakkam and Chromepet to organize their family functions, such has been the customer connect.“SV Sekar regularly comes here to pick up his favourite Semia Bagala Bath. Ghee Roast and Rava Dosai are the other specialties at the restaurant.”

While there have been challenges in the recent past arising out of the Pandemic, and the Metro Rail Work could turn out to be another dampener, Raghavendra and Rohith are optimistic of continuing to take this restaurant business that their grandfather had set up 68years ago into its next successful phase of growth.

Devadhanam Ranganatha Temple Sridhar Bhattar

May 18, 2022, 6:01 am

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With the sincere service of Sridhar Bhattar who has dedicated himself to this temple, devotees have been visiting in good numbers in recent years to have darshan of the 18 Feet Ranganathaswamy 

Encroachments have meant that the hereditary trustee has had to fight tooth and nail to secure the lands back

Hailing from Edur Village in Gummidipoondi, Sridhar Bhattar joined the privately managed Ranganatha temple in Devadhanam just under two decades ago. He had learned the agamas from vidwan Santhanam Bhattar at Pattanam Koil (Parrys). He had participated in the Samprokshanam at the Ranganatha temple and soon after took solo charge as the archaka. 

When this section wrote a story on the temple a dozen years ago, there were no proper roads leading to the temple both from Ponneri and Minjur. Devotees visited in small numbers. Against this backdrop, Sridhar Bhattar started off with one kaala pooja for which he was presented an annual Sambhavanai of 32 Mootai paddy. 

Over the next decade, his sincere service attracted devotees to the temple. When he joined the temple, he had decided that he would not go out to any other temple to perform service or be involved in any other vaideeha activity. 

Saligrama stone 18 feet Ranganatha in Bhoga Sayanam

At this temple, the 18feet long Ranganathaswamy is seen sleeping in a Bhoga Sayanam posture on the serpent bed with 3 folds formed by the 5 headed Adisesha with the right hand of the Lord placed beneath his head and the left hand stretched forward. The moolavar deity is made out of Saligrama stones. Even the jewels of the sleeping lord are of Saligrama stone. At the feet of Lord Ranganatha are Sri devi and Bhoo devi. Anjaneya is seen with folded palms along with Maha Rishi Thumburu inside the sanctum.

Snake Hill behind the Sanctum

On the Western side of the temple behind the sanctum is a snake hill. The belief is that this snake protects the temple and the devotees who visit here.

Prarthana Sthalam

A visit to the temple is said to provide immediate job opportunities, help in marriages and progeny.

Sincere Service lures devotees

Sridhar Bhattar's sincere service led to devotees visiting the temple in good numbers especially for the Thiru Kalyanam on Panguni Uthiram and Bhogi, Rama Navami, Aadi Pooram and Vaikunta Ekadasi. In recent times, they have also been thronging the temple on Pournami with an expansive Thaligai being organised on that day. He also began performing two Kaala Pooja at the temple. In the decade gone by, with growing popularity of the temple, with devotees wanting to having darshan of the huge Ranganatha in Sayana Kolam, proper roads were built making access to the temple lot better compared to the past.

Encroachment Challenges

However the temple has had to face some challenges in the recent past. The hereditary trustee of the temple, Gopinath, has been managing the temple for the last several decades having followed in the footsteps of his forefathers. Unsurprisingly for a remote temple, encroachments have come in the way of the growing popularity of the temple. Over three acres of land belonging to the temple has been illegally occupied and Gopinath has been fighting a legal battle to secure the land back. “I have produced the documents in courts based on the Old Survey  Register (OSR) dating back to the middle of the 19th Century and have secured an eviction order.”

Despite its remote location, there has been a surge in number of devotees visiting the temple from far and wide. Sridhar Bhattar, who does not have children, has committed his lifetime to this temple, while the hereditary trustee has said that he would fight tooth and nail to secure the lands belonging to the temple.

Devadhanam is located 30kms North of Madras, 4kms from Minjur and about 7kms from Ponneri  The temple is open from 630am-12noon and 4pm-8pm. Contact Sridhar Bhattar @ 97868 66895

How to reach the temple

Take a Suburban train from Chennai Central/ Beach and get down at Minjur (27kms- 45minutes) – Gummudipoondi section. From Minjur, take an to reach the temple in about 15minutes.  Buses ply between Broadway (Parrys Corner) and Minjur. Metro is available till Wimco Nagar from where there are regular buses to Minjur.

M Santosh Kumar IOB TN ICA

June 8, 2022, 3:37 am

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Back with a Bang!! 

Offie from the 1970s and 80s Santosh Kumar failed to bag a permanent place in the TN side but is making a big comeback in his second innings and eyeing a top post in the TNCA this year

The fact that Santosh played Ranji trophy for TN as an off spinner when Venkat was still around was by itself a significant achievement - Bharath Reddy, his college captain and TN teammate

On the back of a strong performance for the Junior State and in the Buchi Babu tournament, a young 21 year old off spinner was included in the South Zone squad to play the visiting Australians, bereft of the packer players, in 1979.  M Santosh Kumar had not yet played Ranji cricket for TN though he had made his debut for the Railways, as a previous staffer at ICF. With PR Man Singh as the manager, Hyderabadi Shivalal Yadav got the nod in the XI in that crucial match and shortly after played Test Cricket for India. While he could have easily played Duleep and Deodhar Trophy for the Central Zone, much like S Madhavan (he joined RBI in 1982), Santosh too had quit the Railways opportunity to join a nationalized bank (IOB) in Madras. Legendary off spinner S Venkataraghavan still cherished dreams of an India return and continued to play for TN into the early 1980s denting Santosh’s hopes. He was IOB’s standout bowler for 15years helping them win many trophies especially in the shorter format and remains the bank’s highest wicket taker. In his second innings in cricket, he is now making a strong comeback. Having been the TN representative at the ICA over the last three years, Santosh is now eyeing an even bigger role in cricket and is confident of a bagging a coveted position in the TNCA come the elections in a couple of months. He says he will stand up for the players and the support staff that had been hitherto elusive. Here’s the story

A Childhood in and around Chepauk

M Santosh Kumar spent his entire childhood at the Chidambaram Stadium with his appa Muthu, the legendary TNCA marker and the man who ran the BS Nets. Every morning he would be woken up at 5am to run around the stadium. As a Hindu School cricketer, he was prolific both as a batsman and off spinner and played for the city and state schools. Even as a young teenager he was seen as a promising cricketing and expected to climb the cricketing ladder. 

