The financial plight of a long serving hereditary priest in a remote HR & CE temple
He started with a monthly salary of Rs. 15 in 1975 that has now gone up to Rs. 750 after 45 years
Hereditary priest 63 year old Manicka Sundara Gurukal has been with the several centuries old Chandra Mouleeswarar temple in Musiri for 45 years. The temple comes under the control of HR & CE. After being initiated into the agamas at the Patshala in Thiruvayaru, he joined the temple in 1975 at a salary of Rs. 15. In the coming decades, the salary increased to Rs. 25 per month and then to Rs. 50 and Rs. 100. In the decades gone by there were several service personnel at the temple. But as with many remote temples in the state under the HR & CE, the low salary proved to be a deterrent and others made their way out seeking greener pastures elsewhere and he has been serving almost alone at the temple.
The temple has 14 acres of Nanjai land but the income is not accruing into the temple resulting in the priest remaining to be grossly underpaid after several decades. Despite the abysmally low salary, he has not explored other financially lucrative options for this has been a temple historically served by his forefather and he has seen it as his duty to continue to serve Chandra Mouleeswarar and Karpoora Valli Ambal till the end of his life.
A different tale at the Trustees run Perumal Temple
Half a Kilometer South of this temple is Musukonda Chozha period Laksmi Narayana Perumal Temple (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/01/musiri-lakshmi-narayana-perumal-temple.html), one where the hereditary Trustees, the Rayar, secured an order in 1929 to run it as an 'Exempted' temple. The trustees there are paying a salary to the priest there that is several multiples to the one paid at this Saivite HR & CE run temple.
With the financial challenges at the temple, his son Parameshwaran has now taken up a job as a Sanskrit teacher in Trichy while the father continues to be at the temple everyday of the year.
Current State of the AMBAL SANNIDHI
Mid Way halt to the Restoration Exercise
In addition to the financial challenges, there are other issues he has to encounter. With a few sannidhis in dilapidated condition and a mandapam having collapsed, the temple has been undertaking restoration of these. But after the district committee cleared the restoration the state committee has put the repair works of the sannidhis and the damaged Vahana mandapam on hold half way into the exercise and the priest has had to face the wrath of the devotee donors for no fault of his. There are not many to take up his cause and find justice for the over four decades of his dedicate service at the temple.
This section had featured a story on the restoration issues that remote temples have been facing in the last few years following the direction by the Madras High Court to route all restoration cases through a six member panel. The panel has faced many issues and that has resulted in the number of restoration cases falling drastically (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/02/renovation-issues-in-tn-temples.html) in remote temples with restoration applications pending clearance for many years.
After 45 years, he is now paid a salary of Rs. 750 per month.
The temple where Chandran performed pooja to liberate himself from Dakshan’s curse is now in bad shape with restoration work in multiple sannidhis having come to a halt and questions raised by the donors.
The priest continues to perform his service in as sincere a way as possible with Thai Poosam and Shasti Utsavams being two celebratory occasions at the temple. Devotees born on Mrigaseesha star visit the temple and invoke the blessings of Ambal Karpoora Valli.
The Temple was improved upon by Vijayanagar and Nayak Kings. One finds several inscriptions inside the temple, many of which in bad condition.A stone sculpture just outside the Swami Sannidhi of a service personnel indicates the contribution of the Nayaks to this temple.
Manicka Sundara Gurukal's case is a reflection of the stark reality of long serving priests in historical remote temples. It is on behalf of such priests that Periya Nambi Narasimha Gopalan of Kulasekara Azhvaar Rajagopalaswamy temple in Mannar Koil, near Ambasamudram filed a case in 2018 for fair wages for priests in remote temples in Tamil Nadu (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/04/mannar-koil-bhattar-priest-salary-case.html). The High Court verdict is still awaited in that case.
It is hoped that one day the unflinching devotional service of Manicka Sundara Gurukal will be rewarded.
The temple is open from 7am to 12noon and 5pm to 8.30pm. Contact Gurukal @ 94435 15974.