Vedantha Desikar Mahaveera Vaibhavam

January 22, 2017, 5:00 am

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In the first twenty of 94 Churnikas, Desikar showcases the valour of Lord Rama in his teenage phase

Taking up the challenges of King Janaka and Sage Parasurama, Rama showed his extraordinary strength in the art of weaponry and a preview of what he was capable of

(This series on Vedanta Desikar’s Mahaveera Vaibhavam is inspired by Shri. TE Madhavan, a IIT Madras Research Scholar and a Theerthakar who presented a brilliant devotional rendering of this hymn in a fast paced style at the Madurantakam Eri Kaatha Rama Temple)

In the concluding decad of the Perumal Thirumozhi, Kulasekara Azhvaar captured the entire story of the Ramayana in just those ten verses (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2017/01/kulasekara-azhvaar-thiru-chitrakoodam.html)

Centuries later Vedanta Desikar through the unique Gadyam style presentation in the Mahaveera Vaibhavam showcases the valourous acts of Rama highlighting his dharmic deeds through the different phases of his life and how he always protected the true devotees.

To the devotees, Desikar says that reciting the Mahaveera vaibhavam in a sincere and devoted way will give them a lot of confidence and courage towards leading a dharmic life and fighting the evil forces.

Unlike the story of Krishnan, especially as seen through the verses of Periyazhvaar, where multiple cantos were dedicated to his childhood, the story of Ramayana is very different with minimal insights into the childhood of Rama. Only a few verses are dedicated to the childhood of Rama and even that to the greatness of his birth and not to any activities as a child. It is only after Rama is into his teens that Vedanta Desikar begins describing his valourous acts.

It was in Thiruvahindrapuram (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2008/03/thiruvahindrapuram-devanathan_29.html)  that Vedanta Desikar composed the  devotional hymns of Mahavira Vaibhavam dedicated to the valour of Lord Rama after invoking the blessings of Hayagriva. Through the 94 prosaic verses (Churnikas), Desikar extols the valour of Rama providing relevant examples in each phase of his life as endorsement of his valour that was exhibited as part of upholding the dharmic principles of life.

Birth in the Solar Dynasty

Vedanta Desikar begins his Mahaveea Vaibhavam presentation providing one insights into the purpose of his advent into this world. Just like the Sun that rises in the morning to dispel the darkness of the night Lord Rama took birth to put an end to the miseries of the people and to showcase the principles of Dharma.

ஜயத்தியாச்ரிதசண்ட்ராசதவாந்தவித்வன்சனோதயஹா

பிரபாவான்சீதையாதேவ்யாபரமவ்யோமபாஸ்கரஹ

With Ravana creating havoc with his arrogance arising out of the immortality boon given by Brahma, Lord Vishnu answering the prayers of the Devas agreed to be born as Rama, the son of King Dasaratha who was performing a yagna seeking a son.

தஷவதன  தமிததைவிதபரிஷதப்யர்த்திததாக்ஷரதிபாவ

Dispelling the miseries of True Devotees

In the 6^th verse, Desikar once again makes a comparison of Rama to the glorious rays of the bright sun and praises him as enhancing the glory of the solar dynasty. Sun is a special God as he illuminates the sky with his shining glory. Similarly to be born in the Solar Dynasty was an indication that he had come to dispel the darkness caused by the harassment of Ravana.

தினகரகுலகமலதிவாகர

The story of how Rama cleaned up King Dasaratha’s debts

திவிஷததிபதிரணசஹசரணசதுரதஷ்ரதசரமருணவிமோசன

For long King Dasaratha had been childless and he was worried that not having a son would continue to keep him in a state of debt despite being a famous ruler of a large kingdom for it is believed that it is the son who discharges the debt of the ancestors by performing the rites in a timely manner.

Following the praise of Rama’s role in discharging his father’s debt, Desikar refers to mother Kausalya and how by being born in hier womb he concealed to the entire world his real identity. Desikar also praises the greatness of Kausalya for she was the chosen one to given birth to Rama.

Praising the Mother

As seen in Perumal Thirumozhi, Kulasekara Azhvaar too begins his decad of lullaby with a praise of Kausalya (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2016/12/kulasekara-azhvaar-lord-rama.html)

கோசலசுதகுமாரபவகன்சுகிதகாரணாகார

The 1^st set of churnikas relate to the birth of Rama. Desikar then moves on to the teenage phase of Rama and describes the first valorous deeds of Rama.

 Rama’s first act of Valour – a playful gesture

The 9^th churnika recounts the first display of valour of Rama. Not yet 16, he is directed hesitatingly by King Dasaratha to accompany Sage Vishwamitra who sought the help of the young boy to protect his sacrificial rites that he was performing. Rama demolished the asuras with effortless ease that Desikar compares this treatment by Rama to a child spending his playfully with his friends.

கௌமாரகேலிகோபாயிதகௌஷிகாத்வரா

Initiation into the art of Weaponry – kills Tataka, throws Mareecha away

Desikar then takes one through the story of the Sage’s initiation of magic weapons that he believed would be relevant to Rama at a later stage in his life. In this verse, Desikar refers to the weapons as ‘Bhavya’, one that would simply listen to the words of the master.

Soon after the initiation, Desikar provides glimpses into how Rama put it into practice by using the small arrows to demolish the demons in the forest. Rama put an end to Tataka who had been a hurdle to the sacrificial rites that Sage Viswamitra had been performing. And his next arrow sent Mareecha into the ocean. He was still a young boy but even at that age showed his special skills of handling the weapons to protect the good from the evil.

Desikar showcases here the great learning abilities of Rama. Having absorbed the teachings of the great Sage in the art of weaponry, Ramya displayed his learnings in the destruction of Tataka and her son Mareecha.

ப்ரணதஜனவிமதவிமதனதுர்லலிததோர்லலிதா

தனுதரவிஷிகவிதாதனவிகடிதவிஷராறுஷாராறுதாடகாதாடகேய

A soft Churnika – Ahalya’s Liberation

Desikar then turns soft in his narration of the episode of liberating the beautiful Ahalya from her husbands’s curse. In his narration, Desikar says that just a mere touch of his lotus foot on the stone was enough to liberate the beautiful lady.

On the way to Mithila, while at the Ashrama of Sage Gautama ,Viswamitra directed Rama to place his foot on the stone lying in the ashrama. Immediately the stone turned into a beautiful girl much to Rama’s surprise. Ahalya in a thanking gesture invoked his blessings with folded hands.

In this verse Desikar also describes the event of Shiva stopping the Ganga with his matted hair that purified the Ganges.

ஜட  கிரணஷகளதரஜடில  நடபதிமகுடதட

நடனபதுவிபுதசரிததி

பஹுலமதுகளனலலிதபதநளினரஜஉபம்ருதிதநிஜ

வ்ரிஜினஜஹதுபலதணுருசின

பரமமுநிவராயுவதிநுத

Nava Stories to Rama and Lakshmana

Deskiar then presents the important story of Sage’s educative messages to Rama. When in the forest, he describes Nava stories of Gods, Demons and human beings with the intention of carrying Rama through the forest forgetting the hardship of the journey for it was the young lad’s first real long trip.

As they entered the beautiful town of Mithila, Rama was the cynosure of all eyes. The dames had never seen such a handsome man. He was as beautiful as the large moon on a full moon day and they did not take their eyes off him.

மைதிலநகரசுலோசனாலோசணசகோரசந்திர

Janaka like every father wanted a handsome man for his daughter Sita who had grown into a beautiful girl. In a moment of haste, seeking the most valourous man on earth, Janaka had thrown an open challenge to anyone to string the mighty weapon of Shiva.

At that time, he had hoped that he would get the bravest man for her. But as time passed he grew anxious for no man could even lift the bow. He was now apprehensive that he had thrown far too big a challenge and that he may now not be able to find the right man.

As Rama entered the court, Janaka wondered as to what the young boy was doing there when several mighty warriors had even failed to move the bow. But he was convinced that this was the man for his daughter such were his handsome features. His eyes were as beautiful as a 1000 lotuses. Desikar also refers to ‘Stealing’ the beauty away from the lotuses as the entire Mithila glanced at the new man who had arrived there.

மோசிதஜனகஹ்ருதயஷாங்காதன்க

The attendants in several hundreds were directed to bring the bow to the court. And then in a dramatic moment the young lad lifted the seemingly strong bow of Siva, strung it and broke it with ease into two pieces.

Barely initiated into the art of weaponry, Rama displayed extra ordinary skill that seemed to be outside the capability of normal human beings.

The moment Rama strung the bow Janaka’s joy knew no bounds especially to have found a boy belonging to the solar dynasty for his daughter. He believed that she had done her clan proud by now being part of the clan of the Ishvakus.

கண்டபரஷுகோதண்டப்ரகாண்டகண்டனஷவுண்டபுஜதண்ட

After the wedding, Rama returned to Ayodhya. But before his return he provided to-date the most valourous display of his strength. 

Extra Ordinary Strength

On the way back, he had to face the taunt of that sworn enemy of the Kshatriyas Parasurama, who suggested that he had managed to string what he called was a 2^ndbest bow for he had the best one in the world, given by Lord Vishnu himself. And that Rama’s real merit lay in trying to string this bow of Parasurama.

ஷாதகோடிஷாதகுநகதினபரஸுதரமுனிவரா

கரத்ருடதுறவனமதமநிஜதணுராகர்ஷண

ப்ரகாஷிதபாரமேஷுத்ய

The sage had offered the fruits of all his penances if Rama managed to string the bowl. Rama took away all the fruits of the good deeds of Parasurama by stringing the mighty bow and also thus got back his own bow. Sage Parasurama too acknowledged Rama as the supreme power after this episode.

The story of Parasurama’s anger and Rama’s greatness through this episode

As King Kartavyarjuna had taken away the sacred cow from Jamadagini’s ashrama in the absence of his son Parasurama, an angry son went after the king and killed him with his axe. In retaliation the army of the king killed Jamadigni, once again in the son’s absence. It was then that Parasurama took the vow to kill 21 generations of Kshatriyas and to perform the ceremonial rites with the blood of the kshatriyas.

It must be recalled that Kartavyarjuna had once held Ravana captive in his kingdom having defeated him in a battle only to release him after the great Ravana pleaded with him. Ravana himself had earlier shaken the great Mount Kailasa while Shiva and Paravati were spending their time in leisure there.

This final Churnika of Bala Kandam showcases to us the extraordinary valour of Rama as one who strung the mighty bows of Shiva and Vishnu and in correlation of the above set of events was a supreme power.

க்ருதுஹரஷிகரி  கந்துகவிஹ்ருத்யுன்முகஜகதருந்துத

ஜிதஹரிதந்ததஷவதனதமனகுஷள

தக்ஷஷதபூஜந்ருபதிகுலருதிரஜரபரித

ப்ருதுதரதடாகதர்பிதபித்ருகப்ருகுபதிசுகதி

விஹாதிகரநதபருதிஷுபரிக

This first set of 20 churnikas of the Mahaveera Vaibhavam relate to the description of Rama’s valour leading to this marriage as a teenager and immediately after.

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HR & CE Irregularities

January 24, 2017, 4:43 am

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Parthasarathy Temple has been functioning without Trustees – The EO also doubles up as the ‘Fit Person’

No letter on the appointment of EOs at Thiruvannamalai Arunachaleswarar Temple where too the EO plays the conflicting dual role of a Fit Person 

Large Truck Movement in front of Nachiyar Koil Divya Desam poses a risk to the structure, while the proposed new Raja Gopuram at Thiru Vellaraiwill come up shortly before the Panel of Experts appointed by the Madras HC

  

Former Citibank staffer TR Ramesh, now President of the Temple Worshippers Society has committed himself to full time service of restoring the ancient temples in Tamil Nadu to its old glory and is taking on the HR & CE on several irregularities at ancient temples in Tamil Nadu including the issue of renovation in temples that has posed challenges on many fronts over the last few decades.

Traditionally the trustees managed the entire affairs of ancient temples in Tamil Nadu. And then into the later period of the 1^st half of the 20^th Century, with Government taking over the administration of temples, Executive Officers were appointed to take care of the daily functioning of temples. Many of these large temples were categorised as ‘Notified Temples’, a decade before independence (The Rama temple in Vaduvur was one such Notified temple and the 5000 acres associated with the temple has now come down to 50 acres)

Irregularities in Appointment of Executive Officers?

In a letter dated 23^rdApril 1968 (a copy of which is available with me), the Commissioner had written (to the EO of an ancient Divya Desam) stating that the notification relating to temples ceased to be in force from 15 July 1966 (it had actually ceased in 1965 but was extended by a year) with reference to Section 75A of the HR & CE act 1959, as amended by the Madras Act 16 of 1965.

He stated in that letter that the powers and duties of the EO as defined in the commissioner’s orders dated 8 January 1953 were not in force now. And that the EO of the temples have to now be appointed as per Sec 45 of the HR & CE Act and the powers and duties of the EO and the trustees were now defined in Commissioner’s D. Dis dated 29 June 1966.

The commissioner states in that detailed letter of April’68 that the Executive Officer shall draw up a rough estimate of the probable disbursements and expenses to be made and incurred and obtain the previous sanction of the trustees for the same. The Executive Officer shall be responsible for the proper maintenance of all records, accounts and registers and for the due submission to the trustees under Act. He also states in the letter that all the employees shall be subject to the disciplinary control of the trustees under section 56 of the Act.

‘Fit Person’ in a Temple - Conflict over the dual role

Any large expense relating to the temple that goes out from the income of the temple has to be processed through the trustees. Where there are no trustees, for any reason, the Government appoints a ‘Fit Person’ for an interim period to play the role of the trustees.

The petitioner in the suo moto case (relating to restoration and preservation of ancient temples) in the Madras High Court has written a letter recently to the Amicus Curaie Shri. PS Raman bringing to his notice that the Fit Persons who are functioning in Temples in lieu of the Board of Trustees are to be appointed for only an interim period.

G.Os 223 and 264 ((v) and (vi) of Part II above) state that the Fit Persons are to be appointed as an interim arrangement to perform ‘operation of bank accounts, daily poojas, abhisheka, endowments, festival expenses, employee salaries and the like.’

The ‘Fit Person’ cannot take major decisions relating to Renovations, Kumbabishekams etc. Further the interim period of appointment of Fit Persons is limited to a maximum of 3 months as prescribed by the ‘Functioning of the Board of Trustee Rules’.The powers to manage the funds and to approve disbursal of funds for festival expenses, repairs and restoration efforts remained with the trustees.

Parthasarathy Temple – Big External disbursements approved by ‘Fit Person’

In the Parthasarathy temple in Thiruvallikeni, Ramesh says that there have been no trustees for 40 years and the EO plays the ‘conflicting’ dual role of both the EO/DC and the Fit Person, creating an inherent conflict of interest and a bias. Thus the person placing the request for funds (the EO) and the person approving and authorising such requests (the Fit Person) are one and the same in this temple!!!!

In an application placed under the RTI act, an exclusive copy of which is available with me, it has been seen that over a period of 5 years, the Parthasarathy temple has disbursed a significant amount of funds for non-temple / non-devotee related purposes. Some of these include over Rs. 10lakhs disbursed for the construction of a conference room in the Commissioner’s office at the HR & CE headquarters in Madras and Rs. 5lakhs for private exhibitions conducted in the city. Ramesh is of the view that such authorisation would have been unlikely had there been independent trustees in place at the temple.

Thiruvannamalai Temple

Similar is the case at the Arunachaleswarar temple in Thiruvannamalai. In a RTI reply, the temple has stated that there is no copy of the appointment order of EO subsequent to 1953, though being a notified temple, there should have been an EO appointment made in or subsequent to 1966 after the earlier notification had ceased to exist.

When trustees themselves are appointed for a period of two years, how can a ‘Fit Person’ (who is an interim replacement of a trustee) stay in office for years together and act in this dual role both at Thiruvallikeni and Thiruvannamalai.

In several of the high profile notified temples in Tamil Nadu, there have been no copies of the appointment order of the Executive Officer.

Despite a number of irregularities there, the Kumbabhishekam has been slated for February 6.

PIL in Madras HC shortly

He is planning to file a PIL at the Madras High Court within the next fortnight on issues relating to extended stint of Fit Persons, among other irregularities.