In that early phase at school, his appa was a true inspiration. Every time he picked five wickets, he would pay Rs. 100.“But when I began to pick these in bag loads, he made it more challenging for me. He lifted the bar to include 25runs as well”,  says Santosh, sitting at the Secretary’s office at MUC, a post he has held for many years, now.

His all round performances were so consistent at the school level that his appa almost had to give up this motivational exercise. (At the State level around the same time, Venkat Challenged Kalli to score a 25 in a Ranji match!!!). "He used to hide behind the tree and watch me bowl in matches. At the end of the day, he would discuss extensively including on field placements”

Santosh improved his bowling skills under Audi Chetty’s coaching but he also remembers that great coach for initiating him into the mental aspects “Every time I felt low, he would come to me and inspire me with his motivational talk. It was he who asked me not to lose heart and asked me to keep working hard.”

                                      

Big Year in Schools Cricket

1973 was a big year for the then 15 year old Santosh as he shot into prominence in the schools tournaments with extraordinary performances for the City and State Schools. Against Karnataka, it was his two wickets in an over including that of Roger Binny that triggered a collapse and handed TN a comeback win to take them into the Ghulam Ahmed Trophy final.

Street Fighter

Former Andhra Ranji Cricketer and a St Bedes student in the early 1970s, GA Pratap Kumar played against Santosh in the inter schools tourney and alongside him  for City and State Schools.  Much later, the two locked heads in a fierce rivalry with SBI's GAP taking on IOB's Santosh in the 1980s. He recalls the strong competition among four spinners in early 1970s "AP Rajasekar, Gautham, Santosh and I competed for spots in the schools team. Santosh was very hard working. He was a born street fighter and would not give up easily. He picked up a lot of wickets at the schools level and scored big runs. It was unfortunate that he did not go on to play much for TN."

Under Bharath Reddy, Alongside S Vasudevan

He continued his hugely successful run into the Pachaiappas College where he played under Bharath Reddy and bowled alongside S Vasudevan. Strong performances for the college earned him a place in the University side. Reddy was the real motivating source in those early days “He was the best captain I played under. He was an inspiration from behind the stumps and would lift your spirits even you were completely down”. 

In the TNCA league, he started off with UFCC T. Nagar and then moved on to TVS MSC in the 2nd division. During his college days, he scored a century before lunch for TVS MSC showcasing his batting prowess. The secretary of the club, Devraj (SBI), back him to the hilt and supported him financially paying his college fees. 

Stars for Junior State

In Junior State cricket, his 6 for 43 helped bundle out a strong Hyderabad batting line that included to be state cricketers Shahid Akbar and Khalid Abdul Quayyum.

Into his late teens, he joined ICF as a clerk based on his performance for the University. In his very first year at ICF, he made his Ranji debut for the Railways and was hopeful of playing for Central Zone to further his cricketing interests. 

A Big Decision - From Railways to a Bank

In the summer of 1979, his appa directed him to take up a bank job. ICF was not necessarily seen as a plump post in those days especially when compared to one at a leading bank.

Ranji cricketer from the 1970s V Krishnaswamy (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/08/krishnaswamy-v.html) was building a strong team at IOB.Santosh recalls that big decision in his life “My appa was very committed to TN. Chepauk, TNCA and TN meant everything to him. He wanted me to play Ranji for TN even though I had settled down at Railways and a good future beckoned. I followed his direction and quit ICF in 1979.”

He grew up watching legendary spinners Venkat and VV Kumar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2007/07/cricket-tales-exclusive-with-vv-kumar.html) bowl tirelessly at the BS Nets. His most memorable experience as a bowler at the BS Nets was bowling to TE Srinivasan, who consistently challenged the youngster to take his wicket. While they were heroes to him, he himself was a hero at the Hindu Sec School and was treated like one by his Physical Director LC Rangan.

For South Zone against Australia -1979

Like any other teenager, he dreamt of playing for the country. His rather surprise inclusion in the South Zone squad against Kim Hughes’ Aussies came on the back of a couple of big performances in the Buchi Babu tournament. He recalls picking up 24wickets in two Buchi Babu matches and 22 wickets in the first four matches in the 1st division league and was in prime form. His early Ranji debut as a teenager too gave him confidence and he was looking forward to playing against the Aussies. The selection had lifted his cricketing spirits, and the hopes of climbing the cricketing ladder shot up.  Off Spinners Prasanna and Venkataraghavan had already played for well over a decade for India and were at the end of their careers and this was to open the doors for a young offie in the Indian team. 

His appa told him that a strong performance against Australia would get him into national prominence but alas his dream was dealt a severe blow on the morning of the match. He recalls that morning “I was all excited to be playing that match and was looking forward to the challenge but as luck would have it Shivlal was chosen in the XI on the morning of the match and soon made his debut for India. Even captain Kirmani was disappointed at me being left out be he could not go against PR Man Singh’s words.”

The move to IOB gave him financial security and a long almost four decades career at the Madras headquartered bank where he ended up as the highest ever wicket taker. But his hopes of moving up in cricket were crushed. While he may have been a regular feature for the Railways in the Ranji Trophy, it was lot more challenging for him in TN with Venkataraghavan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/04/venkataraghavan75.html) still cherishing the dream of a India come back after being left out following a disastrous run in the World Cup and the England tour in mid 1979. S Vasudevan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/06/vasudevan-tn-ranji-trophy-retirement.html) had established himself as a left arm spinner and with the dramatic emergence of Vidya Mandir school boy leggie L Sivaramakrishnan (LS), Santosh was relegated to the sidelines. He was in and out of the squad playing less than 10 Ranji matches for TN. 

A Good first season

When he did get his chance, he picked four wickets in his Ranji Debut for TN against Kerala in 80-81, the season when he played 5 Ranji matches for TN. Santosh remembers the conversation he had with Venkat in Cannanore at the end of the Ranji match after his wicket taking spell on TN debut “Venkat told me that he still harboured ambitions of playing again for India and that the only way he could do it was to play and perform in the Ranji Trophy. This meant that I was unlikely to be a regular feature for TN and even if I was would not get enough overs to prove my credentials.”

