For the last three decades, Sankar Gurukal has been carrying forward the selfless service rendered by his forefathers at this remote temple near Mannargudi - At a Salary now of Rs. 1200!!!
Sankar Gurukal has been at the Maniambala Natha Swamy Temple, Kottur since the time he was a teenager. His forefathers had been performing archaka service at the temple for over a century. He joined the temple in the early 1990s on a daily wage scheme. In the not too distant past, this had been a vibrant temple with service personnel performing service in good number. North of this temple is Thiru Gnana Sambandar praised Kozhuntheeswarar temple. Till the first half of the 20th Century, his forefathers had been serving at the Paadal Petra Sthalam as well. And then with shortage of service personnel, the family decide to split the services between the two temples. While his grandfather’s brother performed service at the Kozhuntheeswarar temple his grandfather, Dhandapani Gurukal performed service at the Maniambala Natha Swamy temple.
A Once Vibrant temple with agraharams around
During the period of his grandfather, utsavams were integral to this town. Navarathri, Vaikasi Visakam, and Thiruvathirai were grand with devotees in the agraharam participating actively in the Vahana processions. It was a phase when the Mudaliar community managed the temple. They took good care of the priests
Mass Exodus leaves the Priest all alone
As with many other remote towns in TN, the 2nd half of the previous century saw a mass exodus of original inhabitants and this saw a deterioration in both the infrastructure of the temple as well as a big negative impact on the vibrancy in the Utsavams. Most of the Service Personnel made their way to cities seeking more lucrative opportunities. The Gurukal became the sole custodian of the temple performing pooja as well as doubling as the cook in the madapalli each day of the year. As with many other remote temples, the HRCE took away the utsava idols to the safety locker in Tiruvarur. The vahanas lay in dilapidated condition and with that the vahana processions too have become a thing of the past.
Agama lessons from appa
Sankar Gurukal, who studied till Class X in the local school, quit academics and learned the pooja karmas from his appa Jatadhara Shivachariar before joining the temple in his teens.
Appa served for decades at Rs.210, Son now serves at Rs. 1200
While his appa served at the temple for over four decades at a salary that did not top Rs. 210, Sankar Gurukal joined at Rs. 350 in the early 1990s and after three decades now gets Rs. 1200 for his solo services. For financial survival, he performs pooja in nearby village temples and participates in Kumbabhisekams.
Revival of a few Utsavams
Over the last few years he has been trying to revive the historical utsavams. The procession on Thiruvathirai has restarted while he is currently bringing back the three day Vaikasi Visakam utsavam including Thiru Kalyanam and the Pancha Moorthy procession around the four Mada streets. And so too the Theerthavari on Karthigai Rohini at Maniya Kulam.
Sankar Gurukal has had lucrative overseas opportunities coming his way including from temples in Singapore. But his appa had directed him to stay back at the temple where their forefathers had performed service. And thus unmindful of the low salary (40 per day), he continues to serve into the fourth decade at the temple. Despite the challenging scenario, he has sent his son to the agama patshala in Poonthottam and is hoping that he will continue the hereditary service at the temple.