EOs cannot authorise Renovation Funding

In relation to repair / restoration / renovation works (commonly understood as works leading up to the Samprokshanam/Kumbabhishekam), it is only the Trustees of templeswho have the powers under the Rules to take up any civil work. The Executive Officers have been given no powers concerning such restoration/renovation works.  Also, it is only the Trustee or Board of Trustees who have the authority to spend the funds of the temple.  The Executive Officers cannot decide, initiate or authorise spending of funds at temples.

Ramesh is also taking up cases of such irregularities that have been seen in many ancient temples in Tamil Nadu of late.

New Raja Gopuram at Thiru Vellarai?

As per the rules, the temple buildings and premises shall not be used for purposes not connected with or arising from the worship, usages and observations of such temples.  No executive authority of a temple shall be entitled to introduce innovations concerning the time, place or mode of worship in the temple which might pre-judicially affect the rights and facilities which worshippers had generally exercised before 13^thMay, 1947.

Ramesh is of the view that annadhana halls and new sannadhis built should be carefully removed from all those temples that are now applying before the Committee of Experts for undertaking repairs and renovation works.

In his letter to the Amicus Curiae ( PS Raman), Ramesh has pleaded with him to direct the panel to ensure that no civil work that lacks the legal sanction and the heritage propriety is approved for execution in ancient heritage temples of Tamil Nadu so as to not cause damage to the aesthetic and archeological significance of such ancient heritage temples.

One such temple that is currently before the panel of experts appointed by the Madras High Court is the Pundarikakshan Divya Desam in Thiruvellarai (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2016/10/thiru-vellarai-divya-desam.html) where a new 7 Tier Raja Gopuram is sought to be constructed at the Northern entrance. 

I am in possession of a over 100 page booklet brought out by the temple showcasing structural strength of the proposed Raja Gopuram, among meeting other requirements. 

The temple authorities including the priests have come up with a document that endorses the view that this is in conformity with the Pancharatra Agama and are likely to place this proposition before the Panel.

Another view is that this is an incomplete structure - one of the many during the period of the Rayas-  that may have been halted in the middle for any of the 'unknown'scenarios prevailing at that time and that it should be seen through to its logical conclusion if it conforms to the  Agama requirement and if all the architectural, archeological and structural mandates are fulfilled for a half complete, unfinished Gopuram at the entrance is seen as inauspicious.

One will have to wait and watch as to how the panel of experts appointed to look into such issues view the proposed new construction when it comes up for discussion, possibly sometime next month.

Large Trucks in front of Nachiyar Koil Divya Desam

In Nachiyar Koil Divya Desam, large trucks carrying heavy duty equipments are constantly seen passing on the district highway adjacent to the Eastern Raja Gopuram. As one stands at the entrance of the Raja Gopuram, one can hear and feel a mild tremor at the time of such large trucks passing in front of the Raja Gopuram.

It is important to restrict the movement of such large trucks and heavy vehicles so as to not cause long term damage to the structure of the temple.  Typically, there are restrictions place on such movement in any ancient historical temples and one does not usually find heavy duty trucks passing frequently in front of or near Divya Desams. However, given its location, large trucks in recent times have been making their way (from Thiruvarur) right in front of Nachiyar Koil Divya Desam and this will pose a threat to the structure of the temple (over the last decade, this road has been made a one way and hence the buses and large vehicles coming from Kumbakonam towards Thiruvarur do not pass through the temple and take a small de-tour).

The HR & CE officials may have to communicate to the transport department on the challenges to the temple arising on account of heavy trucks plying past this ancient Mani Mada Koil built by Ko Chenganan Chozhan and accordingly redirect such trucks ahead of the Divya Desam on the Southern side.

Aniruda Srikkanth T20 Selection

January 26, 2017, 2:29 am

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Despite an ordinary season in TNPL and First Division cricket and below par performance for the state over several years, Aniruda finds a place in the TN T20 squad

Questionable selection has once again come to the fore in Tamil Nadu cricket. Aniruda S, son of former India cricketer and former Chairman of Selectors, K Srikkanth who has a dashing style of stroke play similar to his father has been chosen in the squad for the Inter State T20 tournament ahead of several other promising and performing cricketers.

Aniruda has done nothing of repute to warrant the selection in terms of performance. In the TNPL just a few months back, he scored just over a 100 runs in 7 matches clocking an average of just 15. In the first division cricket too, he has done very little this season scoring just over 200 runs in 6 matches.

Over the last decade, while he has always been spoken around as one with quite a lot of talent with an ability to play dashing cricket, he has for long not utilized the chances provided to him at the state level.

It is okay to provide opportunities for a while based on potential, but not for several years when performance has no where matched the potential. Would any one remember him winning matches for the state in the shorter version or have there been consistent performance in any year in any form of the game over the last 5 years or so. And he isn't getting any younger. For how long, would you select a player based on 'talent' and 'striking ability'.

He has of course shown a glimpse of his natural talent every now and then with some breezy knocks but really that does not justify this selection.

He has for sometime been less of an asset on the field with his fitness levels not where it needs to be for the grueling T 20 game. His running between the wickets is shaky.

Yes with his natural talent and his dashing outlook, he has had the potential to win matches but if that has not materialized over a long period of time in terms of performance and if the recent form has been nothing to write home about, one cannot justify such selection especially when the TNPL has ‘supposedly’ unearthed talent for this form of the game.

Chairman of Selection Committee S Sharath says that it was a joint decision by the selection committee and that the coach and the majority of the selection team were keen on having him after seeing him in the practice sessions and were impressed with his striking ability as compared to the other options, almost giving an indication that he himself may not have been in favour, for over the last couple of years he has clearly moved in the direction of choosing younger players in the Ranji squad in an effort to try and create a long term path for the State.

It is quite possible that Aniruda Srikkanth will prove this story wrong and will win matches for Tamil Nadu this season and it may yet turn out to be his best season for the State in T20.

Despite all of these possibilities, he has really been given a long rope for too a long a time at the state level without justifiable performance matching his selection. The previous selection committee under B Kalyanasundaram picked him for the T20 tournament. And now the current committee under S Sharath too has backed Aniruda, who will be turning 30 in a few months, for his ‘dashing’ potential leaving one wondering as to how someone can be picked for ‘potential’ for this long a period.

While the younger talent have shot into prominence in the longer format and have showcased themselves well this year, the choice of picking Aniruda, without any scores this season to back him, is a backward step in the wrong direction.

Keezha Perum Pallam

February 1, 2017, 12:05 am

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A temple for liberation from Kethu Dosham

Located 2kms from Poompuhar is the Naganatha Swamy temple in Keezha Perum Pallam, a temple dedicated to the liberation from Kethu Dosham 

When the nectar was being distributed by Lord Vishnu in the beautiful Mohini form, the love intoxicated asuras lost in her beauty forgot the urgency to collect the nectar that would have made them invincible.

Kethu, who was born an asura, disguised himself as a Deva and standing between the Sun and the Moon, tried to collect the nectar from the Lord. Realising this trick, the Lord hit out at the asura whose head was severed from the body. Instantly the head was transformed into the body of a snake
(Rahu) and the body of the asura turned into the serpent hood (Kethu).

Following severe penance invoking the blessings of the Lord to liberate from the dosham, Rahu and Kethu were added to the planetary system as the 8^th and 9^thplanets.

While the nectar was being churned, Vasuki the serpent was used as a rope in the churning process. Undergoing the physical pain of the churning, Vasuki tried to spur the poison only to be thrown far away. As a safeguard, Lord Shiva tried to swallow the poison that was then prevented by Parvathi.

Realising her folly of making Lord Shiva swallow the poison, Vasuki invoked his blessings and pleaded for forgiveness here at this place. She requested the Lord to provide darshan as Naga Nathan and to liberate devotees offering sincere prayers at this temple to be liberated from Kethu Dosham. 

Kethu is seen in a standing posture facing the West with the five hooded serpent over the head.

How to reach

Keezha Perum Pallam is around 20kms from Mayiladuthurai and Sirkazhi. Buses ply every half hour to Poompuhar starting from 4.30 am. From Thiru makulam bus stop, an auto will cost Rs. 50/- (1 km South).

The temple is open between 6 am and 12 noon and between 4 pm and 9 pm. Contact Gurukal @ 95004 16171.

Chaya Vaneswarar Chayavanam

February 3, 2017, 2:51 am

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Mada Koil built by Ko Chenganan Chozhan

The idol of Lord Muruga is similar to the one at Tiruchendur

A separate Sannidhi for Indra at this temple 

Located 3kms West of Poompuhar is the Thiru Gnana Sambanthar and Thirunavukarasar praised Chaya Vaneswarar temple in Chayavanam. This temple is just ½ km West of Pallaveswarar temple in Poompuhar (another Thevaram temple). This is one of the Mada Koil built by Ko Chenganan Chozhan.

The legend

This is the birth place of Iyarpai Nayanar, one of the 63 Nayanmars. Both he and his wife were true Saivite devotees. Iyarpai was known to follow the path of Dharma and he would never say no to a request. To test the sincerity of their devotion, Lord Shiva made his to their house disguised as a Brahmin devotee. As was the practice in those days, the host was to take care of the guests in the best possible way.

At the end of the trip, the devotee made a shocking request of sending Iyarpai Nayanar’s wife along with him. Bound by the duty of offering a guest’s wish, Iyarpai Nayanar acceded to the request and his wife followed the devotee away from the town. Worried that the residents of the agraharam may attack the outside guest, the disguised Brahmin asked Iyarpai Nayanar to accompany them till the end of the town. 

In a grand gesture, Iyarpagai calmed the people down stating that he had given his word to the guest and that they have to help him fulfill the promise that had been given.

On his return to Chayavanam, Iyarpai Nayanar was delighted to find Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi providing darshan at his place and showcasing to the world as to how the God rewards his true devotees. In a rewarding gesture, Iyarpai Nayanar and his wife were taken to the abode of the Lord and thus he attained Mukthi at this place.

Idol of Muruga

A special feature at this temple is the handsome idol of Lord Muruga who is a posture similar to the one at Tiruchendur as a Samhara Idol with a bow in hand and wearing anklet in the leg. It is believed that this idol was located on the sea shore at Poompuhar a few kms from here.

A separate sannidhi for Indra

Athithi, mother of Indira was keen on having darshan of Lord Chaya Vaneswarar. Startled at her sudden vanishing act, he came here and performed pooja. To fulfill his mother’s wish, Indra tried to pull the temple away to his abode through his strong elephant Iravatham. While in this process, Ambal presented a beautiful song with the words ‘Koo hoo’. Lord suggested to him that it would not be possible for him to come there and that he will bless him with a special sannidhi here at this temple for him to be ever present here providing darshan to devotees.

97 year old Balasubramanian Shivacharya had performed pooja at this temple for over 70 years. In 1977, his hand was almost broken into two following an injury but he still continued to perform pooja for many years in a devoted manner. His sincerity was such that he came to be called as ‘Jilla’ Gurukal.

Festivals

Rudra Abhishekam on the last Friday of Thai

21 day festival for Indra in Chitrai

5 day Iyarpagai Nayanar festival in Margazhi

On the fourth day of this festival, the episode of Lord Chaya Vaneswarar providing darshan to Iyarpagai Nayanar is enacted at this temple.

Temple Time: 9am -12noon and 430pm-8pm

Contact Chandrasekara Gurukal @ 94431 07069 

How to reach

The temple is on the district highway 20kms from both Mayiladuthurai and Sirkazhi. Poompuhar bound buses ply every 30 minutes from Mayiladuthurai and Sirkazhi. Get down in front of the temple arch at Chayavanam.

Kethu Sthalam of Keezha Perumpallam is about 2 kms from here

Auto from Poompuhar will cost Rs. 75. Contact Auto: 91596 04647

Irai Anbu Kalloori Kalangal touches 450 episodes

February 8, 2017, 1:03 am

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A rank holder in Civil Services Examination from the mid 1980s, Irai Anbu has remained steadfast in his commitment to continued contribution to the society

From his transformational achievements in Nagapattinam, Kanchipuram and during Tsunami, since mid 2015, he has been engaged in selfless service of helping students take the right steps during the critical phase of college life through 'Kalloori Kalangal' every weeknight at 10. 30 pm

Irai Anbu (IAS) anchored Kalloori Kalangai is touching 450 episodes this week on Pothigai Channel.  It is probably the most educative series that has ever been run on a Tamil Television network. Over the last 1 ½ years, he has moved on from presenting some of the basic and important facets of a college life to now providing intellectually stimulating insights into the preparation for a competitive examination.

His simplicity and modesty of presentation is breathtaking.  Rarely have we found a top notch official from Tamil Nadu spend this amount of time in an endeavour to reach out and guide the Next Gen with a step by step process to approaching a competitive examination .

Learning never stops is an oft repeated phrase. Irai Anbu is an embodiment of this as he moves from one degree to another, what he calls an enriching experience to expand one’s horizon. Irai Anbu refers to himself as a pilgrim in the path of knowledge. After entry into the service, he has completed M.B.A., M.A. (English), M.A. (Labour Management), M.Sc. (Psychology), Ph.D. (Business Administration), Ph.D. (English) and Post Doctorate (Management). He has also done his Praveen in Hindi and Kovidaha in Sanskrit.

Even at work he uses the same analogy ‘One has to move from one department to another every few years to understand and experience the varied challenges in life so as to contribute to the society in a positive manner’ is his message on Kalloori Kalangal.

In a way, the students of the newgen are truly blessed that in recent years Irai Anbu has not been assigned an important portfolio on the work front, after having contributed to significant transformational causes across Tamil Nadu during the 1990s as well as in the first decade of this century.  This blessing in disguise has meant that he has been able to allocate enough time to share his experiences with the students on various forums including the record breaking series on Pothigai TV.

It is particularly enlightening when he talks about his own missed opportunities and his delayed entry into the IAS during that phase in the mid 80s. His suggestions to the new college entrants who have an eye on the competitive exam are simple and easily to follow and implement. In recent months, he has also added a Q & A with the students as part of Kalloori Kalangal making it even more rewarding for the students. 

Sometimes he rolls out verses from the Thiru Kural and the Dharmic philosophies enshrined therein. At other times, he goes into history and talks about the contribution of Indus Valley Civilisation and the kind of intense contribution to the society even during those early times. 

A state first in TN in the civil services examination, Irai Anbu has worked in the Government for nearly 30 years in close association with the rural poor while espousing their cause. Right from the beginning of his career, he has been known for his honesty and integrity. He introduced training for women auto drivers for the first time in the State extending credit facilities through banks for the purchase of vehicles after the training. As District Collector, Kanchipuram, he took an active part in abolishing child labour engaged in silk looms.

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He has addressed 2000 gatherings in an attempt to motivate students on social causes. His book on preparation for Civil Services is a must read, one that gives impetus to students looking to take on the competitive examinations. An author of over 50 books, he has personally guided 100s of candidates in the process of gaining entry into civil services. Over 50 of them have gone on to achieve their doctorate.

Kalloori Kalangal is truly a boon to the college students on not just taking up the competitive examinations but also on the right way to lead life, especially during the teenage phase.

Kudos to Irai Anbu for his significant selfless contribution to the student community and for being a guiding light in their endeavour to achieving success in life.

Kalloori Kalangal is telecast every weeknight between 10.30pm and 11pm

IOB honours Ananthapadmanabhan

February 10, 2017, 11:32 am

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A Memorable Day in Ananthapadmanabhan's career

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary, IOB felicitates KN Ananthapadmanabhan for his great cricketing contribution to the bank

'Great Gesture by the Bank to felicitate Ananth' - V Krishnaswamy (former GM, IOB/ TN Opener)

Ananthapadmanbhan being felicitated by R Subramania Kumar, MD and CEO, IOB

It was late evening on Monday (Feb 6).  Former Kerala Ranji leg spinner and now a top BCCI umpire (he umpired this year's Ranji Semi Final), KN Ananthapadmanabhan (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2016/09/ananthapadmanabhan-kn.html), an IOB staffer for almost 25 years was ready to hit the bed for there was a coin counting exercise at the Anantha Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2009/11/anantha-padmanabhaswamy-temple-in.html) the next morning.

He had heard of K Parthasarathy, GM (Treasury) and Head HR, IOB as being a strict disciplinarian and tough on implementation of rules and hence a call from the head quarters in Madras made him a little tense but by the end of the call, Ananthapadmanabhan had been left speechless and stunned.