“Till the Junior State level, I took wickets in good numbers in every phase starting city schools. And yet when it came to the Ranji, I was sidelined. I was always under trial and every match was a severe test to hold my place. I should have played lot more matches for TN and don’t think I was given a fair chance by TN” says Santosh looking back at those frustrating years for TN.

That same season, in January 1981, he picked up seven wickets in a Gopalan trophy match in Salem against a strong Lankan side and he believed that he would get several more chances but those opportunities remained elusive and the next season proved to be his last.

His Pachaiappas College and later Ranji team mate S Vasudevan remembers the big partnership the two had in a losing cause in the Ranji semi finals against Bombay in 1981“We played together right from the state schools up to Ranji Trophy. He was a very good off spinner and also batted decently. He took a lot of wickets during school and college days.” 

All Round show against Nirlons

Interestingly in one of his best innings, he put on close to a century partnership for the last wicket with R Madhavan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/10/r-madhavan-tn-cricketer-1980s.html) for the TNCA Prez XI against a Nirlons attack comprising Sandhu and Shastri in the Buchi Babu tournament this after having taking five wickets against a batting lineup that included Gavaskar and Sandeep Patil (Madhavan scored a century that shot him into prominence at the National level)

Can't play two off spinners!!!

Off spinner Chandrasekaran (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/09/r-chandrasekaran-sbi-globe-trotter.html), who took over 100 wickets in two league seasons in the early 1960s, played only one Ranji match for TN. Since then till the emergence of Santosh, no off spinner had been able to make his way into the TN squad. Leg Spinner S Madhavan (RBI Madhavan) returned from Central Zone duties to join RBI in 1982 and never played for TN, with LS preferred to him through the first half of the 1980s. He is sorry for the lack of opportunities for Santosh in the 1980s "He was a very good off spinner. When the selectors wished, there have been enough cases of two left arm spinners or two off spinners playing in the XI in cricket. It just so happened that they did not fit him into the XI."

Kerala’s Balachander invited Santosh to move to that state so he could play Ranji cricket there but much like Chandrasekaran two decades earlier, Santosh refused. 

Bharath Reddy (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/11/bharath-reddy-players-man.html), who Santosh rates as the best captain he played under has the final word “The fact that Santosh played Ranji trophy for TN as an off spinner when Venkat was still around was by itself a significant achievement for him.”

Outstanding performer for IOB

IOB had not been a cricketing team to reckon with till the first half of the 1970s. It was V Krishnaswamy who drove a cricketing wave at the Bank. Santosh remembers Kicha even sponsoring food for the entire team in the league matches “Kicha was inspirational and the best that I had seen in cricket. He brought the team together and much after his Ranji retirement would stay till end of a league match motivating us to give our best. It was under him that NP Madhavan, Vasan and I, among many others, blossomed at IOB. It was through his efforts, from the background, that the bank emerged as a strong team in the 80s and 90s. ”

 

Santosh also acknowledges the brilliant close in cordon built by Kicha. "I owed a lot of my wickets in that early phase to IOB’s fielding with Kicha and Venkatachalam and later Junior Ramesh in the close cordon holding sharp chances."

Santosh says that though he was frustrated at not getting enough chances for TN, Krishnaswamy motivated him and kept him going through the first half of the 1980s “He believed in my abilities and motivated me right till the time he was in India (Kicha moved to Korea in the 2nd half of the 80s) and gave me a lot of hope. He firmly believed that I could make a comeback in Ranji.”

                                    

Shrewd Off Spinner

IOB's opener from the 70s and 80s M Sundar watched Santosh very closely. He says that Santosh was one of the finest & shrewd off spinners he had come across during his playing days, particularly on matting wickets  “He was very nippy off the wicket & it was always testing time for the slip fielders. He captained IOB very successfully and we won many trophies under him.” 

His Appa’s experience in preparing pitches rubbed off on MSK. Sundar says that Santosh was a very good reader of wickets, a talent very few cricketers possessed and could correctly predict how the wicket would behave.

Another IOB team mate from the late 70s NP Madhavan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/05/np-madhavan.html) says that as an offie Santosh was very nippy at his peak. However, he could not be restrained  and would blow up.  

A Powerful 2nd innings in Cricket

He went on to become a manager at IOB. His two daughters have followed in the father’s footsteps and currently hold good positions at IOB and SBI. Interestingly, his son, who could not make it big as a player, has just picked up the video analyst role with the Indian team for the current series against SA and will also be travelling to England for the one off test. He is also the video analyst with the KSCA.

In his second innings in cricket Santosh Kumar has managed to get a powerful role and for the last three years has been the TN representative on the ICA. 

At the meetings at the TNCA in recent years, he has made his presence felt  raising issues that most others have chosen to remain silent about. The meetings that in the past had lasted under 15 minutes have now gone on for two hours with Santosh seeking closure on issues he has raised.  In a letter to the TNCA written last week, a copy of which is available with this writer, Santosh, has also pitched for an amount for the Ranji winning team of 1988. In that letter, he has also asked for monetary benefits to former Ranji players who had played less than 25matches.

He is now yearning for more, and eyeing a top post at the TNCA this year in the upcoming elections. Unlike in his playing days, he is confident of securing the post – a true transformation as a personality over the last four decades!!.  He has also placed demands for the stands in the newly reconstructed stadium to be named after former legends including umpires. He says that he will soon get a significant hike for umpires, scorers and video analysts at the TNCA. 

             Seen with likely TNCA Prez Ashok Sigamani

Santosh Kumar, with whom this writer has officiated as an umpire in many TNCA matches, was a nippy off spinner in his prime and had risen to the State level on the back of strong performances starting with city and state schools and later at the Pachaiappas College and in Buchi Babu Tournament. However, with Venkataraghavan still playing for the State, Santosh could not break his way through on a consistent basis for TN in the early 1980s and faded away without making much of a mark, though he performed extraordinarily for well over a decade for IOB in the first division league and in limited overs tournaments. 

Now, close to four decades later, the unrestrained anger that NP Madhavan spoke about of Santosh from the late 70s and early 80s is seen in its full form. At the MUC, soon after his arrival at the Secretary's desk, everyone in the office are on their toes. He picks up every pending item and pins them down. With a drainage issue that had gone out of hand at the club with the demand going up to close to a Lakh, his solution is simple. He calls the Chairman of Sewerage Board and questions the process. Within hours, the team land up to close the issue.

