The 22year old is committing to a lifetime of Kainkaryam to Kapaleeswarar
Amidst the city buzz, he has managed to keep his thoughts solely on the Divine Couple of Mylapore
Has been travelling to remote Paadal Petra Sthalams to perform cleaning services as directed by Appar
In the last two years, this section had featured stories on two die hard devotees of Kapaleeswarar. Mylaporean from childhood S Harini Yogalakshmi, came all the way from Salem with her husband to have darshan of Adikaara Nandi procession (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/04/kapali-panguni-utsavam.html) while S Aparna stayed through the night in March this year to have darshan of the Rishabha Vahana procession (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/03/kapali-devotee-aparna-panguni-utsavam.html). This story is of a 22 year Vedic Student who is keen on dedicating his entire life to Kapaleeswarar and Karpagambal.
Arunachalam, son of Ramakrishnan Ganapadigal of Mylapore, is no ordinary kid. He belongs to the 9th generation of Vedic Scholars who hailed from Kadavasal, a small village near Mayiladuthurai. At the turn of the century, the time he was born, a generation of Vedic Scholors had seen financially challenging times. The phase from the 1970s had sounded death knell for Vedic Pandits and a lot from the next gen moved into the corporate world. In addition to the financial challenges, the societal challenges of having a Shikai, seen in a Veshti all the time, not wearing a shirt on most occasions led them to take to a degree in academics and moving into the corporate world. He recalls the childhood stories his appa had narrated to him"Veda Parayanam had taken a back seat in the 80s and it had been a financial struggle for appa. There were days when there was no proper food to consume but he did not let go of the Vedic Recital despite the monetary challenges. And that has always been an inspiration for me."
But Arunachalam grew up at the feet of Kapaleeswarar and he has had no inkling for the modern way of life. “I have found contentment in being at temples all the time. I see myself as being in Kapaleeswrar’s shadow. By not ‘being outside’, I do not feel that I am missing something in life.”
He was keen to quit academics when he was around 10 but Bala Periyava and Krishnapremi Anna were insistent on him continuing the school education for a few more years and thus he continued till class X at Sivaswami Kalalaya.
To soon Graduate as a Ganapadigal
For the last seven years, he has been learning the Krishna Yajur Veda and is currently in the final phase of completion being initiated by his appa. While those who grew up around him in Mylapore have completed their collegiate education and moved into corporate life, Arunachalam sports a prominent Shikai. He says he performs the Trikaala Sandhyavandhanam every day and rarely misses the Artha Jaama Pooja at the Kapaleeswarar temple where he performs Kainkaryam.
Watching the fast paced life around him has not lured him into the modern world of financial desires “My thoughts have centered on Kapaleeswarar and I want to perform a lifetime of service to him. Another temple of interest to me is the Varadaraja Perumal temple in Kanchipuram where too I want to present parayanam.”
In recent years, his association with temples has taken another positive turn. Just like Thirunavukkarasar (Appar) - https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/12/thiru-vathigai-veerateswarar.html, Arunachalam has been performing cleaning services in remote Paadal Petra Sthalams led by Pasupathi, a CA.
Alankaram for Velleesawarar
Right from a young age, decorating the Lord has been of interest to him. This year both at the Aadi Pooram utsavam as well as the Vasantha Utsavam, he was involved in alankaram kainkaryam at the Velleeswarar temple in Mylapore.
He also has a lofty traditional wish “In my lifetime, I want to teach and help students graduate as the best in Krishna Yajur Veda.”