Parthasarathy's call was to inform him that he had been chosen exclusively as the only cricketer in the last many decades to be officially felicitated by the Bank’s MD on the occasion of the founder's day celebrations for his tireless contribution to the bank's cricket as well as his recent achievements in Umpiring.

Cricketers from the era gone by here in Tamil Nadu considered it a great achievement to be noticed and recognised by their institution. To them, receiving a praise from the Chief in their organization meant a lot more than financial incentives. 

B. Kalyanasudaram, former TN fast bowling great, always considered it an honour to be playing for Chemplast watched from the sidelines by his chairman KS Narayanan. The motivation to perform in front of them was huge. He was once told by the chairman to go and play a Buchi Babu match citing that Kalli only had an injury in the left hand where as he was a right arm fast bowler!!!! And Kalli duly obliged… and in fact contributed to the success (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2013/07/cricket-in-1970s-ks-narayanan-packs-off.html).

Ananthapadmanabhan belongs to the same school of thought. For the MD of such a large Public Sector Bank that has been renowned for several decades for promoting cricket to be personally felicitating him and for him to be the first such recipient on the founder's day made it a memorable evening for him. 

Interestingly, Ananthapadmanabhan joined IOB in the early 1990s from Chemplast after being spotted and identified by former IOB great V. Krishnaswamy  (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2016/08/krishnaswamy-v.html).

Since then, he played first division league cricket for IOB for around 15 years amassing a tally of around 500 wickets in the Palayampatti Championship. He also captained IOB for 6 years during this period, a phase when IOB did particularly well in the league.

On the idea of honouring Ananthapadmanabhan, Parthasarathy, who himself was a cricketer in the 1970s and 80s said ‘He has made a significant contribution to the bank over the last two decades both with his personal achievements as well as bringing the team together, especially in the 2nd half of the 1990s. We felt that he deserves this honour and that it would be befitting for our MD to felicitate him on the 80^th foundation day of the bank.’

Former TN Ranji opener V Krishnaswamy, who retired as the GM of IOB a few years ago is credited with mentoring many youngsters at the bank from the late 1970s and was instrumental in roping in Ananthapadmanabhan into IOB. He commended this new initiative to officially felicitate sportsmen from the bank, something that did not exist during his playing days.

‘I think it is a great gesture on the part of the bank in felicitating K N Ananthapadmanabhan for his cricket contribution to the bank. It is not just a recognition of his cricket abilities but also his umpiring skills as he is one of leading first class umpires in the country now.’

 'Through the 1990s, Ananthapadmanabhan was a great source of inspiration and leader of the team. He was very hard working and bowled long continuous spells. He brought in lot of youngsters into the team and helped them develop. He developed very good relationship with players like Amit Pathak, Rajesh Kannan and Subbiah among others. He has contributed immensely to the team and was to a good extent responsible for IOB being one of the leading teams in TN cricket by the turn of this century.'

His batting against MRF 

Recollecting a particular performance of Ananthapadmanabhan on a matting wicket at the Anna University ground, Krishnaswamy says ‘I vividly remember that match against Globe Trotters comprising of top fast bowlers from the MRF Pace Foundation as it showed the value of Ananth to the team and the confidence others had in his abilities.'

'After having taken 4 or 5 wickets with the ball, Ananthapadmanabhan was promoted in the batting order by his captain S Satish Kumar (Ramar Satish) ahead of 1-2 pure batsmen after IOB was tottering at 4 wickets down. Reposing his captain's faith in his batting abilities, Ananth batted with grit and determination and put on a century partnership with Satish against quality pacers on that matting wicket to ensure first innings lead for IOB.'

In fact, he credits some of those early batting performances for IOB for the big centuries that he scored later for Kerala in the Ranji Trophy.

Welcoming Ananthapadmanabhan at the 80^th founder’s day celebrations, Parthasarathy said, ‘Ananthapadmanabhan made a big career jump in the early 1990s as a youngster and took a bold call to join IOB from a top cricketing club such as Chemplast. Since then, his contribution to our cricketing team has been immense. He has also now become a top umpire of the BCCI. We wish him well with his umpiring career and we hope that he will soon make the bank proud by becoming an international umpire.’   

On being felicitated personally by the bank’s MD in front of a large audience that comprised of the bank’s top many decades old customers, industrialists from the city and Dr. V. Shantha, the chief of the Cancer institute, a delighted Ananthapadmanabhan told prtraveller 

‘It is really a great honour to be recognized by my institution for my cricketing contribution. This ranks as one of my best moments in cricket, especially since this has come almost a decade after I stopped playing. In my early days as a cricketer, Kicha Sir used to call me and convey his appreciation after every special performance. That really boosted my confidence and spurred me on to the next level. Similarly, Parthasarathy Sir appreciating my umpiring and wishing me to become an international umpire is a great confidence boost coming as it does from a well respected person in the management.’

KN Ananthapadmanabhan was felicitated by R Subramania Kumar, MD and CEO, IOB at the 80th Founder's Day on Friday ( Feb 10, 2017) evening held at Vidhyodhaya School in T. Nagar.

Sembanar Koil

February 14, 2017, 2:02 am

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The place where Indra performed pooja to secure the Vajra Yudha

Located just under 10kms from Mayiladuthurai on the Thiru Kadaiyur highway is the ancient Swarnapureeswarar temple in Sembanar Koil, one that has been praised by Thiru Gnana Sambanthar and Thirunavukkarasarar

Thiru Gnana Sambanthar in his praise of the Lord of Sembanar Koil says that those who offer their sincere prayers will be kept away from miseries of life. He also describes the fiery features of the Lord.

This is one of the Veerateswarar temples.

On the pillars of the temple are several sculptures including those of a King, his wife, his ministers and of Bikshandar. There are still a number of inscriptions inside the temple dating back a 1000 years.

It was here at this place that Indra performed pooja invoking the blessings of Lord Shiva to secure the dreaded Vajra Yudha in a bid to demolish Vridasura. It was also here that Muruga invoked the Lord’s blessings in his endeavour to kill Tharakasura.

Brahmma’s son Daksha failed to invite Lord Shiva to a yagna. An angry Shiva presented Veerabadrar to nullify the yagna. Dakshayani, the daughter of Daksha undertook penance to seek the blessings of Shiva and an apology on behalf of her father.

Sage Agastya, Indra, Brahmma, Surya and Chandra performed pooja at this place.

Lord Swarnapureeswarar is seen in an East facing posture while Ambal is seen facing the West.

Festivals

Chitrai Festival- Sun’s rays fall on the Lord for 10 days from the 7^th day

There was a grand Brahmotsavam that took place in Aani once upon a time. But over a period of time, this had come to a halt, though to this day, we find a number of vahanas inside the temple.

Abhishekam for Sugantha Ambikambal on Aadi Pooram

Theerthavari on Thai Poosam

One day procession in Navarathri

How to reach

One can board the bus towards Thiru Kadaiyur/ Karaikal. The temple is a few minutes away from the Sembanar Koil bus stand. An auto from Mayiladurthurai will cost Rs. 250.

The temple is open from 730am to 12noon and from 430pm to 830pm. Contact Muthu Kumar Gurukal @ 99437 97974

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Erettai Tirupathi Maasi Anusham Festival

February 20, 2017, 11:28 am

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Nam Azhvaar’s annual trip to invoke the blessings of his parents is said to mark the culmination of the Adyayana Utsavam in Erettai Tirupathi

Recital of the 10th Canto of Tiruvoimozhi, Thirumanjanam, Araiyar Sevai, a stop over at Appan Koil and sacred food from Azhvaar Tirunagari feature on this special trip to Tholai Villi Mangalam 

The legendary episode of Nam Azhvaar making his way to Erettai Tirupathi after witnessing the Adyayana Utsavam in Srirangam to meet his parents was played out with great devotional fervor on Maasi Anusham on the Northern banks of Tamarai Barani. Nam Azhvaar, in his Tiruvoimozhi verses had praised the twin temples of Erettai Tirupathi referring to this place Tholai Villi Mangalam.

Legend has it that Thiru Mangai Azhvaar came to Azhvaar Tirunagari to invite Nam Azhvaar to witness the Adyayana Utsavam in Srirangam in Margazhi, one that had been created and organized by the former in recognition of the contribution of the latter.

Having enjoyed the presentation of the four thousand sacred verses by the revered Araiyars at the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam, Nam Azhvaar is believed to have reached Thulai Villi Mangalam on the Anusham day in Maasi to invoke the blessings of his parents. As described in Tiruvoimozhi (6.5.10), Nam Azhvaar saw the Lords of Erettai Tirupathi at Tholai Villi Mangalam as his parents.

 சிந்தையாலும் சொல்லாலும் செய்கையினாலும் 

தேவ பிரானையே 

தந்தை தாய் என் று அடைந்த 

வன் குருகூர் அவர் சடகோபன் சொல் 

முந்தை ஆயிரத்துள் இவை 

தொலை வில்லி மங்கலத்தை சொன்ன

செந்தமிழ் பத்தும் வல்லார் 

அடிமை செய்வார் திருமாலுக்கே 

Hence, before returning to his abode at Azhvaar Tirunagari, Nam Azhvaar insisted that they take a detour to Thulai Villi Mangalam to pay his respects to his parents.

This legendary episode was played out on Sunday in front of a large devotee crowd at the twin temples of Thulai Villi Mangalam.

Till the 1990s, when there was a transformation of the twin temples, this annual trip of Nam Azhvaar to Thulai Villi Mangalam was the only festival at Erettai Tirupathi.

While he does not make a trip anymore to Srirangam, Nam Azhvaar started out from Azhvaar Tirunagari at 630am on Sunday morning after an early wake-up call at 430am for a special alankaram. Carried on the shoulders in the traditional way by the Sri Patham Thangis of Azhvaar Tirunagari, Nam Azhvaar made his way through the Tamaraibarani to reach the historical Appan Koil, about 2kms West of Erettai Tirupathi, at 730 am.

Appan Koil- a special idol of Thiruvengata Mudayan

Thiruvenkata Mudayan of Appan Koil was the aradhana idol of Nam Azhvaar’s father. Hence on his way to Erettai Tirupathi, Nam Azhvaar made a halt at this temple evoking memories of Nam Azhvaar’s sincere devotion to Thiruvenkata Mudayan at Appan Koil.

In an appreciative gesture of Sri Patham Thangis devotional service to carry Nam Azhvaar on a palanquin from his home town of Azhvaar Tirunagari to Erettai Tirupathi on their shoulders (in many Divya Desams across Tamil Nadu, Lord is now carried on processions on wheeled tyres even on occasions such as Brahmotsavam given the shortage of traditional Sri Patham Thangis!!!), Araiyar Nathan of Azhvaar Tirunagari presented a grand Thaligai to all those present that morning at Appan Koil.

Interestingly over the last few years, Araiyar Nathan has also come forward to perform the daily aradhana of the Lord at Appan Koil.

Aravinda Losanar welcomes Nam Azhvaar

After the stopover at Appan Koil, Nam Azhvaar reached Aravinda Losana Temple, one of the twin temples at Thulaivilli Mangalam. The utsava deity of Aravinda Losana welcomed Nam Azhvaar and presented him with his garland and parivattam much to the delight of the hundreds of devotees who had gathered at Erettai Tirupathi on Sunday morning. 

The 10^th Canto of Nam Azhvaar’s Tiruvoimozhi that also included praise of Thiru Maliruncholai and Thiruper Nagar was presented with great devotion by the large Ghosti that had arrived from Azhvaar Tirunagari.

The Araiyars of Azhvaar Tirunagari are entrusted with the exclusive rights to present 10 of those verses. Araiyar Nathan, with the sacred red cone like cap on his head, the two cymbals in his hand and a special garland across his body, presented the final ten verses of Tiruvoimozhi.

Soon after, Nam Azhvaar turned South towards the banks of Tamarai Barani to have darshan of Lord Devapiran, a few hundred yards from Aravinda Losana temple. The presentation of theertham brought to end the proceedings for the morning by 930am much earlier than usual. 

While a large number of devotees who had come from outside locations made their way to the rest of the Nava Tirupathi temples, Nam Azhvaar took a well earned rest for a few hours at the Devapiran temple.

A one hour Thirumanjanam

By 2.30pm, the devotees were back at Erettai Tirupathi to witness the hour long sacred bath presented to Nam Azhvaar. The Araiyar presented the sacred sandal wood paste and the oil to all the devotees who witnessed the Thirumanjanam. 

Thaligai brought by walk from Aathi Nathan temple

An interesting feature of the evening event was the presentation of Thaligai from Aathi Nathan temple in Azhvaar Tirunagari. To this day, the traditions have been upheld and the sacred food is carried on the head to the beating of the drum as the team walks all the way from Aathi Nathan temple in Thiru Kurugur (6 kms away) across the Tamarai Barani to the Devapiran temple. While easier options like bringing the food by modern means of transport are possible, it is great credit to the team at Aathi Nathan temple that short cut options to quicken the conduct of the evening utsavam have not been exercised to-date.  

Conclusion of Adyayana Utsavam in Erettai Tirupathi

Following the presentation of the Thaligai, the ghosti team of around 50 members presented 90 verses of  the 10^thCanto of Tiruvoimozhi starting with the praise of the Lords of Thiru Mogur and Thiru Ananthapuram while Araiyar Nathan presented 10 verses.

The series of events on Maasi Anusham also signifies the conclusion of the Adyayana Utsavam in Erettai Tirupathi. 

Devapiran watches the son return to Azhvaar Tirunagari

12 hours after he began his trip from the Southern banks of Tamaraibarani, it was now time for Nam Azhvaar to bid good bye to Devapiran for yet another year. Like a dutiful parent, Devapiran stood patiently at the junction of Erettai Tirupathi watching his wade way through the dark into the far western corner of Erettai Tirupathi on his way back to Azhvaar Tirunagari.

Late on Sunday evening, Lord Devapiran returned to his sanctum amidst the chanting of Ramanuja Nootranthathi.

 Celebrating the Founding Day!!!

A day earlier, on Maasi Visakam, Nam Azhvaar had another reason to celebrate for it was the day when Madurakavi Azhvaar found the idol on the banks of Tamarai Barani.  Nam Azhvaar made a trip to the Tamarai Barani on Saturday morning for the Theerthavari utsavam in memory of the founding day of his idol.

Erettai Tirupathi Transformation

February 24, 2017, 1:26 am

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From wading through the Tamaraibarani to be welcomed by Snakes and Bats to the most dramatic Divya Desam transformation- The tale of survival and the new found happiness at Erettai Tirupathi

It has been forty long years since G Seshamani Bhattar took charge of the pooja at twin temples dedicated to Aravinda Losana and Devapiran at Erettai Tirupathi Divya Desam, the Lords of which Nam Azhvaar saw as his father and mother. For a few years prior, he had been involved with a few temples in Nava Tirupathi on an ad hoc basis. His father in law, Venkatakrishnan, had been performing pooja at Erettai Tirupathi since the 1940s at a low two digit salary. Like his father in law earlier, Seshamani Bhattar too performed pooja in the twin temples of Tholai Villi Mangalam at a miniscule salary that never crossed Rs. 70 per month. And even that he would receive only once a year quite in contrast to how Nam Azhvaar's praise of Erettai Tirupathi  that he described as a wealthy location on the Northern Banks of Tamaraibarani abound with sugarcane, paddy and lotus.

தோக்கும் பக்கம் எல்லாம் கரும்பொடு 

செந்நெல் ஓங்கு செந்தாமரை 

வாய்க்கும் தண் பொருநல் வடகரை 

வண் தொலை வில்லி மங்கலம் 

A Dark Era

Through that dark period (literally), there was no electricity in the entire Erettai Tirupathi region. While historically many Divya Desams and ancient temples have been described as being in the middle of a forest or being surrounded by huge forest like groves, Seshamani Bhattar was an actual witness to it for the Erettai Tirupathi region was a dense forest inhabitated largely by poisonous snakes. The dark Sannidhi inside the temple proved a perfect abode for hundreds of bats. Seshamani Bhattar would enter the temple every morning to the fizzing noise of the serpants and the flapping of the wings of the bats.

In the early part of the 20^th century, there had been a few Brahmin families in the agraharam but they too had to be evacuated following several floods the most severe of which struck in the first quarter.