On the cricketing front in TN, his process is no different. He is determined to fight for players' cause and is taking it up with the officials. Relentless in his pursuit to achieve what he wants and clear with the way he will get it, he is aggressively going after the top spot in the TNCA and says in his typically challenging way to question him if he does not secure the dues for the players and the officials once he is in the hot seat!!! 

This section will track the developments.

Sriram Krishnamurthy High Performance Cricket coach New Zealand

June 10, 2022, 12:46 am

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Making a mark in the Kiwi land

At Wellington, Sriram played a key role in developing Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra transforming them into international cricketers and now at Northern Districts, he is working with the Who's Who of NZ cricket

While the TNCA have not explored his services over the last decade, he is back in Madras this month for a short stint with Madurai Panthers in the TNPL

At the start of the previous decade, Sriram Krishnamurthy, who had played for Grand Slam (India Cements) in the TNCA league, was trying to explore a career in cricket coaching. After his degree, he worked at a BPO but could not take his mind away from cricket. He did not make much headway as a player but believed he had the ability to translate his cricket knowledge into making other players understand themselves better and to convert that understanding into performance on the field. While he did not get any opportunities in TN/TNCA, he found surprising interest coming in from Australia. For a couple of years, he coached teams at the state level in Victoria and South Australia. However, it had not been a full time -through the year - contractual engagement and visa restrictions  meant he had to return to India for 3-4 months in each of those two years. When he was touching 30, his appa (who passed away in 2020) was keen for him to freeze on a career and settle down in life.

It was then that Sriram explored the possibility of coaching in nearby New Zealand, where the easier visa conditions meant he could coach through the year for multiple seasons.  A mate at Cricket Victoria (Australia) put him on to Dave Gillespie, President, Taita Distrct CC, an eight decades old club in Wellington.

Exploring cricket coaching in the UK

That English Summer in 2015, Sriram went back to the UK for a 6 week stint with Derbyshire in the T20 blast. 7 years prior, in 2008, he had played for Cornwell Cricket Club, a minor county in the UK following which he had done his Masters in HRD (Human Resource Development) from the Lancaster University in Manchester. It was during his stint in Manchester that he got initiated into Coaching. His Masters degree had a paper on Knowledge Management and Sriram wanted to explore if this concept could be implemented in the sports field. In 2010,  on the invitation of The English and Wales Cricket Board, Sriram was involved in a High Performance Coaching related work ahead of the 2010-11 Ashes where he conducted Coaching Workshop for coaches including lecture sessions for those coaches who were to be  handling the English team in the Ashes that summer that year. 

While England was one of the options for him to explore in 2015, the visa restrictions there that were similar to the ones in Australia meant he could not fulfil his appa's wish of 'settling down'.

Moves to Wellington, New Zealand

And thus in August 2015, he moved to Wellington to coach the U19 team. While there was still half a mind to coach in his home land in Chennai about which he had always been passionate about, opportunities were not forthcoming.  With a new family in the offing, he was keen to be full time in one country. 

For those with exceptional talent, there was an option to get through into NZ with a 'Talent Visa'. Dave (Gillespie) felt that Sriram was well qualified for this visa given his credentials at that time. 

Identified by the Kiwi Board as one of the key coaches

Having started out as a U19 coach at Cricket Wellington in 2015, by 2020 he had become the batting coach of the Wellington Firebirds, one of the six first class teams in the country. During the period, he was identified by NZ cricket as one of the dozen coaches to take forward NZ cricket. And with that identity came big opportunities for Sriram. He was part of three tours with NZ A as well as a prestigious tour with the U19 team at the World Cup. When Bangladesh toured NZ, he was appointed as the coach of the NZ XI that played a tour match  ahead of the international series.

Develops Conway, Ravindra and Blundell

At Wellington, Sriram had begun to work with Conway, Blundell and teenager Ravindra. It was he who insisted on Ravindra’s selection for the U19 world cup when he was just 16years old.  Sriram is credited with developing them from state cricketers to now playing for the Black Caps.

Each of these have given Sriram a wide ranging and varied experience.

Sriram is grateful with the way Wellington treated him in that phase “When I landed in New Zealand in 2015, full time coaching roles were very limited. While Cricket Wellington offered me a contract, it was not enough to lead a comfortable life, financially. They pointed me to Taita CC as an additional engagement that served me well and kept me going in those initial years."

"Kiwis are a very helpful lot and kind in nature. Dave (Gillespie) immediately got my wife a job soon after her arrival in New Zealand. And that made a big difference to our lives.”

His close association with Graeme Aldrich

When Sriram got an opportunity to attend the annual high performance workshop in the winter of 2016, he had a chance meeting with Northern Districts' great Graeme Aldrich. Sriram immediately hit it off with Graeme, one of the most well respected first class cricketers in NZ and one with the record for the highest number of wickets for Northern Districts. 

The two of them did level 3 coaching and went to the U19 world together – Graeme as the bowling coach and Sriram coaching the batters.

Moves to Northern Districts

After five years in Wellington, Sriram moved to Northern Districts in 2020 to work alongside Graeme. In the last couple of years, he has handled the likes of Kane, Southee, Boult, Sodhi, Wagner, De Grandhomme  and Santner at Northern Districts. It has been one of his most enjoyable experiences to work with the greats of Kiwi cricket. 

What has amazed him has been their openness to learn and the mindset to absorb new and interesting cricketing aspects. 

As he looks back at the 7 years in NZ, he is delighted at the way the board has taken care of him and is keen to show his loyalty to them for the trust they have placed in him during this period.

It has also been a great experience for him in these 7 years - first to be working with state players and helping them make their way into the national team and now to be working so closely with top international players and the Who's Who of Kiwi cricket. Right from the start, his differentiated model has been to understand the personality behind the cricketer, be relatable to them by speaking their language and engaging in long conversations with each of them to help them gain confidence in their inherent strengths. 

At the TNPL this month

Well over a decade ago, he had played alongside KB Arun Karthik in the city league in Chennai. His old mate reached out to him in 2018 to explore coaching the Madurai team in the TNPL. Sriram is currently in the city for his second stint in the TNPL coaching Damodaran backed Madurai Panthers. Seven players in the team are currently involved in the 1st division league final taking place today. Over the last fortnight, he has had individual sessions with cricketers in the TNPL team trying to help them build on their strengths.

While he is currently well settled in the Kiwi Land, his heart has always been in Madras and he continues to hope that someday in his life he would return to Chepauk to coach cricketers in his home town.

