Thevaram Patshala Chidambaram

While Vedic Patshalas have sprung up across the State in recent years, there has been a dearth of a ‘Thirumurai’ Patshalas. The shortage can be seen from the fact that currently there are only 120 Trained Othuvars who have graduated through the typical five year Gurukulam model of Thirumurai education, a number that is less than half of the 274 Paadal Petra Sthalams, temples praised by Saivite Saint Poets. Most Thevaram temples do not have an Othuvar. There is no Formal Gurukulam styled Thirumurai Patshala to train Othuvars

Historically, the Kings were keen to spread the dharmic messages of the Saint Poets and placed the Othuvars and their contribution on a high pedestal. They saw the Othuvars’ daily ritual in front of the God as being integral to the everyday proceedings in temples. Buoyed by this encouragement from the great rulers, the Othuvar service gained prominence and they grew in large numbers and performed service over several centuries across temples in Tamil Nadu.

However, as with priests, driven by low salaries and the cutting down on provisions that were once handed out in large quantities to service personnel, the Othuvars too saw a downturn in the second half of the previous century and their numbers have since dwindled quite drastically. In recent decades, most of the new generation Othuvars have graduated mostly through a three year course offered by the Music Schools as against the traditional Gurukulam model Thevaram Patshalas in the past.

15 years ago, S Manivasagan, an entrepreneur from Chennai stopped by on the road when he heard a rendition of the Thirumurai by the Othuvars. So captivated was he by their devotional recital that he immediately decided to focus his attention on the betterment of the Othuvars. He formed a specific trust ‘Aalavai Annal Trust’ with the objective of promoting the cause of the Othuvars across all the Thevaram temples, especially the remote ones.

As a first step, Manivasagam began pooling in Othuvars from across the State to participate in Kumbabhisekams. He then moved his attention on their role in historical festivals in these Thevaram Temples and very soon got them to present the sacred verses during the Lord’s procession in these ancient temples especially during the Brahmotsavam. 

With the purpose of creating the next generation of experts in Thirumurai, Manivasagan started a Thirumurai Patshala six years ago from a small rented building in Chidambaram. He roped in the renowned Muthukumaran Othuvar, who had presented the sacred verses at the Meenakshi Amman temple in Madurai for over a decade, to be a member of the Trust.  Sivakumar Othuvar, who continues to serve at the Mayuranathar temple in Mayiladuthurai, too joined him at this Thirumurai Patshala as the Acharya.  Over the last six years, the two Othuvars have gone around the state to find interested students and to get them initiated into the Thirumurai verses of the Saivite Saint Poets. 

The two experienced Othuvars have put a strong system in place at this Gurukulam style Patshala and the students are put  through a stringent daily devotional routine starting each day at 5am and ending at 930pm. As a pre requisite to admission, each of the interested students have to undergo a voice test. 

5am Music Presentation

9am Formal Thirumurai Class

3pm Learning the way of presenting the Thevaram Verses

6pm Reciting Shiva Puranam all the way to the Thillai temple

7pm Rehearsing the day’s lessons sitting at the Naalvar Sannidhi

Every Margazhi, the entire bunch of around 20 students are taken on a ten day trip to all the Padal Petra Sthalams where they recite the relevant verses sung by the Saint Poets. The first batch of five students has just graduated this week and a few of them have already found service at ancient temples.

Muthukumaran Othuvar is of the view that there are great opportunities for the upcoming Othuvars “At a peak point in the century gone by, there were multiple Othuvars present in many of the ancient Thevaram temples, such was the prominence given to the Othuvars in the past. With most of the Padal Petra Sthalams not having the presence of even a single Othuvar, there are ample opportunities for these fully trained Othuvars in the future.”

Historically, Nadaswaram, Vedas and Geetham were part of the daily ritual in temples, of which the musical Thirumurai presentation by the Othuvars was an important component. Muthukumaran Othuvar is hopeful of the HR & CE appointing Othuvars in every Padal Petra Sthalam and reviving this traditional practice.

In December, Othuvars from across the state gathered to celebrate the inauguration of 5000 sq feet own building of the biggest Thirumurai Patshala in the state, right next to the historical Ilamaiyaakinar temple in Chidambaram. This large sized own building of the trust entirely dedicated to the running of the Thirumurai Patshala will serve as a great encouragement for budding Othuvars and it is hoped that there will be more such exclusive Patshalas for Thirumurai initiation opened in the state so as to revive the Othuvar recital in Thevaram Sthalams.