There was not even a mud road to the temple from any of the Nava tirupathi temples. And there were no bridges as well to reach the temple crossing the Tamaraibarani River. The only option to reach the temple was to wade through the chest high water at the river, and then through the dense thicket to the temple.

After he managed to reach the temple, the plight of the Bhattar was quite miserable. With no power facilities, it was largely pitch dark in and around the sannidhi. There was hardly the required quantity of ghee to light the lamp on a regular basis. Worst still, his wait for that odd devotee always proved a futile one. 25 paise thattu kaasu per week was a luxury.

True Devotion a way of life

For two decades, Seshamani Bhattar would arrive at the twin temples every morning at 11am after performing pooja at Thiru Kolur Divya Desam. And he would perform aradhana here at the twin temples and leave by 4pm so as to be in time at Thiru Kolur for the evening pooja there. This was a daily routine for him. His only companions were the mammals. The only noise he heard was of the serpent's fizz once again in contrast to Nam Azhvaar's praise of the twin temples being home to Vedic Chants through the day and the presence of beautiful girls dancing their way around the temples. 

திருந்து  வேதமும் வேள்வியும்

திரு மா மகளிரும் தாம் மலிந்து 

இருந்து வாழ் பொருநல் வடகரை 

வண் தொலை வில்லி மங்கலம் 

Decades earlier, his father in law used to engage bullock cart once in a while to move around but once Seshamani Bhattar joined Erettai Tirupathi his only mode of transport was the long 6 km walk across the Tamaraibarani.

True devotion to the Lord kept them going. During that dark phase of life Seshamani Bhattar rarely went outside of these temples in search of additional sources of income for he was committed to the Lords of Erettai Tirupathi and Thiru Kolur.

And then things turned for the worse in the early 1990s. Ravaged by floods in Tamaraibarani, the temple had reached a state of total dilapidation. Water levels reached the feet of the Lord inside the temple. It seemed to be a helpless state for the Bhattar with nowhere to turn to. 

While on one side there was very little financial security with a low two digit monthly salary, on the other there was always the threat of physical attack by animals including the real possibility of snake bites. Encountering Snakes inside the temple was a regular feature for both Venkatakrishnan Bhattar as well as Seshamani Bhattar.

Large shrubs had come up on the Vimana and the inner walls. The prakara was covered with huge bushes and no devotee could go around the sannidhi in either of the temples.

The only time the temple really lit up was on Maasi Anusham when Nam Azhvaar made his way across the Tamarai Barani for a day long stay here. That brought in groups of devotees from Azhvaar Tirunagari and around.

86 year old Appu Sadagopachari, a resident of Azhvaar Tirunagari from the pre independence days has great memories of his trips to Erettai Tirupathi ‘The water in the Tamaraibarani would flow through to the East at constant speed. I would walk across to the Southern Banks and get on to the river. We would recite slokas and reach the Northern Banks. The annual Maasi utsavam was a day of celebration at the twin temples for that was the big day of the year as the Lords from at each of the temples welcomed Nam Azhvaar for the day long stay.” 

Following the floods in the early 1990s, the twin temples seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

Appu Sadagopachari vividly remembers those days. He points to the roof above the location we were chatting and with a blink of an eye folds his hands in prayer to Lord Aravinda Losana for having protected them.‘The roof could have fallen off any time. There were pillars hanging around. Water had seeped in right to the sanctum.’

Seshamani Bhattar has tears in his eyes when he narrates his struggle in that phase of life“The temple structure itself seemed to be going down as a result of the floods and there was a real threat of one of the Divya Desams being lost to the Vaishnavite world.  The entire temple complex was stuck with dirty water and filth.’

And then one of the biggest transformations in Divya Desams in Tamil Nadu came about in a rather unexpected way and quite out of the blue.

Venu Srinivasan received a call in 1993 from a minister, who after having been moved by the dilapidated state of Erettai Tirupathi was keen to revive the entire Nava Tirupathi temples. It was an important call for otherwise it could have led to the downfall of a historical temple that had been praised by Nam Azhvaar.

Along with other entrepreneurs and business men that included Thayagaraja and Ashok Nadar, Venu Srinivasan set about creating an infrastructure to restore all the temples to its glorious past. He roped in Ganapathi Stapathi to take a look at the structure and sought ways to restore each of the temples. It was Venu Srinivasan's first real foray into temple restoration services (previously he had been involved in restoring a temple in Arcot - Padai Veedu).

While Venu Srinivasan orchestrated the revival of all the temples there, Erettai Tirupathi was a special one for him, for Ganapathi Stapathi personally suggested that he take up the entire restoration efforts of Tholai Villi Mangalam on himself. And that’s exactly what he did.

Architectural Restoration

Each of the pillars and stones were numbered so as to not lose any of the ancient pieces of work. The outer walls were strengthened. Sky lightings were installed. Special provisions were made for ventilation that now provides light into the mandapa opposite the sanctum. As it involved restoration, the focus was on quality and not on speed and thus the entire process took almost three years much longer than it would have taken otherwise.

More important was the revival of festivals that was to follow.

Revival of the Brahmotsavam

nam Azhvaar had praised this Divya Desam as one that flourished with festival sounds.

குமுறும் ஓசை விழவு ஒலித் தொலை வில்லி மங்கலம் 

The annual Brahmotsavam including all the Vahana processions was revived at the twin temples of Aravinda Losana and Devapiran. One of the important deterrents previously had been the lack of access to the temple. With no power and no roads to the temple, the only option was to walk across the Tamaraibarani. Over a period of time, roads were built from each of the other Nava Tirupathi temples. Power connection became a reality. Presentation of Thaligai to the Lord both in the morning as well as in the evening was another step in the revival. 

Seshamani Bhattar who performed daily pooja in three temples for over two decades at a salary of less than Rs. 100 per month was assigned the Devapiran Sannidhi as an exclusive temple with a monthly Sambhavanai that was several multiples of what he had received over the last many years. The Bhattar’s monthly income touched four digit for the first time in 1998.

There was also a separate full time priest assigned to Aravinda Losana temple, the Northern temple at Erettai Tirupathi.

Love and care was extended to animals as well. When the temple elephant at Perungulum died, he was given a royal send off as a token of gratitude to the years of services he had rendered to Lord Mayakoothan. Not a Single Bat in the twin temples of Erettai Tirupathi was killed in the transformational exercise. They were all picked up and let out in the nearby hills giving them a fresh lease of life.

More improvements followed making a visit to the entire Nava Tirupathi a reality. In decades gone by, one had to spend at least two days to visit the nine temples. Today, most devotees complete the entire Nava Tirupathi in half a day. It was during that phase post the restoration initiatives that a chart was prepared and pasted at each of the Nava Tirupathi temples providing a clear route map and the timing of each of the temples. Other amenities too were spruced up. There is now a clean public toilet complex in the region with branded urinals.

Entrepreneurial Movement

In addition to restoring the temple to its ancient glory, Venu Srinivasan felt that there had to be economic development in the village and initiated Self Help Groups to undertake activities that included converting waste product into renewable. Over the last decade or so, these SHGs have even gone on to receive national awards for village development activities.

The restoration of Nava Tirupathi temples has also served as a boost to entrepreneurs in the region for the cab services have seen a dramatic rise in their fortunes with regular weekend trips from Tirunelveli.

With his son wanting him to lead a retired life in Madras, Appu Sadagopachari had one eye on settling down in Thiruvanmiyur. But for one who had seen the worst of Erettai Tirupathi, this transformation was to be savoured and enjoyed. And the call came from Venu Srinivasan asking him to take care of ensuring the presentation of Thaligai at Erettai Tirupathi, he just could not refuse.

An auto has been assigned to pick him up every morning from his house on the North Street of Azhvaar Tirunagari to take him to Erettai Tirupathi. Following the presentation of the Thaligai, he returns by auto for an afternoon nap at his home town.

He is thrilled at this unexpected transformation since the mid 1990s ‘No one foresaw this transformation. For those who had personally witnessed the ravages of the time, the support rendered by Venu Srinivasan was truly a God sent blessing to the residents of Nava Tirupathi. After several decades of financial turmoil and wading through the rough troughs of the nature’s fury, one now finds a lot of happiness in the faces of the Bhattars and their support staff with the new financial security and the positive vibration emerging out of the increased number of devotees.’

Seshamani Bhattar is past 60. He continues to perform pooja at Devapiran temple post his official retirement. There are enough reasons now for him to celebrate with both his sons ( Raghu and Balaji Bhattar) having chosen to stick to temple kainkaryam despite the financial plight of his father and grandfather over the 2^nd half of the 20^th century. The monthly Sambavanai presented by Venu Srinivasan and the increased ‘Thattu Kasu’ have provided great financial security to the sons of Seshamani Bhattar. Each takes care of one temple and one can sense a general sense of happiness in them while at the temple.

Earlier this week, it was a delight to find a large crowd at the annual Maasi Anusham festival at Erettai Tirupathi (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2017/02/erettai-tirupathi-maasi-anusham-festival.html)..

Just the happy faces of the Bhattars at Erettai Tirupathi would have made this restoration a worthwhile exercise. For the devoted Seshamani Bhattar, it is finally happy times to be seeing human faces around him through the day from the previously lonely life at the temple spent alongside reptiles and mammals!!

Araiyar Sevai Azhvaar Tirunagari

March 1, 2017, 1:12 am

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How a family dispute in Azhvaar Tirunagari Divya Desam is taking a nasty turn, one that could bring to end the Araiyar Sevai in this historical birth place of Nam Azhvaar

Case filed in the High Court against HR & CE by one of the Araiyars has thrown questions on the future presentation of Araiyar Sevai in this Divya Desam 

There was a time in the not so distant past when Araiyar Sevai was presented in several Divya Desams across Tamil Nadu. In fact, they were differentiated by the Divya Desam where they performed. Thus there used to be Thirukurungudi Araiyar, Srivilliputhur Araiyar, Thiru Mogur Araiyar, Thirukannapurathu Araiyar, Srirangam Araiyar and so on (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2007/06/108-divya-desam-special-araiyar-sevai.html).

However, this number has drastically come down to just three. Aathi Nathan Divya Desam in Azhvaar Tirunagari  about 30 kms East of Tirunelveli and part of the Nava Tirupathi Divya Desamsis one of the only three Divya Desams where Araiyar Sevai continues to be presented.

Araiyars in the 1950s/60s @ Azhvaar Tirunagari

Over the last century, Azhvaar Tirunagari has managed to survive the extinction of this rare art form dating back a 1000 years with the truly devotional commitment of the Araiyars despite living a life in financial poverty.But a series of events over the last few years has raised a serious threat and thrown open the real possibility of Araiyar Sevai closing down at this historical Divya Desam.

With a cone-like coloured cap on the head and a sacred garland on their chest, Araiyars, descendents of 9^thCentury Vaishnavite Saint Nathamuni, present these divine hymns through a differentiated musical chanting and dance performance using two cymbals in their hands.

The Araiyar Sevai requires a deep knowledge and understanding of the Pasurams. It takes close to two decades to master this art, which involves not just acquiring knowledge of the 4000 divine songs of the Azhvaars but also the monumental task of capturing the meaning of each of these Pasurams and then reaching out the essence of these verses to the audience. Also, Araiyar Sevai requires close co-ordination and perfect synchronisation of the musical chanting (of one Araiyar) with the Thaalam and the dance steps (of another).

Sarangan (Vada Badra Sayee) Araiyar of Azhvaar Tirunagari Divya Desam had learnt the art of Araiyar Sevai from his father in the 1930s and began performing at the temple a decade later. He would present the Abhinayam and Vyakyanam of the 4000 verses without ever opening the book even once, such was his devotional commitment through the decades of his performance. For a long time, the only reward for his presentation was a prasadam and betel leaves from the temple.

By the 1950 and 60s, the family was in dire straits financially. In the mid 60s, recognizing the extraordinary devotional service rendered by the Araiyar and the lack of any alternate income, the temple decided to provide a monthly fee of Rs.5. In addition, the Araiyar was also provided a few kgs of paddy every day. Annually, the Araiyar would receive Thattu Kasu a total of around Rs.20 over three special days in a year during the Adyayana Utsavam.

Sarangan Araiyar's eldest son Srinivasan Araiyar learnt the art from him for 12 years and started performing with his father from 1966. Those who watched Srinivasan Araiyar perform in those days are all praise for him for his way of presentation. He later joined the corporate world picking up a job at TVS in Madurai in the mid 1970s in Madurai and worked there till 2010 making it to Azhvaar Tirunagari only on special festive occasions..

Another son Araiyar Nathan who has been performing Araiyar Sevai since 1984 remembers the dismal financial state from his school days in the 1970s ‘Whenever I would ask my father for just 25 paise, he would look around to his neighbours to lend. Such was the situation at home that he could not afford even a few annas for his son despite presenting selfless service to the Lord through the year for several decades.”

Soon after completing his class X, Araiyar Nathan quit academics and joined his father in full time temple service. Right from his school days, he had watched closely the presentation of his father especially during the Adyayana Utsavam and that proved to be a great learning experience for him. Through the 90s, till the death of his father in 1998, Araiyar Nathan presented Araiyar Sevai along with his father and his brother Araiyar Srinivasan during the 21 day Adyayana Utsavam.

A monthly remuneration of Rs. 3000

In 1996, he received an ‘appointment’ under a special order from the temple for a monthly remuneration of Rs. 3000 for the services rendered in lieu of the Paddy that had been previously provided to his father.

Also, after the restoration services of Nava Tirupathi that happened in the 1990s, Venu Srinivasan organized a monthly sambhavanai for the Araiyar. But even with that it has remained a case of financial difficulty for Araiyar Nathan for the monthly expenses top Rs. 10000 and there isn’t an income to match that.

And yet, he is keen to keep up the commitment given to his father to dedicate his life to Araiyar Sevai.  

He has rarely moved out of the Divya Desam for there is a Kainkaryam to be presented almost every day of the year. Araiyar at Azhvaar Tirunagari hold the rights for presentation during Thirumanjanam as well as at the presentation of Pasurams. Also, the Araiyar is present every evening during the recital of Nithyanusanthanam at the temple. During the procession of the Lord on festive occasions, Araiyar have been bestowed with the rights to present ‘Padi Etra Sevai’.

In recent years, Araiyar Nathan has also taken up aradhana Kainkaryam at a few of the nearby temples including the Appan temple near Erettai Tirupathi.

Public Spat within the temple 

Unfortunately like in two other Divya Desams where Araiyar Sevai is performed, the relationship amongst the Araiyars is not a happy one. Araiyar Nathan’s elder brother Araiyar Srinivasan got into a tussle with the temple authorities over the rights of the Araiyars and has filed a case against them in the High Court that has now been re-directed to the JC court.

When Araiyar Sarangan died, it was customary for the family to invite the senior most Araiyar but many in Azhvaar Tirunagari look back at those series of events as yet another indication of what's in store there. 

Araiyar Srinivasarangachariar of Srivilliputhur (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2013/08/araiyar-srinivasachariyar-srivilliputhur.html) who was well into his 60s then and who had performed several times at Azhvaar Tirunagari along with his son Bala Mukundan Araiyar, was to have been invited but he wasn't. And that left a sore taste.

One of the bigger issues that arose a few years back on the Nam Azhvaar Moksham day was when in an open dispute by Araiyar Srinivasan the Lord was held 'captive' for over 6 hours watching the fight between Araiyar Srinivasan and others, much to the dissent of the devotees.

With the filing of the case by Araiyar Srinivasan, only Araiyar Nathan has been presenting Araiyar Sevai at Azhvaar Tirunagari. With the case pending in the court, Araiyar Nathan's teenaged son, who has learned the agamas and prabhandham, too has been prevented from presenting the Araiyar Sevai at Azhvaar Tirunagari.

Similar is the scenario in Srivilliputhur where only one brother (Bala Mukundan Araiyar) has been presenting Araiyar Sevai while his younger brother's rights have been put on hold by the temple authorities. Many requests by both the temple authorities as well as by the elder brother to convince the younger Araiyar to continue the Sevai have turned a futile exercise.

  

It is now almost 35 years since Araiyar Nathan began presenting Araiyar Sevai at Azhvaar Tirunagiri Divya Desam. Now in his late forties and with a son who in his late teens, Araiyar Sevai as a full time service is still not financially viable as he finds it difficult to make both ends meet with the income/sambavanai he receives every month. But it is evident from his commitment that he will continue this devotional service unmindful of the financial challenges.