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Kapali Temple Mathalam Vidwan Balasubramaniam

June 13, 2022, 11:35 am

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From Kannapuram to Kapaleeswarar

Father and Son have served at the Mylapore temple presenting Mathalam for over five decades 

Asthana Mathalam Vidwan J Balasubramaniam has been serving at the six kaalam pooja at the Kapaleeswarar Temple for over two decades following in the footsteps of his appa Jayachandran who was at the Saint Poets praised Mylapore Temple for three decades from the late 1960s.  Balasubramaniam spent his entire childhood listening to the Thevaram verses of the Othuvars at the Kapali temple. 

His forefathers hailed from Thiru Kannapuram, a Divya Desam praised with a 100 verses by Thiru Mangai Azhvaar and were Thavil Vidwans at this historical temple. For several decades, his grandfather Srinivasan presented the Thavil at the Sowri Raja Perumal Sannidhi. The ustavams had been grand and his grandfather enjoyed the presentations early morning through the month of Margazhi in addition to playing during the round the year utsavams. It was a serene atmosphere around the temple and vibrant through the year. He was given accommodation and reasonable amount of Paddy as remuneration for his services. Into the 1960s, life turned financially challenging with the exodus of original inhabitants and a slowdown in the utsavams. 

Jayachandran learned mridangam at the Dharmapuram Atheenam for a few years and then moved to the music college in Madras in the mid 1960s to further his proficiency in Thavil. While the situation had turned sour at Thiru Kannapuram and the future prospects looked bleak, he was keen to head back to the Divya Desam to continue the services at the temple after completion of his course at the music college.

To Kapali Temple in 1968

However, a pleasant surprise awaited him. In 1968, Kapali Temple’s Nagaswaram vidwan of the time Balu asked him to join his troupe at the temple as they were looking for a Thavil artiste. Instead of taking the train back to Thiru Kannapuram, Jayachandran entered the Kapali temple to present Thavil every day of the year for a dozen years at a monthly salary of Rs. 75.

In 1980, he received the official appointment for ‘Mathalam Sevai’ from the temple and performed at the temple for another two decades.

Balasubramaniam had grown up at the Kapaleeswarar temple from the time he was a crawling child. “The presentation of the Othuvars was a big early influence on me and it played an important role in me becoming devotionally attached to the Lord. From very early on, it had been my devotional dream to present in front of the Swami and Ambal at Mylapore.”

He learned Mridangam from Thanjavur Natarajan, former Principal of the Music College in Madras. End of the previous century, he finally managed to get that opportunity. For close to 25years, he has been presenting Mathalam service during the Deepaaradhanai each day of the year in addition to playing during the Utsavams.

Rejects a Lucrative offer

A dozen years ago, he received an offer from the music college but by then he had become deeply attached to Kapaleeswarar. He does not regret the rejection“I would have earned double the salary today had I joined the Music College in 2010 but from my childhood I had been fed on Kapali’s food. If money was the only thing in life, I would have moved out but the message from Ambal and Swami was clear to believe in them and continue my service at this temple. I had no two thoughts about it and firmly had faith in the divine couple that they would take care of me.”

In these dozen years, since that offer, he has also received project based offers to perform but he has rejected each one of them“I could have earned a lot outside as there is high demand but I understood early on that God writes our accounts – I have always heard him ask me as to what I am doing for him each day. Even if I fail one kaalam in my service, he gives me an alert that my mind is deviating from devotional service towards monetary benefits.”

“Almost all the service personnel at the Kapali temple are on rotational murai performing 15days service where as I have got an exclusive 30 days in a month opportunity. The positive vibration inside the sannidhis and the peace of mind has to be experienced to be understood.”

Devotional Service during the Pandemic

The biggest of donors did not have the opportunity to have darshan during the Pandemic where as he was blessed to be presenting before the Lord. “That’s the kind of devotion he has come to relate to with Kapali and Ambal”

As a young child, his appa initiated into ‘devotion without expectation’ and through the last two decades he has tried his best to follow his appa’s message on service to the Lord. His devotion to Kapali has meant that he has had to skip the weddings of even close relatives. 

On the eve of Pournami this Vaikasi, he was invited to Tiruttani but his mind has been devotionally bonded to Kapali and he did not make the trip.

Sometime in life, he wants to experience Sowri Raja Perumal at Thiru Kannapuram where his forefather had played the Thavil for several decades. That is still a far way off for he has atleast another dozen years of service at the Kapali temple. For the moment, his mind is all on Kapaleeswarar and Karpagambal.

K Barathan Railways BCCI Umpire

June 19, 2022, 12:39 am

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He quit Sanmar Group after just one season to join Railways and went on to play Ranji Cricket for a decade

In 1992, he started the season with a century and 11wickets but failed to rise to the next level

“He was very helpful and backed me completely in my first year in Ranji”– Karnataka Coach Yere Gowd who made his Ranji debut under Barathan’s captaincy

Between 1979 and 82, two spinners, M Santosh Kumar (IOB Santosh) and S Madhavan (RBI Leggie) quit their respective jobs in the Railways to join Banks in Madras letting go of opportunities to play Ranji Trophy in the Central Zone. In 1985, another spinner who could hold his own as a batsman joined the Railways but his quitting the very next year seemed to lead him in the footsteps of his predecessors. A year later, after a good season with Jolly Rovers, he was forced to rejoin the Railways. His appa, who retired as a station master in Mambalam, felt that a Government job would offer long term security. As luck would have it, the Railways reached the final of the Ranji Trophy in his very first year and he went on to play for a decade, something his senior spinners from Madras had missed. Here’s the story.

Another YSCA Guru product

K Barathan joined the Guru team (YSCA Gurumurthy) at the Somasundaram ground as a 6 year old. As with most boys in the group, he too would wake up early at 5am to be among the first at the ground to get extra batting that was on offer for the first comers. He started off as a wicket keeper to the outswingers of Gurumurthy. After Guru finished his spell, Barathan turned his arm over with his off spinners “While I always saw myself as a batsman, it was my teammates who motivated me into bowling as they liked my action” says Barathan looking back on those early years in the 1970s at the Somasundaram ground.