However, the public spat within the Araiyars is a clear distraction. Given the current scenario, one is not sure of the NextGen continuing to present Araiyar Sevai as it may be a big challenge to keep it going at Azhvaar Tirunagari unless the powers that be, including the likes of Venu Srinivasan who are closely involved with supporting the devotional services at the Nava Tirupathi temples, come together to sort out the lingering disputes that have been going both within the Araiyar family as well as Araiyar Srinivasan’s long standing battle with the HR & CE. It is all the more important for the Araiyar had been part of the TVS team at Madurai for almost four decades.

It is hoped that the differences between the Araiyar and the authorities will soon be sorted out amicably amongst themselves without the intervention of the court and that the current Araiyars and the future generations at Azhvaar Tirunagari will continue to be able to present this rare art for centuries to come.

Satajit Child Prodigy

March 3, 2017, 4:40 pm

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Legend in the making Elayavilli Sriram Satajit, who celebrated his 12th Birthday on Thursday (March 2), has already presented over 500 Upanyasams

In December 2015, he became the youngest ever upanyasakar to present at the Parthasarathy temple in Thiruvallikeni

'Satajit has remarkable memory power, a great retention capability and an extra ordinary art of reproduction' - Sanskrit Scholar and Grand Father Srinivasa Bhuvarahacharya Swamy  

On Friday (March 3) evening a day after his 12th birthday, Elayavilli Satajit (of Azhvaar Tirunagari Divya Desam) was at the Maasi Velli Garuda Utsavam at the Ranganatha Swamy temple in Srirangam as part of the Ghosti presenting Nanmugan Thiruvanthathi. He was the odd boy out in the group of elderly Prabhandham Scholars of Srirangam. He was the cynosure of attention of the entire devotee crowd who watched in awe his rendering of the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham leaving many watching in awe this prodigal talent. A week earlier he was seen at the Devapiran Sannidhi in Erettai Tirupathi for the Maasi Anusham utsavam.

His grand father U Ve Elayavilli Srinivasa Bhuvarahacharya Swamy is 84 years old and has been a great scholar in both the Sanskrit and the Tamil Vedantas and a renowned Upanyasakarta presenting sampradaya discourses for over five decades.  Notwithstanding his old age, in January this year he presented a Thiruppavai Upanyasam in Bangalore.

It was during his long 25 year stint as a Sanskrit Professor at St. Joseph’s College in Bangalore that Srinivasa Bhuvarahacharya Swamy began to spread the Vaishnava literature through Kalakshepams. He had become so popular by the time of his retirement in 1990 that the Bangaloreans had sought his upanyasams right through the year. The streak of high expectations from the people there led him to continue to reside in Bangalore for 15 years after his retirement during which time he began presenting discourses on all 7 days of the week.

He also travelled across the country to present discourses. On one such trip, he stayed back in Nagpur to present a Thiruppavai Upanyasam during the entire month of Margazhi.

Passing the baton to his grandson

Over the last 7 years, Bhuvarahacharya Swamy has been actively involved in passing on the huge wealth of knowledge to his grandson Satajit in whom he sees enormous potential.

He says that Satajit has been blessed with three essential ingredients that will make a truly special upanyasakar in the future. ‘Satajit has remarkable memory power, a great retention capability and an extra ordinary art of reproduction that is likely to keep the audience engaged through his discourses  and one that will create a lasting impact in the minds of the devotees.’ 

Satajit's father Elayavilli Sriram, a well versed scholar in Divya Prabhandham, has been presenting upanyasams across the country over the last decade but has kept a low profile and very few are aware of his devotional presentations. However, Satajit has already captured the minds of the devotee audience constantly leaving them awe struck with his vivid style of presentation.

First Upanyasam before he was 5 years old

Not yet five, Satajit had already begun presenting 15 minute lectures on Azhvaar Vaibhavam. He also has to his credit being the youngest child to deliver Tiruppavai discourses having started from the age of 6. 

In recent years, he has expanded his horizon to delivering lectures around Samprokshanam events and the annual Brahmotsavam celebrations at various Divya Desams including Thiruneermalai and Azhvaar Tirunagari. 

He has developed his own style of presentation and has captured the imagination of the audience with his unique story telling skills.

Rare Feat at Thiruvallikeni Parthasarathy Temple

With the month long Tiruppavai discourse in Margazhi (2015-16), 10 year old Satajit became the youngest ever upanyasakar to present at the Parthasarathy temple in Thiruvallikeni, a truly remarkable achievement.

On Vaikunta Ekadasi, in December 2015, he presented a LIVE commentary in All India Radio, Madras for 20 minutes and on Podhigai TV.

Like his grandfather, Satajit too has travelled across the country and even presented upanyasams in Mumbai and Kolkata. He has already had the senior well known upanyasakars take notice of his progress. Not surprisingly, awards have been pouring in from all corners, the most interesting among them being the title of “Sath Sampradaya Bala Bhaskaran” by All India Adhi Shiva Chariyargal Seva Sangam in Chennai. Such has been his narrative abilities that even the Saivite group recognised him for his discourses. Mudaliyandan Swami crowned him as the “Asthana Vidwan” of Mudaliyandan Sannidhi in Pettai near Poonamallee after listening to his lecture there.

To go along with his upanyasams, Satajit, who is currently in class seven at Kamalavati Higher Secondary School, Sahupuram (near Azhvaar Tirunagari), has also been brilliant in his academics topping the class in many of the subjects. His school saw the huge talent in him and has made special concessions so he could be away from the classes during the whole of margazhi for his annual upanyasam.

He has no notes in front of him. He has never had one while presenting. He has been blessed with such natural talent that he seems to reel out new interesting stories even from the most common historical subjects.

Like other boys his age, he too plays tennis ball cricket every day after his school and cycles around the streets of Azhvaar Tirunagari However, when it comes to addressing a gathering of ardent devotees looking for interesting stories, Satajit is already a legend in the making having presented several hundreds of upanyasams. And he has just touched 12.

If the right opportunities come his way in the next few years, he could well become a name to reckon with in the world of upanyasakartas.

Periya Nambi Narasimha Gopalan Acharya Mannar Koil

March 8, 2017, 4:31 pm

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Transforming a huge ancient temple all on his own working all alone at a 'princely' monthly salary of Rs. 750!!

The Periya Nambi Thirumaligai in Mannar Koil is one of the two vibrant ones still functioning in TN

It is the one day in the year when the temple is buzzing with real activity. The occasion on Wednesday ( Maasi Punarvasu) evening is the birthday celebrations of Kulasekara Azhvaar who was out on the Anna Vahana Processions around the streets of Mannar Koil providing a special once in a year darshan to around 250 devotees. It is a moment of utmost joy to play host to hundreds of devoted souls for a man who has committed himself to the Lord of Mannar Koil keeping aside tempting financial offers to perform temple service elsewhere.

It takes huge amount of dedication and devotion to the Lord to lead life at a monthly salary of Rs. 750. A lot of the new gen youngsters have already moved away leaving aside the hereditary roles in temples in TN to take up ‘modern’ jobs in cities. 34 year old Periya Nambi S. Narasimha Gopalan Acharya of Mannar Koil (Ambasamudram) is clearly an exception. Not only is he donning multiple hats at different times in the day at the temple, but is also taking up a number of noble causes.

This 29th descendent of Periya Nambi has neither worn a shirt nor a slipper in over a decade. He sports a tuft and has not travelled past the Tirunelveli region in decades for he is too attached to the historic Kulasekara Azhvaar Rajagopalaswamy temple. He does not know what a city life is like. He is the only one aged below 35years continuing to perform pooja in a Vishnu temple in this region. It is no wonder he is still unmarried.

The turning point in his life came when as a teenager he was being initiated into Divya Prabhandham by his grandfather LS Srinivasa Iyengar, a renowned scholar in Sanskrit at Azhvaar Tirunagari. The insights from the Vedic Scriptures and narration of the innermost meaning of each of the prabhandham verses completely changed the life of the then young Narasimha Gopalan. 

பத்தியிலாதபாவிகள்உய்ந்திட

தீதில்நன்னெறிகாட்டி

எங்கும்திரிந்துஅரங்கனெம்மானுக்கே

காதல்செய்தொண்டர்க்கு

எப்பிறப்பிலும்காதல்செய்யும்என்நெஞ்சமே

The verses of Kulasekara Azhvaar and his advocacy of selfless service and devotion to Lord had a profound influence on him. So moved was the young boy that he decided to dedicate his life to the service of the Lord at the Kulasekara Azhvaar Rajagopalaswamy temple.

காண்ணீர்களால்வாரநிற்பவர்

தாளிணைக்குஒருவாரமாகும்என்நெஞ்சமே

Transformation of the temple

Typically an Acharya does not perform pooja at temples. With no archaka coming forward at a salary of Rs. 245 per month, and also to save the temple from further dilapidation, Narasimha Gopalan took that up and started performing daily Thiru Arathanam just over a decade ago. When he took charge while still in his early 20s, bats were the main inhabitants of the temple. There was no income from the temple and the sight of a devotee was rare even during the weekends.

A lot of Narasimha Gopalan’s early days at the temple were spent trying to keep the bats away from the Sannidhis using thorns from Indian Plums. Since then, he has completely transformed the temple in every aspect. It was through his determined efforts that a major restoration service took place at the temple after a gap of over 300 years. It was also his single minded devotion that helped revive the annual Theppotsavam that had been stopped for several decades.

The reference of Shenbagam flowers in Kulasekara Azhvaar’s verses motivated him to convert the huge open area in the outer prakara of the 5 ½ acre temple into a Nandavanam. He sowed the seeds in 2008 and today it compares with the best with a wide variety of flowers that includes Shenbagam, Malligai, Iruvatchi, Magilam and Parichatam. With the idea of providing resting and nesting place for birds and parrots, he added Thothagathi, Naaval and Maruthai trees as well. In recent times, he has also started to grow 70 teak trees.

For over a decade, he has taken care of the maintenance of the temple almost all alone. Today, the temple wears a fresh look. All the Sannidhis and prakaras are clean. Unlike in the past, the lamp now glows at the temple, a significant improvement from the decades gone by.

 'Naamam Pottutaan' Files a High Court Case

When he once heard the phrase ‘Naamam Potuttan’ (a reference of the sacred ash of Vaishnavites being used to indicate a cheat), he raged in anger. He moved the Madurai High Court pleading an order to restrain the use of this terminology both in movies as well as in public places. He is hoping the judgement would be delivered soon in his favour (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2014/11/periya-nambi-acharya-fights-for.html). 

He has also made himself a party to the dress code case in the High Court and is planning to go on an appeal against the earlier verdict. He asks if it will be acceptable in the corporate world for an interviewee to go to a job interview in shorts and T shirt saying that his strength is in the intelligence of the mind and not in the dress that he wears. He strongly believes that there is a certain dress code required for presence at temples to create the devotional environment.

Magical 1000 Samasrayanams 

Being a descendent of the revered Periya Nambi, who was the acharya of Ramanuja, one of Narasimha Gopalan’s primary tasks is in initiating disciples with Samasrayanam, the process of becoming a true Vaishnavite. In the last 2 years alone, he has initiated this for well over 650 disciples. By the time of the 1000^th birthday of Ramanuja, he is hoping to touch the magical number of 1000.

Also, as part of Ramanuja’s inclusive philosophy, he has identified 100s of unknown tribal families living atop the Pothigai Hills in the dense forest near Papanasam and is planning to support the education of around 1000 children through his disciples who are spread worldwide.

Financial Struggle through the decades

It has been a struggle in many of the ancient temples in Tamil Nadu with the low salary making it financially not viable to continue performing pooja services. Narasimha Gopalan’s parents had lived a hard fought life and had to even sell their vessels for their daily food. He rolls out with extreme devotion verses from Kulasekara Azhvaar’s Perumal Thirumozhi to reason out his logic for staying away from the lure of a more lucrative city life.

வாழ்த்திமால்கொள்சிந்தையராய்

 ஆட்டமேவியலந்தழைத்துஅயர்வெய்தும்மெய்யடியார்கள்

தம்ஈட்டம்கண்டிடக்கூடுமேல் 

அதுகாணும்பயனாவதே

At the peak of his powers as the ruler of Madurai, Kulasekara Azhvaar had renounced his kingdom and chose a path of service to the Lord. This did not go well with many who branded him as mad. However he hit back at them stating that it was they who were mad for they do not realise as to how blessed he was having been taken away from the world of materialistic desires to one of true life time devotion.

மொய்த்துக்கண்பனிசோரமெய்கள்சிலிர்ப்பஏங்கியிளைத்துநின்று

எய்த்துக்கும்பிடுநட்டமிட்டெழுந்துஆடிபாடிஇறைஞ்சி

என்அத்தனச்சனரங்கனுக்குஅடியார்களாகிஅவனுக்கே

பித்தராமவர்பித்தரல்லர்கள்மற்றையார்முற்றும்பித்தரே

And that is exactly the life Narasimha Gopalan has come to live. He performs the role of an archaka in the mornings and evenings, prepares the sacred food for the Lord donning the hat of a cook and turns into a gardener watering and plucking flowers from the huge garden that he himself had created from scratch and performs Samasrayanams for his disciples, in addition to taking up other noble Vaishnaite causes. 

A few years ago, he had received a luring offer to perform services in a temple overseas. Had he accepted that and gone there just for a few years, his financial status would have seen a big positive upturn. But he resisted the temptation for he had long ago decided to commit himself to the Lord of Mannar Koil.

When he was reminded again of this lucrative prospect with the suggestion that all temples are the same and that he would still be performing service to the Lord, he retorted to that person if 'Kulaseakar Azhvaar's Thiruvarasu would be present there in that overseas location'!!! And with that ended the discussion on that topic...

Unmindful of the lack of financial and resource support, he has managed to enjoy his role of providing undivided attention to Lord Rajagopalaswamy at Mannar Koil and performing the daily service to the Lord. Truly, Narasimha Gopalan is an odd man out in the fight for survival.

The Periya Nambi Thirumaligai in Mannar Koil is one of the two vibrant ones still functioning actively in Tamil Nadu, the other being in Srirangam. Narasimha Gopalan Acharya may be reached on 04634 252874

Features of the Temple

The three tiered Kulasekara Azhvaar Rajagopalaswamy temple in Mannar Koil is located 5kms from Ambasamudram off the Tenkasi highway. The temple is  named after Kulasekara Azhvaar who spent the last years of his life here performing service and attained Moksham here. There is a separate Flag Post for the Kulasekara Azhvaar Sannidhi. 

The Lord is seen in three forms - standing posture at the ground level, sitting posture in tier 1 and in a Sayana Kolam in Tier 2 under the Ashtanga Vimana. In recognition of Rajendra Chozha’s big contributions to this temple, this place was referred to as Rajendra Vinnagaram. Inscriptions refer to Rajasimhan donating several pieces of land and Jatavarma Chozha Pandya as well as Nayak kings making contributions to the temple.

The temple is open between 7am-11am and 4pm-7pm.

Thiru Nangur 11 Garuda Sevai

March 11, 2017, 5:58 pm

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The Historical Manjal Kuli Utsavam of Srirangam is played out every year in Thai at Thiru Nangur Divya Desam

The Thai Amavasya festival expanded to a three day festival in the late 19th Century to include the congregation of the 11 Lords of Thiru Nangur at Thiru Narayana Perumal temple and the presentation of Garuda Sevai

On the final weekend of January, several thousands of devotees were taken back in time to the days of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar as the otherwise quiet town of Thiru Nangur that is home to 11 Divya Desams, near Sirkazhi, reverberated with chants of Divya Prabhandham on the occasion of the three day annual utsavam in Thai. The entire street leading to the Narayana Perumal temple was lined up with stalls. There was some play stuff in the corner of the street for the children. There was even a ‘Patti Mandram’ organized in the evening on Sunday (Jan 29) near the temple tank, one that reminded the devotees of the famous debate between Thiru Mangai Azhvaar and Thiru Gnana Sambanthar in Sirkazhi.

On completion of the Adyayana Utsavam in Srirangam, there was a celebration on the banks of the Cauvery with the Lord being anointed with a special Manjal Kuli utsavam. In recognition of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar’s contribution to the temple and after having listened to his devotional presentation of Thiru Nedunthandagam, Lord Ranganathaswamy of Srirangam felt that he should present a gift to take care of his throat and decided to bless him with the anointment of the sacred Turmeric that was so special to the Lord. He suggested to Thiru Mangai Azhvaar that he celebrate this Manjal Kuli Utsavam in his home town so the devotees too could enjoy the occasion.

As a reminder of this ancient event, Thiru Mangai Azhvaar makes a trip to the banks of the Cauvery in Thiru Nangur for the ‘Manjal Kuli’ utsavam on the Amavasya day in Thai. On the occasion, Thiru Mangai Azhvaar is presented with a Choornabhishekam and honoured with a beautiful flower garland and a Parivattam from the Lords of Srirangam and Nachiyar Koil (where he was initiated with the Pancha Samaskaram).

The 11 Garuda Sevai Utsavam at Thiru Nangur was introduced as an event in the later part of the 19^thcentury similar to the grand festival recognizing NamAzhvaar in Nava Tirupathi. Thus the historical annual ‘Thai Amavasya’ festival expanded into a large and the now popular 11 Garuda Seva festival over the last 120 years.

Consistently across all the verses of praise on temples in and around Thiru Nangur, Thiru Mangai Azhvaar records the presence of learned and knowledgeable vedic seers living in large numbers. These seers were tolerant and generous in their conduct and outlook and everyone there were seen as having a helpful tendency towards the other.

உண்மைமிகுமறையொடுநல்கலைகள்

நிறைபொறைகள்உதவுகொடைஎன்று

இவற்றின்ஒழிவுஇல்லாப்பெரியவண்மைமிகுமறையவர்கள்

மலிவுஎய்துநாங்கூர்

வைகுண்டவிண்ணகரம்வணங்குமடநெஞ்சே

Warmth of the Nangur residents

This scenario dating back over a 1000 years was seen in its full vibrancy with Prabhandham experts from across the state turning up to chant Thiru Mangai Azhvaar’s Periya Thirumozhi verses on the Lords of Thiru Nangur. The residents of Thiru Nangur in line with the ‘helpful attitude’ spoken about in Azhvaar’s verses extended a warm welcome to thousands of devotees who had even come in from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh playing the role of true hosts over that final January weekend including serving them varied delicacies through the day and night.

Thiru Mangai Azhvaar is the only Azhvaar who visited Divya Desams across the country and sung praise describing the features of the Lord and the scenario that existed in and around the temple during his times. In the Periya Thirumozhi, he has dedicated an exclusive decad for each of the 11 Lords of Thiru Nangur and three decads for Thiruvali/Thirunagari.

Thiru Kuraiyalur and Thiru Mangai Madam

Thiru Mangai Azhvaar began this year’s trip on Friday night just after mid night making his way first to his birth place in Thiru Kuraiyalur  where his praise on ‘Singavel Kundram’ (Ahobilam Narasimha) was presented at 3.30am. This historical place is now a remote hamlet with very minimal facilities. 

Thiru Mangai Mannan had ruled from this region but today the main road leading to the Ugra Narasimha temple is without even a light in the night. The Utsava deities of Lord Narasimha and Thiru Mangai Azhvaar went missing from the temple a few years ago and have still not been found. Once a year, this temple wears a festive look on the arrival of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar from Thirunagari for the annual trip on the occasion of Thai Amavasya.

A couple of hours later, he was off South East to Thiru Mangai Madam and to the Veera Narasimha temple, the second among the Pancha Narasimha temples in this region.

It was at Thiru Mangai Madam that Thiru Mangai Mannan presented food to 1008 Vaishnavites every day for a year as directed by his beloved Kumudavalli. At this place is now a beautiful temple dedicated to Veera Narasimha Perumal. One also finds a handsome idol of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar seen with Kumudavalli Nachiyar.

Given its remote location, this temple had earlier been in a dilapidated state at the end of the previous century. About 15 years ago, this temple, with big walls on all four sides, a Raja Gopuram and a big Nandavanam, was completely renovated and today Lord Veera Narasimha sports a majestic princely look with a transformation that has been largely credited to the devoted service of the young Balaji Bhattar.

After a trip to Kavalampadi, Thiru Mani Koodam and Parthan Palli temples, he made his way to the banks of the Cauvery for the historical ‘Manjal Kuli’ Utsavam on Saturday afternoon. The sacred verses of praise on the Lords of these two Divya Desams were presented reminding the devotees of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar’s special liking for them.                            

After a trip to Mani Mada Koil, Van Purushottaman, Vaikunta Vinnagaram, Sempon Sei Koil, Thiru Thetriyambalam and Arimeya Vinnagaram temples, he rested at the Mani Mada Koil for a few hours ahead of another long festive day. In each of these temples, the respective decad of praise from the Periya Thirumozhi was presented before the Lord.

Congregation of the 11 Lords - Mangalasasanam

By Sunday afternoon, the crowd swelled in even larger numbers and gathered in front of the Mani Mada Koil where the 11 Utsava deities congregated having made their way through the day from their respective abodes. Each of the Lords decked with glittering necklaces was seen in a grand alankaram. Sincere devotees stood in front of them admiring the handsome features of the Lord that seemed to remind them of the description in Thiru Mangai Azhvaar’s verses well over a 1000years ago.

Starting at 3pm, for over three hours, each of the 11 Lords positioned themselves one after another in front of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar and listened to a verse of praise from the Periya Thirumozhi that was so devotionally rendered by a large group of Prabhandham experts.

Choice of the Best Decorated Lord

Following a quick Thirumanjanam, the priests worked as a team to showcase their respective Lords in the best possible alankaram atop the Garuda Vahana. When the screen was opened at around 9pm, the devotees just could not take their eyes away from the Lords as they moved from one to another. For almost three hours, one saw devotional fervor at its peak inside the Narayana Perumal temple with devotees rejoicing and expressing aloud their description of the beauty of the Lord.

One Lord was seen with a long Kaasu Malai, while another sported a large set of Pathakams on his chest. The huge and colourful garlands on the shoulders of the Lords and their sheer variety attracted the attention of the devotees as they went about praising the speciality of these flowers. The silk vastrams on the each of the Garuda idols were colourful and the draping on the Lord’s vehicle had a distinctive feel about it.

Just when one set of devotees found a particular Lord as the best decorated, they had a change of heart on seeing the next one. On the night, one simply could not make that exclusive choice, for the years of artistic alankaram experience of each of the priests came to the fore and they presented the Lords of Thiru Nangur with a grandeur that left a number of the devotees in tears of joy.

Streets dotted with Traditional Kolams on the night

Finally just around mid night on Sunday, Thiru Mangai Azhvaar and Kumudavalli Nachiyar in a Hamsa Vahana made their way out of the Mani Mada Koil to the loud cheer of the devotees.

 As they stood in front of the tank, each of the Lords made their way out on to the streets for the long four hour procession on the majestic Garuda Vahana. Late into the night, devotees lined up the four big streets of Thiru Nangur with beautifully drawn traditional white pulli kolams welcoming the 11 Lords and the Azhvaar to their homes and seeking their blessings. All around one could hear the sweet sound of the anklets and bangles of girls moving around eagerly awaiting the Lords into their street.

இளையமங்கையர்இணைஅடிச்

சிலம்பினோடுஎழில்கொள்பந்துஅடிப்போர்

கைவளையின்நின்றுஒளிமல்கியநாங்கூர்

வண்புருடோத்தமமே

On the final day of the three day Utsavam, after each of the Lords had made their way back to the respective temples, Thiru Mangai Azhvaar started on his return trip enjoying the presentation of the respective decads of praise at Thiruvellakulam and Thiru Thevanar Thogai on the way. 

The grand Thai festival of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar culminated with Garuda Sevai both in Thiruvali and at his abode at Thirunagari late on Monday (Jan 30) night leaving the devotees with a fulfilling devotional experience.

As referred to in the Periya Thirumozhi, over a 1000 years ago, the devotees seemed to have gone back with an elevated spirit after having seen and  experienced the 11 Lords on the night.

சீர்அணிமாடநாங்கைநல்நடுவுள்

செம்பொன்செய்கோயிலினுள்ளே

கார்அணிமேகம்நின்றதுஒப்பானை

கண்டுகொண்டுஉய்ந்தொழிந்தேனே

Gokulakrishnan J

March 15, 2017, 3:34 am

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His entry into TNCA League, His Debut match in Ranji Trophy and His first season with Goa all had unexpected twists marring his growth

Determined and Gutsy, he stuck on and went on to pick up over a 100 first class wickets and score over a 1000 runs

JEEKS was a complete team player in an era where individuals thrived being selfish - An Extremely Talented Game Changer – VB Chandrasekar

It was the summer of 1989. YMCA (TSR), one of the earliest coaching academies started in Madras, was playing a strong Brijesh Patel Cricket Clinic in the prestigious annual inter-city tourney in Bangalore. The stand in wicket keeper of YMCA (TSR) Pramodh Sharma (who went on to play for Kunal Engineering in the First Division league and is now a big and successful entrepreneur in the textile sector) was having a tough time with the gloves behind the wicket.  One ball bounced high and thudded into the gloves almost breaking his finger on his right hand. Another one swung back so late that he had to go full stretch to his left injuring his left hand. By the end of the day, both his hands were sore with swollen fingers.

It was the first indication of the talent of this relatively unknown 16 year old school boy from the Chengalpet district. He was by far the fastest bowler YMCA (TSR) had seen and rarely had one seen such big inswingers in those days from a school boy in Tamil Nadu. It was only a year earlier that he had contemplated quitting cricket altogether after being ignored repeatedly by his districts selectors and it had required persuasive skills of his mother to convince him to continue playing.

Buoyed by his mother’s words of encouragement, J Gokulakrishnan did not give up and went on to play close to 40 first class matches including coming close to India A selection in the mid 1990s.

However, his was a case where forces worked against him with unexpected events halting his growth at every important point through the decade long first class career.

Frustrating Early Days

It was Kapil Dev inspired victory in the 1983 World Cup that spurred the then 10 year old boy to take up to fast bowling.  At the small ground opposite his house in East Tambaram, near MCC, he would run up and bowl as fast as possible with the tennis ball. Spotting his ability to bowl fast, Manohar, an avid cricket enthusiast who had himself played first division cricket, initiated him into  took him to play a few 30overs matches. His father, Jayaraman, too was a pillar of strength through the early days of his cricket. He would be at the ground for every match and stand there on the boundary edge encouraging him to perform better.

It was his younger brother Madanagopal who was first picked for the districts team. It reached a point of great frustration that after being constantly ignored by the district selectors, Gokulakrishnan came back home one evening and decided to quit cricket to focus on his studies. His mother being a school teacher had always impressed upon the importance of education.

This time, though, the mother infused strong words of motivation and the importance of not giving up in life and sought greater effort from him that would force the selectors to take a look at him. A year later he was in the U17 squad. It was around the same time that Manohar wanted to get a team comprising of youngsters from the districts into the TNCA league.  The team participated in the Ranga Rao trophy (a qualification tournament to gain an entry into the league) and went on to win the tournament with Gokulakrishnan making important contributions all the way through.

Having performed impressively in the U17 tournament, Gokulakrishnan’s talent caught the eye of his manager Victor Fernandez who was with SPIC.

When Chandrasekar Rao, former Andhra Ranji player (also the coach at SPIC at that point of time) came up to Gokulakrishnan and informed him about the interest shown by SPIC to pick him as a guest player for the Chemplast Pasadena tournament, he thought that the coach was playing a joke on him for he did not believe that a strong team like SPIC (led by S Vasudevan) could actually offer a role for this U17 school boy in such a prestigious tournament.

A TNCA Clause rules him out of first division

He impressed the SPIC team management with his performance in that tourney and they offered to sign him up for the first division league. Unfortunately, the then rules of the TNCA forced him to play for the team that had won the Ranga Rao tourney and a place in the TNCA league. Thus he had to play for Perungalathur CC in the fifth division for a year (1989-90) before he could make the jump into the first division.

In a sense it was the first of the many negative twists in his cricketing career each of which were to come up at the most inappropriate of times.

He picked up well over 50 wickets that season in addition to scoring over 500 runs for Perungalathur with headline performances in almost every match along with his captain S Balaji. He joined SPIC the next season and took 30+ wickets in his first season in first division cricket at the age of 17.

Former TN Ranji opener V Sivaramakrishnan, who was playing for SPIC that year, said in a chat with me that year (1990-91) that Gokulakrishnan in the form that he was in, in the first division league, and given his potential should be inducted straightaway into the Ranji squad and that the state should leverage such young talent when in form and when the confidence was high. The next year, he picked up over 50 wickets in the league helping SPIC to the Palayampatti shield (VB Chandrasekar, who was to become his cricketing mentor too joined SPIC that year). However, despite strong performances for three successive years, he did not make his Ranji debut till late 1993.

The 2nd tragic incident

And when the Ranji debut finally came his way, he was in for the 2^nd big cricketing shock, one that would have ripped the heart out of any 20 year old. The then upcoming umpire, AV Jayaprakash (who was trying to make a mark on the international scene), called him for chucking, a call that derailed Gokulakrishnan’s career by a few years. It set a confused state of mind within the TN camp with the then captain WV Raman unsure of picking him in the XI given the threat of other umpires calling him too.

He played just 6 Ranji matches over the next three years despite being in the squad throughout.

That phase also saw the beginning of a long and successful relationship with VB Chandrasekar and the two of them forged a great partnership, first for India Cements and then for Goa in the Ranji Trophy ( See the Column below). Gokulakrishnan saw in VBC a mentor who saw  his true potential and brought the best out of him. It was a period that saw many victories for India Cements, anchored by Gokulakrishnan and his star performances with the ball.

After the calling incident in the Ranji Trophy, it was VBC (and Dr. Natarajan) who really saw him through that tragic phase in his cricketing career. He came home to convince Gokulakrishnan that all was not over for him. VBC vividly remembers those days of working with Gokulakrishnan  “We worked towards proving to the world he was clean. I remember distinctly Dennis Lillee saying ‘If he is chucking then I am a chucker too.’ The controversy ended there.”

Following this controversy, VBC  suggested to Gokulakrishnan the importance of developing outswingers to polish his skills.

But this entire episode really set him back by a couple of years and he was a mere passenger in the TN squad for the next few years playing just a couple of matches each season.

Having completed his graduation at Guru Nanak college and now into his early 20s, Gokulakrishnan, for the 2^nd time in his life, wondered if it was worth continuing with his cricket for he was going nowhere with the TN Ranji team.

The Best Phase of his career playing under VBC in Goa

That was when he was given a fresh lease of life by VBC, who had struck a professional deal with Goa. VBC roped in Gokulakrishnan as his fast bowling spearhead for the 1996-97 season and the two renewed their aggressive style of playing ‘winning’ cricket in Goa that season.

During the two years there, Gokulakrishnan performed outstandingly well. Back to his best under VBC, he routed Karnataka twice with figures of 7/54 and 4/60 in the season opener in October 1996 (after VBC himself had provided a rollicking start with the bat) to give Goa their first and their biggest win to date in Ranji Trophy. It was Gokulakrishnan’s most satisfying performance in Ranji cricket.

He also made his only first class century that season against KN Ananthapadmanabhan’s Kerala in Palghat. On the basis of his Ranji performances that season, he was picked for the Duleep Trophy where he picked up 5 wickets in the Final. It was also during this phase that former India great ML Jaisimha, who had eye for spotting talent, came up to him and told him that he had the talent to make it to the Indian team. 

Taking Goa to the top of the Table in Ranji Trophy

The strong performances in the 96-97 season set him up for the next big jump in his cricketing career. As a 23 year old, he was on the verge of being selected for the India A team that was to go to Bangladesh. Unfortunately in the final league match of that Ranji season (Quite unbelievably, Goa was top of the table at the start of the match ahead of TN, Karnataka and Hyderabad and just the first innings points would have ensured their qualification into the knock out phase) against Hyderabad, after a strong bowling performance taking 4 wickets (he was the top wicket taker for Goa that season with 20+  wickets), he injured and fractured his right index finger in trying to hold on to a return match. He was ruled out of cricket for the next 3months and he informed about his injury to national selector Shivlal Yadav. It was the most telling blow in his quest to move up to the next level in cricket.