Grand Prix- The Turning Point

He played for TFUCC and UFCC T Nagar, both Guru managed teams in the TNCA league but the turning point in his cricket career came in 1984 when he moved to Grand Prix in the first division. Encouraged by Mukund and provided enough opportunities by captain PS Raman, Barathan had an outstanding season topping 600 runs in the league. By this time, he had captained the Pachaiappas college team for a couple of years.

"I had offers pouring in from Indian Bank, IOB and SPIC but my appa’s experience in the decades preceding in the Indian Railways turned the decision towards the Central Government job."

A century under Bharath Reddy's watchful eyes

That year, he hit a career best 170 against Jolly Rovers, watched by Bharath Reddy, who roped him in the next season. While Barathan had another great season, (un)fortunately his century against the Railways for Jolly Rovers turned his life around. Narasimhan, who later went on to become the GM at the Railways, saw him score that century and immediately asked for Barathan to return to the Railways or pay a huge compensation as per the exit clause.

“Coming from a middle class, we did not have money to pay up. In any case, my appa was keen on a Govt job for he thought it was better than the then uncertainty for cricketers in a private firm” says Barathan on his decision to quit Sanmar Group after a year.

Features in the Ranji Final

While he had been in the TN Ranji squad in the year he played for Jolly Rovers, his move to the Railways meant he featured in the Ranji final in his very first year. He had made a good early start to that season with half centuries in successive matches including picking up three wickets and scoring a fifty on debut. While he bowled a marathon spell in the final, the match itself was largely a forgettable one for the Railways.

One of his closest friends in the Railways was Ranjit Khanwilkar “We played together in my debut year for Railways. He would wake up at 4am, walk for an hour and was a voracious reader.  He was awesome talent. I had hoped to play together with him for a long time but unfortunately he passed soon after I met him at the YSCA match in the 1st week of June at the RKM ground.”

He also began his coaching stint in those early years coaching the Railway cricketers at the Somasundaram ground. "I always liked coaching as it gave one the opportunity to produce future cricketers."

His Best Season 

After a few quiet years, Barathan came into his own and was at his best in the 92-93 season. He counts his 11 wickets and 107 against Rajasthan in chilly conditions in Jaipur as the best match in his life especially as the performance came on the back of a big injury. He had injured himself a day ahead of this Ranji match in practice when a yorker in the nets left his left ankle swollen. 

He looks back at the contribution of his teammate on the eve of the match “Yashpal (Sharma) who played for a year as a guest was keen on me playing the season opener. My roommate Srikant Karge applied ice through the night without sleeping even for a minute to help me get fit. In the morning at 6am, he woke me up to ‘test walk’. I wore Durga Prasad’s size 12 shoe on one foot and my own size in the other.”

Batting on one leg 

“While I was happy about some additional rest after we won the toss and batted on the first morning, the top order was knocked over quickly before lunch. And that meant I was in earlier than I had expected. I batted on almost one foot through that entire innings and without a runner to score that century.”

Barathan followed his batting performance with a 7 wicket haul that forced Rajasthan to follow on. He was back again on the field to capture four more wickets for a match haul of 11 wickets. “I was lifted by all the players at the end of the match. Yashpal (Sharma) was particularly pleased with my determination.”

After that performance, he was on a high and felt he could be in line for a national call up. Word spread that it was between him and Gyanendra Pandey but he was not to make it. He says that it was the closest he thought he came to going up the cricketing ladder.

Current Karnataka coach Yere Goud, who played well over a 100 first class matches made his debut for the Railways under Barathan’s captaincy. The two shared an unbroken century partnership in that match. “He was my captain when I made my debut for Railways against MP at Gwalior. He could hold his own either as a pure batsman or as an off spinner. He had great skills in both departments with natural flair and was outstanding fielder in close in and outfield. He was always helpful and backed me completely.”

UR Radhakrishnan (UR) who joined the Railways after starting out at SVPB Udumalpet played together with Barathan in the few years that he was there “He was a fantastic all round cricketer and an asset to the team. He could bat and bowl and field anywhere.” 

Right at the end of his Ranji career, he picked up six wickets to help the Railways to a win in the knock out match.

Returns to Ranji Cricket as an Umpire

A decade after hanging up his boots, Barathan returned to Ranji cricket as an umpire. When he was in the last year of eligibility the Railways did not recommend him. Barathan recalls the great gesture from his teammate that helped become an umpire "I had reached my cut off year and the Railways did not recommend my name. Arvind Kapoor sacrificed his place and handed a NOC to me taking the exam. It was his great gesture that allowed me to become a BCCI umpire.”

Over the next decade he went on to officiate in the IPL. Among the highlights was officiating in Sachin’s last match, one that he considers a most memorable experience. Another big moment for him was WI legend Viv Richards, then consultant with DDR, coming up to him and asking for permission to inspect the pitch ahead of an IPL match.

His decision, albeit a forced one, to join the Railways a second time in 1987 led him to play close to 50 first class matches. He was also the first one from Madras to captain the Indian Railways in Ranji Trophy cricket, an achievement he is quite proud of. His experience in first class cricket also made way for an entry into Umpiring, one that he enjoyed for a decade. The new age extension up to 65 has given him a new lease of life especially when he is going to retire from the Railways after 35years.

Barathan is now looking forward to another go in Umpiring. One hopes that like his second stint in the Railways, this one too will be successful one.

Kapali Temple Battery Cars Dumped in Kalyana Mandapam

June 21, 2022, 2:37 am

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Where are the battery operated cars - The Gala launch of March 2020 has fallen flat 

Two Golf Carts meant to ferry devotees to the temple have remained dumped in a Kalyana Mandapam in Venkatesa Agraharam

The High Profile Launch in March 2020

This section has featured many stories on the HR & CE model of ‘all income to them’ and ‘all expenses to the donor’ (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/12/nachiyar-koil-divya-desam.html). Mylapore’s Kapaleeswarar temple is a prime example. Despite being one of the six richest temples in TN, the Temple has always been seeking financial support of the donors.

In the second week of March 2020, just under a fortnight prior to the national lockdown, Kapali temple was abuzz. The top officials of Sundaram Finance were headed to the Eastern Raja Gopuram to present the two electric golf carts that they were donating to the temple that evening. It was a gala event with devotees in good numbers witnessing the two new vehicles being handed over to the temple. The donation of the two battery cars was big enough for the then HR & CE Minister Sevvoor S Ramachandran and Mylapore MLA R Nataraj too to be present on the occasion. The two vehicles had cost Rs. 12Lakhs.