 
Thus at the peak of his prowess, he lost out on the India A tour to Bangladesh.

The next year, he picked up a six wicket haul against Kerala (he had scored a century against them the previous season) and went on to pick 25 wickets that Ranji season. In two years, he had picked up over 50 first class wickets and the confidence was back big time thanks to VBC.

But just when things were looking up, he received another telling blow, one that really put an end to his quest to play at a higher level. Controversies surrounding ‘professional’ cricketers in Goa led to VBC and co making their way out of Goa the next season.  VBC may have considered extending his stint in Goa especially with his mentee performing so well but  in his own words ‘the politics in Goan cricket was difficult to handle.’

Another TNCA Clause- Another Year Gone!!!

Gokulakrishnan came back to Tamil Nadu but in yet another blow to his career, it had been suddenly decided that cricketers who had left the state to play professional cricket outside had to undergo a ‘cooling’ period of one year. And Gokulakrishnan lost out another year in his Ranji career, this after having picked up over 50 first class wickets in the previous two seasons. And yet when Aashish Kapoor (of MRF) – TA Sekar was the Chairman of Selectors in that period - came back the next year after a professional engagement, he was inducted straightaway into the TN squad (without the cooling period).

Wills Trophy Cricket

A year and half later he was back in action for Tamil Nadu with back to back four wicket hauls in the Subbiah Pillai tourney including against Azharuddin’s Hyderabad in Dec 99- Jan 00 that earned him a place in the Wills Trophy squad.

On the Pongal day in 2000, playing for the Board Presidents XI in the Wills Trophy under Azharuddin, he was assigned the task of bowling the last over of the match to try and contain Bengal from achieving the win. He picked up two wickets in that final over (and a five wicket haul in that innings) to take his team into the final. Having watched him perform with the bat and ball, Azhar had suggested that Gokulakrishnan had the talent in him to play one day cricket at the higher level as an all rounder.  That opportunity was to never come, though!!!

He had a couple of more years with Tamil Nadu including the two finals and in between played for a year at Assam but really various episodes and events in his career had meant that he did not go into the higher echelons of cricket.

And yet for someone with such talent and ability and a sense of team spirit that was not available in large quantity in those days, the lack of opportunities in those initial 5-6 years was a dampener and the final tally of just over a 100 wickets and 1000 runs did not justify the talent he held as a youngster.

He was a rank outsider from the districts and came up the hard way battling several hurdles all the way through his playing career. He had a Masters in Computer Applications before he had turned 24 and with the controversies and the lack of opportunities at his prime, he could have so easily been lost to the corporate world, especially since that was the time India was gaining prominence in the IT field. He stuck on gamely to cricket. The stint in Goa under his mentor VB Chandrasekar was a high point in his career and showcased to the cricket world as what a captain’s faith could do to a bowler.
With little more support and backing, he could have easily played at least a couple of levels higher, especially the Challengers and Deodhar Trophy, for he was well suited to the one day game.

However, like all things in life, things turned around in his post playing days. He has been the only coach to have been with the TN Ranji team five years in a row (from 2008) with stints with the State U17 and U19 teams on either side of the Ranji Coaching engagement. This season, his U19 team won the South Zone Championship.

Another big moment for him this season was when his team Tuti Patriots won the inaugural edition of the TNPL with him working together for the first time with brother Madanagopal.

He is not flashy. He does nothing to market himself. He takes pride in doing with sincerity and commitment the tasks assigned to him, preferring to take a back seat.  Amidst all the highs and lows, he has remained grounded complaining about nothing in life.

This year marks the 12th anniversary of his coaching engagement with different state teams in TN on the back of playing 10 years of first class cricket and that is quite an achievement for someone on whom destiny played its tricks every time success was on the horizon.

I wish I could have done more for JEEKS when he needed me the most – VB Chandrasekar

From the early 1990s, VB Chandrasekar worked very closely with J Gokulakrishnan, first at SPIC, then at India Cements and later for Goa in Ranji Trophy cricket. When VBC saw him the first time as a 19 year old at SPIC, everything about this teenager impressed him.

 "Every department looked exciting. He was an enthusiastic young man willing to extend himself to achieve. But to perform, opportunities were required. He got much less of it."

VBC believed that he could be a match winner and the moment he moved to India Cements, he roped him in to spearhead his attack. 

Later when VBC moved to Goa, Gokulakrishnan was the first cricketer he reached out to. In the very first season, they were on the verge of creating history before tragedy struck Gokulakrishnan.

 For the first time in its history, Goa was top of the Ranji table going into the final league match against Hyderabad. Gokulakrishnan had performed outstandingly well under VB Chandrasekar, who had a magic sauce to bring the best out of his ace fast bowler. And then tragedy struck again in his life.

Gokulakrishnan had taken already 4 wickets in the first innings taking his season’s tally to over 20 wickets. VBC recalls that moment and how fate conspired to provide a knock out blow. "Not many would know he fractured his index finger going for an impossible return catch playing a Ranji game Vs Hyderabad. I had the bad feeling, fate knocked him out to favour Ajit Agarkar."

The two of them would sit together at the end of a day and work out different ways to knock the opposition out. Some of these meetings were at VBC’s house on Desikachari Road ( VBC's mother would keep feeding Gokulakrishnan with special biscuits while the two sat for hours together chalking out the strategy for the next game) while many were sitting in the car at the corner of some road. And hours later, VBC would drop his mentee at the Teynampet Voltas bus stop for the ward to take a long 1hour bus back to East Tambaram. And this became a daily routine for many years in that phase as India Cements won many trophies under VBC. That phase in the 1990s brought India Cements back on the cricket map of India.

VBC points to Gokulakrishnan's eagerness to keep the side's interest first as a distinctive feature  ‘He was a complete team player in an era where individuals thrived being selfish. I might have failed to impress this upon the young JEEKS!!!!  He believed in my methods and I was leaning heavily on him for my success as captain.  He was an extremely talented game changer.’

VBC bemoans the fact that TN captains of that decade did not tap into the potential of this talented player right from the early 1990s ‘Most bowlers depend on their captains to succeed. It was perhaps not forthcoming (in those early days in TN).’ 

In a tone of regret, VB Chandrasekar looks back at his Mentor - Mentee relationship from the 1990s and says ‘I could have done more for him when he needed me the most. His failure was mine too.’

---

Osai Nayaki Thaala Pureeswarar Sirkazhi

March 20, 2017, 7:45 pm

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Thiru Gnana Sambanthar was presented with 'Golden Cymbals' by Lord Thaala Pureeswarar 
While Osai Nayaki blessed him presenting the 'Sound' to his sacred verses

A Prarthana Sthalam to regain one’s sound chord - Also, those with stammering will find a solution here at this temple

Located two kms South West of Sattanathar temple in Sirkazhi is the Thaala Pureeswarar temple in Thiru Kolakka. In recent times, this place has come to be referred to as Thiru Thaala Mudayar Koil.

After having drunk the sacred milk from the Goddess at Sattanathar temple in Sirkazhi, Thiru Gnana Sambanthar came here to Thiru Kolakka as a three year old child carried by his father. On seeing the Lord and excited at the playful fishes jumping in and out of the water in the huge sacred tank opposite the temple, Thiru Gnana Sambanthar rendered a devotional verse 'Madayil Vaazhai... 'clapping continuously with his two hands in a joyous mood. 

As the devotion reached its peak, the child’s hands became red making the Lord anxious. It was then that the Lord initiated the child with the Panchakshara Mantra and presented him with a Golden Cymbals. However, being the original one with Gold, the cymbals did not produce sound!!! As he moved on and presented the songs in front of Ambal, seen north of the Lord, the Ambal blessed him by providing sound to his songs.

In memory of this historical episode, Ambal is referred to as Osai Nayaki (Dwani Pradhambigai) and the Lord as Thaala Pureeswarar (Saptha Pureeswarar).

Sundarar recalls the historical episode

In his set of verses on the temple, Sundarar has provided a description as to how the Lord presented Thiru Gnana Sambanthar with the Golden Cymbals in the full public view including marking the presence of Devas. 

A Dumb Child gets his voice

In 1979, on a suggestion from an elderly gentleman who had visited this temple, a couple with a dumb child, invoked the blessings of the Lord and Ambal. Sitting far away in Nagercoil, the mother lit a lamp at her home in the evening and placed her golden bangles before the Ambal in her pooja room invoking the blessings of Osai Nayaki. To their delight, the child called out for the mother the very next morning. In a thanking gesture, the couple presented the Lord and Ambal with Golden jewellery.

Over 600 people including an 80 year old have regained their voice after performing pooja at this temple invoking the blessings of Osai Nayaki.

As part of the process to regain the voice, one can perform: 

Vaakku Vathini Moola Mantra Archanai

Vaakku Vathini Moola Mantra Homam

Vaakku Vathini Moola Mantra Trisidhi Archanai

The Honey that has been presented to Osai Nayaki is consumed by the devotee who is believed to get his / her voice back. Even Muslim Children have secured their voice by performing pooja at this temple.

Devotion of the Gurukkal

A truly redeeming feature of the temple is the sincere devotional service of Karthikeyan Gurukal performing the pooja in all the Sannidhis all alone. He had started assisting his father in performing pooja even as a young 6 year old!!!! Later after initiation of Vedas, he started full fledged devotional service as a young teenager and has been here ever since. The current Gurukkal family has been taking care of the pooja at the temple for the last 5 generations. 

Appar's praise of Thiru Kolakka

In each of his verses, Thirunavukkarasar refers to this place as Thiru Kolakka. He praises the Lord as 'Thiru Kolakkavudaya Koothan'.

Restoration of the temple

After several decades, the temple is undergoing restoration of the dilapidated structures. The outer wall had collapsed and is being rebuilt. A Raja Gopuram is being planned at the Eastern entrance. The huge sacred tank which received praise from Thiru Gnana Sambandar is being cleaned up and walls are being planned on all the four sides. A new madapalli is also being planned.  Viaravan, Hereditary Trustee has been taking care of the maintenance of the temple ( Contact: 98422 28853)

Festivals

Chitrai Pootraalam Utsavam – This year the festival falls on May 1(2017)

Margazhi Aruthra Festivals

Ambal Utsavam on Kaanum Pongal day

The temple is open between 7am and 11.30am and 430pm and 8pm. Contact Gurukkal @ 98658 85780/81899 88587

How to reach

There are no buses or mini buses to the temple. One can walk (about 10 minutes) through the long winding road westwards from Sirkazhi bus stand to reach the temple. Auto from Sirkazhi bus stand will cost Rs. 50.

Achalpuram Shiva Loga Thyagaraja Temple

March 26, 2017, 5:39 am

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The place of Thiru Gnana Sambandhar’s Wedding and Mukthi – This legendary episode is enacted on Vaikasi Kettai and Moolam every year

Sacred Ash is presented in the Ambal Sannidhi in memory of the historical event

It is 5.30 am on a Monday morning in this remote location 5 kms east of Kollidam and 11 kms from Chidambaram on the Northern Banks of the Cauvery. The small town is already buzzing with devotional activity. The pooja items at the shops outside near the huge temple tank are ready in several hundreds. Inside the temple, the  temple staff are putting together the tokens for the first batch. One of the Gurukals is already present and the other one follows soon after. 

Every Monday morning, a special prarthana pooja is performed to fulfil one’s wishes. This pooja is performed for 10 Mondays followed by a special Abhishekam on the 11^th Monday.

By 6.30 am, the second batch of devotees were locked in a queue to pick up the tokens for the second batch of 'Sankalpam'. A few hours later, one finds happy faces of devotees having completed the Prarthana pooja and having had darshan of the Lord and Ambal.

This huge Shiva Loga Thyagaraja Swamy temple in Achalpuram is the place where Saivite Saint Poet Thiru Gnana Sambandhar attained Mukthi immediately after his wedding. The episode of the Saint Poet’s wedding is played out in its entirety similar to a traditional Brahmin wedding on Vaikasi Kettai followed by the event of his merging with the Lord the next morning. 

The last of his verses

Thiru Gnana Sambandhar sang the last of his Thevaram verses on the Lord of this temple.  He made 7 long trips from Sirkazhi and back. It was on the 7^th trip that he reached Achalpuram. 

In his verses, he refers to himself as being from Sirkazhi and assures the devotees that their sincere prayers at Nallur Perumanam (the ancient name of this place) will see them being liberated from their sins.

In another verse, he specifically refers to the names of both the Lord and Ambal.

 

Several of the great rishis including Sage Vashishta and Sage Vishwamitra undertook severe penance seeking darshan of the Shiva Logam. They were directed to go to Achalpuram for their wishes to be fulfilled. Here after bathing in the Panchaakshara Theertham opposite the temple, the revered sages had darshan of the Shiva Logam.

Wedding and Mukthi on the same day

Thiru Gnana Sambandhar was disinterested in marriage but his father Shiva Paatha Iravayar suggested to him that the world would blame the parents for not finding the right match for their son. Psyched by this emotional reasoning of his father, Thiru Gnana Sambandhar reluctantly agreed. The wedding formalities were performed here at Aachalpuram and he tied the knot to Poornaambigai, the daughter of Nambandar Nambi Embar, who belonged to this place. In memory of this episode, Thiru Gnana Sambandhar is seen in a separate sannidhi along with his wife in wedding posture. 

As he took her around the sacred fire, he received the message from Lord Thyagesar, who showed him the Shiva Logam that his time had come and soon after merged with the Lord here at this place.

Name of the Place

The place is named after Ambal as ‘Achal’ Puram. ‘Achal’ Ambal had appeared here and handed the sacred ash to those that had been present for Thiru Gnana Sambandhar’s wedding. Also, in memory of this episode, she is referred to as Thiru Veneetru Umaiammai and the sacred ash is presented in her sannidhi to devotees.

There is a 5 Tier Raja Gopuram on the East with huge walls on each of the four sides. There are several inscriptions dating back a 1000 years to the Chozha period on the outer walls of the 2^nd prakara. The Lord is also referred to as Nallur Perumaan.

The temple is administered by Dharumpuram Atheenam.

Festivals

Enactment of the legendary episode of Thiru Gnana Sambandhar and his attaining Mukthi will take place on Kettai/Moolam days in Vaikasi

Navarathri is celebrated in a grand manner

The temple is open 630am-12noon and 430pm-8pm. Contact: Balaji Gurukal @ 98653 26636

How to reach

Buses ply every 15-20minutes from Kollidam. There are also direct buses from Chidambaram to Achalpuram. Auto from Kollidam will cost Rs. 100.

Kaya Rohana Swamy Nagapattinam

April 3, 2017, 5:14 am

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A temple praised by Appar, Sundarar and Thiru Gnana Sambandhar as one by the Sea Shore

Like the number of perumal temples that existed in Mamallapuram on the eastern sea shore, there is said to have existed a 108 temples dedicated to Shiva on the shores of Nagapattinam, but as with Mamallapuram, most of these were washed away by the sea over the centuries.

12 temples have survived the test of time here in Nagapattinam, the most prominent among them being the Kaaya Rohana Swamy temple. It is probably the only temple where the four major streets around the temple are named after the Ambal, Neela Devi.

Pundareeka Rishi was keen to have ‘Shiva Logam’ darshan and in his quest towards achieving this undertook penance at Kasi and Kanchipuram. He then undertook penance at Kumbakonam. From there, he was directed to Nagapattinam. 

After bathing in the sacred tank (now referred to as Pundareeka Theertham in his memory) in the West of the temple, Pundareeka Rishi installed a Lingam and invoked the blessings of the Lord by performing severe austerities. Pleased with the sincerity of the prayers, Lord Shiva appeared on Aani Ahilyam in a Somaskanda posture, hugged Pundareeka Rishi and provided him Mukthi. It was on Aani Ahilyam that Lord provided. Hence the Lord is referred to as Kaaya - Rohana (accepting the body of the devotee).There is a stone carving of Pundareega Rishi on the pillar at the entrance in memory of this legend.

Saptha ‘Vidangal’ Kshetram

This is one of the Saptha Vidangal Kshetrams. Musukuntha Chozha (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2015/12/thiruvarur-thyagaraja-temple.html) was handed 7 Lingams by Indra. He installed one of those here in Thiru Nagai. As the one here was the most beautiful, it came to be referred to as ‘Sundara Vidanga’.

The Saptha Vidangal temples include Vedaranyam, Thiru Kuvalai, Thiru Nallar, Thiru Voimur, Thiru Kaaravasal and the most prominent among them, Tiruvarur.

True Devotion to the Lord

One of the 63 Nayanmars, Athi Bhakta Nayanar attained mukthi here. To this day, when a descendent of his clan attains mukthi, he is brought to the entrance of temple and the Lord’s garland is placed on the body as a mark of respect. 

He went to the sea every day to catch fish for a living. At the end of the day, he would dedicate the best fish of the day to the Lord and would allow it back into the sea. One day he received a Golden fish as part of his kitty. Unmindful of the prized catch that would have solved his financial poverty he presented it back to the sea as his offering for the day.

Over a period of time, much to his surprise, he received just one fish a day and as was his devotion presented that single catch back to the sea. He and his family lived in hunger given the lack of catchings.

Delighted at his devotion, the Lord provided darshan, seated on the Rishabha Vahana. This episode is enacted every year on Aani Ahilyam.

Praised by three Saint Poets

The Saint Poets have praised the temple as one being by the Sea Shore and the Lord as 'Kaa-Rohanar'.

Sundarar was presented with gold and pearls here at this place in recognition of his great contribution. 

7 town Procession

A devotee in Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) was destined to live just for 16 years due to a disease from birth. Invoking the blessings of the Lord Kaaya Rohanar through sincere prayers, he was blessed to remain 16 forever. When Yama came on the appointed day to pick him up, he understood the blessings of the Lord and dropped him back at Thiru Nagai. 

In recognition of this event, the King Salisa came here with his retinue and performed Linga pooja in 7 temples around Thiru Nagai. This event is enacted every year in Aani with a 7 town temple procession. There is a stone sculpture of the King on one of the pillars in memory of this event.

Dasaratha’s connection to this temple

When Saturn struck Ayodhya, King Dasaratha was directed by his Kula Deivam, the Sun God, to install a Bala ‘Sani’ Idol at Thiru Nagai to liberate himself from the Sani Dosham. In memory of this episode, all the Navagraha idols at this temple are seen facing the Lord.

Panchaakshi Peedam

This is also one of the 5 Aakshi Peedam place of Ambal, the others being Kasi, Kanchi, Madurai and Thiruvarur. There is a separate flag post for the Ambal at this temple. When the Lord sent Nandhi to offer protection to Ambal, a saddened vehicle turned one eye in the direction of the Lord to show his devotion to the Lord. Hence, one of Nandi is seen turned towards the Lord.

There are several inscriptions dating back to the Chozha period.  

Festivals

23 day Brahmotsvam in Vaikasi

10 day festival in Aadi

The temple is open between 6am-12noon and 4pm-9pm. Contact: Shiva Kumar Gurukkal @ 99760 91450 / Raman Kanakku Pillai@ 98942 34731

How to reach
Auto from the Nagapattinam railway station will cost Rs. 50. One can also walk to the temple through the Big Bazaar street ( 15 minutes from the station).

When here also visit Thiru Nagai Soundararaja Perumal Divya Desam
http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2007/08/108-divya-desam-thiru-nagai.html

and Thiru Kannangudi Divya Desam
http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2008/06/thiru-kannangudi.html

Thiru Nagai Divya Desam Bhattars

April 6, 2017, 1:09 am

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Sriraman Bhattar of Thiru Nagai Divya Desam is a role model in service to Lord

‘Do not do anything for Publicity, Expect nothing (in return) in Kainkaryam and Make full use of the opportunity provided by the Lord to perform selfless service’

The Soundararaja Perumal temple in Thiru Nagai Divya Desam 

(http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2007/08/108-divya-desam-thiru-nagai.html) is a perfect example of the transformation, in the funding source, that took place in Perumal temples in Tamil Nadu from the 1960s/70s. Till the 1960s, all festivals at this temple, praised in the Periya Thirumozhi by Thiru Mangai Azhvaar were organized and conducted by the temple authorities/ the trustees.

Transfer of political power and a new strategy towards the running of temples led to a shift (in funding base) that today has translated into a mega set of events. 

Temple Service for almost Six Decades without a salary

Rangaraja Bhattar has been performing pooja at this Divya Desam for 56 years having started out in 1961.In those early decades, there were hardly any devotees, the only ones comprised of Kallars and the Fishermen. The temple generally wore a forlorn look during the week days. Even during the weekends, he would welcome a maximum of 50 devotees at the temple.

With the Bhattar only holding the ‘Sthaniga’ rights, he has never received a salary from the temple in these 5 ½ decades of service. For financial survival, he worked in a nearby school who were generally supportive of his services at the temple.

In the first half of the 20^th Century, there had been 200 Brahmin families around the temple and in the agraharam. There were also 30 Ganapadigals. Nagapattinam is also renowned for the Kayarohaneswarar Swamy temple (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2017/04/kaya-rohana-swamy-nagapattinam.html), ½ km North West of here.

Decades in the dark

But like in so many other Divya Desams (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2016/10/therazhundur-divya-desam.html), with the introduction of ‘Land Ceiling’ act, here too the sources of income were taken away from the Brahmins. They ‘surrendered’ their agricultural lands and made the move seeking greener pastures, elsewhere.

The temple had 35 Veli of land under its ownership, that had been written out to them to manage the temple activities,the utsavams and more importantly to take care of the service personnel. From the income arising out of this, the temple carried out all the utsavams and managed the expenses. There were 18 people performing service in the temple in the 1960s including 6 people in the Madapalli alone ( it is another matter that most of the madapallis in Divya Desams are short staffed now). Each of them was handed out a specified quantity of rice daily. 

Into the 1970s, with several Acts coming into force including the Revenue Act, the income from the land did not accrue directly to the temple. The presentation of the daily rice drastically reduced. Also, the authorities stopped funding the festivals, which then came to be conducted in a toned down way. The Yadavas and Kallars were the ones who helped in carrying the Lord during processions in line with Ramanuja’s philosophy of involving everyone from the community in the service of the Lord!!! There were very few festivals through the year. For a couple of decades, life in the temple progressed without much action. Everything was at a low key.

Service Philosophy

Rangaraja Bhattar lived on the philosophy that their duty was to perform ‘Kainkaryam’. He says with a lot of devotion that never in his life has he looked at what the devotee presents in the ‘Thattu’ as he believed it would influence his thoughts towards the devotee. Irrespective of the presentation in the Thattu, his service to every devotee remains the same, a personal code of conduct that he has practised for close to six decades. His father, Ramaswamy Bhattar, too had remained steadfast in his devotion to Soundaraja Perumal for almost 50 years till 1967.

Rangaraja Bhattar’s son Sriraman Bhattar, who will turn 40 shortly, has performed service in the temple for over 20 years says that he came into the temple expecting ‘no financial rewards in Kainkaryam’. He had completed his Agama and Vedic education from Mannargudi and had also obtained a degree in Economics. Even through those early years in academics, he would take a bus on Friday night to reach the temple to offer service to Lord Hanuman every Saturday. And ever since, he has shown unflinching commitment in his service to the Lord.  

Even in the temple context it is rare to hear this line of thinking these days ‘Money will come and go. My satisfaction comes from performing service to Lord.  One will be tempted with desirous thoughts but one’s aim cannot be to become a crorepati. It is important for the 'Shraddha' to not reduce for those performing pooja!!!’ says Sriraman Bhattar in a humble and devotional tone.

His loud and clear rendering of the archanai and the presentation of the prabhandham can often be heard at the Eastern entrance of the temple.

வம்பு அவிழும் துழாய் மாலை தோள்மேல் 

கையன ஆழியும் சங்கும் ஏந்தி 

நம்பர்நம் இல்லம் புகுந்து நின்றார் 

நாகரிகர் பெரிதும் இளையர் 

செம்பவளம் இவர் வாயின் வண்ணம் 

தேவர் இவரது உருவம் சொல்லில் 

அம்பவளத் திரிலேயும் ஒப்பர் 

அச்சோ ஒருவர் அழகியவா 

The greatest sense of satisfaction to Sriraman Bhattar comes from the fact that nothing is being done commercially at this temple.

HR & CE and the conduct of Festivals

While the Bhattars on one side continue to perform service with sincerity, the mandate from the department starting from the early 1970s became loud and clear. No more was the conduct of the utsavams, especially taking care of the expenses, the role of the department. The HR & CE found a weak target and turned the onus of the conduct of the festivals and related expenses on the Bhattars of the respective temples who then had to market the Lord with the devotees!!!

At the Soundararaja Perumal temple, this series of activities began in the 1990s with the setting up of a Sabha. Over the last two decades, it is this Sabha that has secured the funding for all festivals through the year and the overall funding source has topped Rs. 13 crores.

This model of reaching out to the devotee-donor has made its way to such an extreme extent that there is almost no financial contribution from the HR & CE, except them approving the expenses of the devotee donor!!!! It has now fully become a donor led exercise.

Thus today well ahead of all festivals, the devotional pitch is made by the Bhattars, and the donors take care of the respective expenses. 

This is a significant turnaround that has happened in all Divya Desams with the expenses shifting from the administrators to the devotees!!! Any request from the priests for funding an expense  is met with ‘Find a devotee donor’. And thus constantly Bhattars, who were traditionally to take care of the poojas are now making long distance trips to market the utsavams, the thought process being that Bhattars who are the front face to the devotees at the temples are better placed to market the utsavams than the department, whose approaches to the devotees was likely to result in a lukewarm response!!! Fanciful Utsavam Invitations with colourful photographs are the order of the day.

The HR & CE may never have imagined that one day they would be in a position to not spend a single rupee on the temple and that every single expense would be taken care of by the donors. And that the hundial income would not be spent on the utsavams!!!

At the Thiru Nagai Divya Desam, the Brahmotsavam (currently on at this temple) expenses runs up to close to a million rupees. Not even 10% of this is funded by the department which has come up with a novel ‘external’ option to managing expenses. The donor funded route had once reached such high intensity at this temple that in one of the earlier years, even the single digit percentage offer from the department was turned down by the priests. In addition, every year, there are new golden and silver ornaments and accessories added to the temple armoury, all provided for by the devotees through the efforts of the Bhattars. 

For all this, the abiding memory of the last many decades at the Thiru Nagai Divya Desam will be the devotional service provided by the ever smiling three generations of the Bhattar family.

Sri Patham Thangis Srirangam

April 13, 2017, 12:22 am

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The special art of carrying the Lord has remained largely traditional at the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam
As part of their apprenticeship, the Sri Patham Thangis used to practice on the Manal Veli for hours together in perfecting the different walking steps of Lord Namperumal

In the last 50 years, with the strengthening of the HR & CE department,  this historical selfless service assigned by Ramanuja has become a Government Job!!! 

A special and differentiating feature of the processions of Lord Namperumal at Srirangam is the way he is carried. The carriers of the Lord, referred to as Sri Patham Thangis were assigned by Ramanuja around a 1000 years ago. Ramanuja divided the Kainkaryam of carrying Lord Namperumal at Srirangam among the four Sthalathars – Uthama Nambi, Parasara Bhattar, Annangar Swamy and Rangachar with the rights to man each of the four corners resting with one of them.

In those days there were 16 of them with one Chief manning each of the four corners based on seniority. There was also an order in the way the postures were taken. Left side of the Lord was first, then the right side followed by the right side on the back and finally the left side on the back took position. And it was not a straight forward case of appointment in the centuries gone by. One had to start off as a helper to the senior members of the team.

In a year, they carry the Lord on their shoulders on well over 200days in the year.

As a mark of respect to the Lord and in recognition of the special service provided to them by Ramanuja, the Sri Patham Thangis wear the coloured turban (Ramanuja’s Kashayam coloured) on their head. This vastram on the head is a speciality at the Srirangam temple. A differentiating facet of the Sri Patham Thangis of Srirangam is that throughout the procession they carry the Lord on their shoulders. Yet another differentiating feature is the coloured turban they wear on their head while carrying the Lord through processions. Only after the Lord is finally placed dowtn at the Asthana Mandapa, do they remove the turban. 

They are also accorded a special invitation with the Saattai of the temple beating the floor to get them to march to the sanctum to carry the Lord. Only after this invitation, do they step into the sanctum to take their positions. Such is the special respects provided to the carriers of the Lord at the Srirangam temple.

The walking beauty of Namperumal and Sri Patham Thangis

Given that Lord Namperumal is renowned for his walking beauty, the Sri Patham Thangis, in the past, would practice the different walks of the Lord including Voyali, Simha Gathi and Sarpa Gathi each day in the Manal Veli on the Eastern side of the Ranganathaswamy temple.

In the early part of the century gone by, the new entrants would have to first prove their capability at the Kamalavalli Nachiyar temple in Woraiyur before being given an opportunity to carry Lord Namperumal at Srirangam.

There are 16 full time Sri Patham Thangis at the Ranganathaswamy temple, 4 for each of the four corners. All of them are now full time employees of the HR & CE department. On days that they do not have processional services, they perform Kainkaryam in smaller Sannidhis of the temple or manage the ticket counters.

82 year old Parthasarathy Iyengar performed this service for 50 years between 1950 and 2000. In the early days, he was paid a monthly salary of Rs. 27 which was then hiked to Rs. 35. Finally at the time of retirment, he received a salary of Rs. 4000 per month.

After performing only Sri Patham Kainkaryam for many years, towards the end of the 20^th century they were also provided Sannidhi Kainkaryam and each of the Sri Patham Thangis began to take care of an individual Sannidhi at the Ranganathaswamy temple.

A Selfless Service becomes a Government Job!!!       

Only in the last 100 years or so, this became a paid service (employees) from the Kainkaryam that the four groups performed previously.  Times had become difficult and there were financial constraints. The British Government took over all the powers from them says 80 year old Singaperumal Uthama Nambi, a descendent of Uthama Nambi clan and a resident of Mela Uthira Veethi in Srirangam for over 70years.

He says that when HR & CE took over control of the temple, they started appointing Sri Patham Thangis as full time employees of the temple as against the historical precedence of this being a selfless service activity carried out by the four sthalathars.

The properties of Uthama Nambi too were taken away says Singaperumal Uthama Nambi with a tinge of sadness as to how this 1000 year old art went away from a ‘selfless service’ model to a ‘Government’ appointed job in the recent decades.

Singaperumal Nambi says that in centuries gone by they used to perform this sacred service of carrying the Lord with the help of their disciples. The disciples used to get the sacred food as a return for their service and they accepted it as a great blessing to be presented each day of the procession with the prasadam that included Dosai and Dhadhiyonam. And that was a great source of satisfaction for the Sri Patham Thangis for having carried the Lord on the day.

56 year old K Srinivasan is now the leader of the Sri Patham Thangi group. He had been trained to carry the Lord from a very early age. He was fascinated by this service and hence chose this.  He applied for the Government posting in the 1980s and has been a Government staffer for the last 30 years.

Voluntary Group of 300+ to carry the Lord

Over the last 50 years, Srirangam Vethal Service, an informal group of over 300 volunteers based in and around Srirangam, have been providing selfless service of carrying the Lord, especially on long street processions, in addition to the official temple ‘Sri Patham Thangi’ appointees. It is with the support of these volunteers that the long trips of Namperumal are managed. Last week, it was pleasing to watch these volunteers gather in large numbers during the Panguni Brahmotsavam. They were seen at their best as hundreds of them took devotional turns to carry Lord Namperumal on his annual Panguni trip to Jeeya Puram on the outskirts of Tiruchirapalli. They were also present in big numbers on Saturday (April 8) evening for the Kona Voyali presentation on East Chitrai Veethi.

Devotionally, it would have been a happy scenario had Sri Patham Thangis remained a fully selfless service oriented group as was the case in the centuries gone by.  But despite the move to becoming Government staffers, the carrying of the Lord has remained traditional at Srirangam as they continue to carry the Lord on their shoulders even on long trips to Woraiyur and Jeeyapuram and during the procession on all the Uthira and Chitrai streets on the Panguni Uthiram day.  

At a time when the Lord is now carried on wheeled tyres in many Divya Desams including during Brahmotsavam and is placed on stools at regular stop-overs during processions, this special art of carrying the Lord on the shoulder with that distinctive coloured turban has remained traditional and operational without much deviation at the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam.

And that is something to cheer about.