This story comes in light of the announcement last week by the HR & CE Minister P Sekar Babu of allocating wheel chairs for temples across TN to serve the disabled and the elderly.

A launch ahead of Panguni Utsavam

The launch of the battery cars at the Kapali Temple was timed just ahead of the annual Panguni Utsavam where several thousands participate. It was expected that the two vehicles would be put to use at the utavam but with the national lockdown the utsavam was cancelled and actual operation of the vehicles had been delayed.

The six seater vehicle was to operate outside the temple on the four Mada Streets. The idea was for the two battery operated cars to pick up devotees from the Mada Streets and drop them at the Eastern Raja Gopuram, and to pick them back from the Raja Gopuram and drop them at appropriate points.

The temple JC Kaveri had said at that time that the two battery cars would run in the first half between 630am and 12.30pm and in the evening from 4pm to 9pm with the battery being charged between 12.30pm and 4pm when the temple is closed for darshan. 

The vehicles had come with warranty with support for all maintenance requirements. Both the vehicles had also been insured with third party insurance.

The then MD of the company TT Srinivasaraghavan had hoped for the vehicles to serve devotees, particularly the elderly and the physically challenged to access the centuries old Kapaleeswarar temple. “We trust and hope that the vehicles will be put to good use for the benefit of the public at large”, he had said that evening while presenting the keys of the two cars to the temple JC.

Wave 1 led to closure of the temple for a long time. Wave 2 in the summer of 2021 too led to a rather prolonged restrictions for devotees. Despite the high profile launch, these two unexpected events had delayed the operation of the vehicles.

However, with the reopening of the temple late last year, one had expected that these would serve the elderly. But the two vehicles have not been anywhere in sight around the temple except at the PS School ground during the night of Maha Sivarathri this year when a mega night long event was organised by the temple. The Panguni Utsavam this year witnessed huge crowd (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/03/kapali-devotee-aparna-panguni-utsavam.html) with devotees staying back through the night for the Rishabha Vahanam. Following the big annual utsavam in Panguni, devotees have been thronging the temple in large numbers

Dumped in  a Kalyana Mandapam

But the two vehicles have remained dumped at the temple’s Kalyana Mandapam at Venkatesa Agraharam. The temple authorities have said that when they tried to operate the golf carts, many visitors wanted to use the service for their shopping. The authorities also said that beggars who are seen in good numbers outside the temple began boarding the vehicle for a drop to the temple entrance which made it difficult for other passengers to sit.

Many devotees that this writer had spoken to shortly after the launch had raised apprehension on the operational challenges of running this service around the Mada Streets unlike in Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple where it is operated within the temple complex ferrying devotees from the Perumal sannidhi to the Thaayar Sannidhi. The benefits of the battery cars were clearly seen in Srirangam but in Mylapore the temple authorities have failed to capitalize on the large corporate donation and the launch that took place amidst media glare has fallen flat with the two vehicles remaining unused. Like with most other things, with passage of time, devotees too have forgotten that this facility was made available by the corporate for their benefit.

Yet another instance of how HR & CE has misused (in this case unused) the services of responsible donors.

Vedantha Desikar Temple New Gen Prabhandham Members

June 22, 2022, 2:09 am

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The Vibrant Prabandham Ghosti at the Vedantha Desikar Temple in Mylapore has gained further momentum with the arrival of the new gen in good numbers

It is the first week of June and devotees are trickling into the Vedantha Desikar Srinivasa Perumal temple (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/01/vedantha-desikar-srinivasa-perumal.html) just after 6am for the street procession in the morning. While the priests are giving the final touches to the alankaram, IT staffer Aravind arrives on a two wheeler with his 11 year old son Raghava Simhan all the way from T Nagar to be part of the Prabhandham Ghosti. A class VI student of PSBB T. Nagar, Raghava Simhan is focused on academics. But his appa is keen on his son to take the devotional path in life and has begun initiating into the sacred verses of the Vaishnavite Saint Poets. While he prepares every day for the periodic tests that are part of the school calendar, Raghava Simhan has already learned around 2000 verses from the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham. He provides almost equal attention to learning these verses as much as he does with his school lessons. For the Vaikasi Brahmotsavam at the Mylapore temple, he was up at 5am every morning to get himself ready for the procession. On most days he was back in the evening as well for the street procession.

                            T Nagar PSBB's Raghava Simhan

Rama Priyan (Sreekar) is the youngest of the lot of a bunch of kids who were present at the Brahmotsavam earlier this month. He is all of 5 years and has just made his way into class 1 at Vidya Mandir this month. Between software development (Main Frame) at TCS and being part of the regular Prabhandham Ghosti round the year at the temple, his appa Sudarshan, a software engineer, has been making time to initiate Sreekar into the stotras of acharya Vedantha Desikar over the last many months. During Margazhi, Sudarshan has also been presenting upanyasams at the temple in the evenings.

                        5 year old Rama Priyan (Sreekar)

CA initiates son into the Sacred Verses

Sriram, a Chartered Accountant who runs his own audit firm in Venkatesa Agraharam, is well versed in the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham and has been a regular at the ten day annual Brahmotsavam and Desikar Utsavams. He too has been initiating his 8 year old son Haardhan into the ‘Mudhalayiram’ verses over the last year or so.  Haardhan has also been learning Desikar Stotras and has already completed a number of these as well.

                                  CA's son  Haardan

Vaideeka's son - All round learning

Contrasted with the above and away from the corporate world is Murali Krishnan who has been in Vaideeha activities for the last 15years. His son Raghavanujan, now 8, began his initiation very early when he was just about 4 years. He has already completed half of the verses from the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham as part of the class organised inside the Desikar Temple by Acharya Srihari. He has also learned over 10 stotras of Acharya Vedantha Desikar. In addition to the sacred verses of the Vaishnavite Saint Poets and Acharya, Raghavanujan, a class III student of PS Sr. Sec School, has also been initiated into Vedic learning.

                      Raghavanujan - also into Vedic Learning

Several decades ago, as seen in a story in January last year, Vedic recital was prominent at the Desikar temple. Over the last two decades, with the initiative of Prabhandham Acharya Srihari(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2015/11/srihari-parthasarathy-prabhandham.html), the recital of the sacred verses of the Saint Poets has gained dominance at the temple. And that has rubbed off on the parents who are passing on their knowledge to their sons. 

It has been refreshing to see the bunch of young kids being part of the vibrant Divya Prabhandham Ghosti during the street processions at the Vaikasi Brahmotsavam earlier this month From CAs to Engineers, From IT professionals to the traditional Vaideekas, fathers for whom the Vedantha Desikar temple has been an integral part of their lives over the last three decades are ensuring that their sons are initiated early on into the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham. And that augurs well for the Prabhandham Ghosti. While the Vedic recital is not anything like it was in the past, Prabhandham Ghosti is vibrant with the members gathering in good numbers at all the utsavams at the Desikar Temple. These young kids have been a welcome addition and their rendering of the Prabhandham is bringing a special devotional flavour to the utsavams.  

Kapali Temple Kolathur College

June 23, 2022, 12:34 am

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Temple activist TR Ramesh fights for Kapali Devotees’ cause

Mylapore resident and President of the Temple Worshippers Society, TR Ramesh has been taking up many devotee friendly causes relating to the Kapaleeswarar temple. Last year, he stalled the demolition of the buildings on Kumara Gurunathan Street adjacent to the temple where the authorities had sketched a multi storied complex. It is the street where many of the service personnel of the temple have resided over the last century or so.

Over the last nine months he has been fighting tooth and nail on the transfer of Kapali temple funds to the new arts college planned by the TN Government in Kolathur.

Challenges the announcement in the assembly

In October last year, soon after the announcement in the state assembly of the setting up of the college, Ramesh filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court challenging the legality. Referring to the TN HR & CE act he says that only the Trustees of the temple who alone have full authority over the assets and properties of the temple and are in control of the administration thereof. “While the surplus funds from out of the offerings made to the Kapali temple could be used for the purpose of setting up an educational institution, such a proposal must come from the trustees to the Commissioner. The Commissioner or the HR & CE Department of their own accord do not have the authority to set up an educational institution."

Kapali Temple - Where are the Trustees?

The Kapali temple has not had a board of trustees for a long time and no attempt has been made over the last decade to appoint a trustee. 

Over three Centuries ago, when the Kapaleeswarar temple was being built in its current location, the Thuluva Velalar community had a significant role to play in its development. 82 year old AC Kandaswamy, a Civil Engineer, is now the President of the Poonamalee Uyir Thuluva Vellalar Marabinar Sangam that was officially registered in 1946 once the HR & CE took over the temple. He recounts the role of his forefathers in the development and improvement of the temple over the last few centuries “Mylai Naattu Muthaiappa Mudhaliar donated lands for the temple 380 years ago. Several members of the community made large donations in the form of jewels and house properties for the maintenance of the temple and the Service Personnel.” 

Even after the HR & CE took over, three members of the Thuluva Vellala community were appointed as trustees and this went on till 1976. And then all of a sudden, no members were appointed from the community. 

'Temporary' Fit Person continues for a Decade!!!

Ramesh has questioned the continued presence of the Fit Person. He has repeatedly told this writer over the last many years that the appointment of a fit person is only a stop gap measure and it is only upon the board of trustees that the decision-making authority in the temple is born. All matters relating to the administration of the religious institution "shall be decided at the meetings of the Board of Trustees.”

At the Kapali temple, P Vijayakumar Reddy has remained as the 'Fit Person' for a decade!!!

 "The duties of trustees, as being discharged by the fit person allow the latter to undertake the day-to-day administration and running of the temple but he cannot be seen to have any right to alienate the property or the offerings at the temple or take any major policy decision pertaining to the temple" Ramesh said.

A fit person temporarily discharges the duties of administration and the transfer of funds would be a much larger policy decision that a fit person ought not to take. The mere fact that a fit person may have continued for years and even a decade in the absence of government endeavor to install the rightful administration by the appointment of trustees, will not confer any greater right on a fit person than a mere caretaker discharging the administrative duties in the absence of the real administrator. 

Ramesh said that the application to start a college by a temple should come from the Trustees of the temple. In the case of the Kolathur college, the announcement was made in the assembly and the Commissioner acted on that announcement “As per the HR & CE act, the Government or the HR & CE (Commissioner) do not have the rights to start the college on their own on behalf of a temple.” 

Get back the Hereditary Trustees

Acknowledging the points raised by Ramesh, the Judges in their remarked pointed out that these substantial issues raised had to be addressed and assessed. They also directed that educational institutions on the basis of Section 36 of the Act should not be instituted till trustees are first put in place 

In April this year, Ramesh pointed to the Court that despite their direction to appoint hereditary trustees from the Poonamallee Thuluva Velalar Community, the Kapali temple has failed to do so.

Kapali funded college without a Religious Instruction

Another fundamental point Ramesh has raised is the non inclusion of a course in Hindu religion as a prominent subject He had told this writer last year that a course pertaining to Hindu religious instruction would be mandatorily required as a part of the main stream curriculum of the educational institution and not as an incidental subject.

The court in their direction said that the college offered BBA, B. Com and other similar courses without there being a regular course in religious instructions in Hindu religion. It will be a condition precedent that a stream of religious instructions in Hindu religion be introduced. If such a course is not introduced within a month of the college starting, the further functioning of the college cannot continue, the court had said. 

In a 1972 judgment, the Supreme Court had clarified on what constitutes Religious Instructions “Religious Instructions is that which is imparted for inculcating the tenets, rituals, the observations ceremonies and modes of worship.” 

Almost as to answer Ramesh, the institution hurriedly announced a 'six months certification course' in Saiva Siddhantha and Vaishnavism which he has vehemently objected to!!!

Outside of these procedural aspects, Ramesh has also pointed out that the Kapali temple did not have funds to buy the land as well as to run and maintain the college every year.

Ramesh is giving his best in trying to secure the devotees' funds for the purpose for which it was presented to the Lord of Mylapore. He quotes the 1876 privy council and is confident that truth will prevail in this case

"...Where the power is given to do a certain thing in a certain way, the thing must be done in that way or not at all and that other methods of performance are necessarily forbidden...."

TR RAMESH -  https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/02/tr-ramesh-temple-activist.html

KAPALI TEMPLE SURROUNDS DEMOLITION STALLED -  https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/07/kapali-temple-surrounds-large-scale.html

RK MUTT KAPALI TEMPLE REPOSSESSION - https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/01/ramakrishna-mutt-mylapore-kapali-temple.html