In a one of its kind reverse move, this young devotee from Thiruvallikeni has spent a major part of the last 2 ½ years in Thiru Kurungudi experiencing and enjoying the Utsavams and becoming involved in Kainkaryams in this remote temple town
Childhood and Teenage Life around Parthasarathy Perumal
S Sindhu did her schooling at the Hindu School in Thiruvallikeni and went on to complete her graduation in Commerce from Ethiraj College. Throughout her first twenty years, her life outside of academics was spent at the Parthasarathy temple experiencing and enjoying the round the year utsavams at this Divya Desam.
Her appa, Suresh, has been an integral part of the Prabhandham Ghosti at Thiruvallikeni for several decades. He told this writer a few years ago during the Era Pathu Utsavam that he has lived in a traditional way all through his life and that he wanted his daughter too to live the same way dedicating herself to Perumal. That evening, he also expressed his intention to get her married to a boy from a traditional location.
A wedding in Thiru Kurungudi between Wave 1 and 2
Wave 1 of the Pandemic had brought the utsavams and street processions to a grinding halt in Thiruvallikeni in 2020. Towards the end of Wave 1, her appa suggested to her about a prospective groom who was in faraway Thiru Kurungudi and within the next six months she married Sudarshan, a staffer at a Tier 1 IT firm, at the Periya Nambi Thirumaligai in that Divya Desam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/03/periya-nambi-narasimha-gopalan-acharya.html).
Delighted to move to a traditional temple town
Most in the current gen may have put their foot down on relocating to Thiru Kurungudi after having spent the first 20 years of their lives in a city like Chennai but not Sindhu. A day after visiting the Thirumalai Nambi temple atop the Mahendra Giri Parvatham on the rugged jeep, she told this writer at her traditional looking home on the North Mada street in Thiru Kurungudi as to how she had no second thoughts on moving to this temple town, from Thiruvallikeni “My entire life has centered around temple activities. I took a special liking to the sacred verses at a very young age and did not like to miss any of the Seva Kaalam sessions. While I knew I would miss Parthasarathy Perumal and the vibrant Prabhandham Ghosti of Thiruvallikeni, the prospect of being a few hundred yards away from another Divya Desam Lord was exciting and something I was looking forward to.”
She makes an interesting point about her lifestyle during the first two decades“Even though we lived in the heart of Chennai, I never watched TV and rarely ventured outside of the temple zone. We led a simple lifestyle at home much in the way one would in a traditional temple town. Our thoughts were always on Parthasarathy Perumal and utsavams. Even much of the conversations with my anna was on Prabhandham and the sacred verses.”
Devotionally Inclined
Early training by her appa led her to not engage in unnecessary gossip within the temple complex and she was always seen with folded hands in front of the Lord with her entire focus being on a devotional engagement with Perumal. Unlike most of her friends in the same age group in Thiruvallikeni, Sindhu did not foster thoughts on leading a life in large cities in India, let alone going overseas“My thoughts were always on having daily darshan of Perumal and performing Kainkaryam for him. I was particularly keen on being involved in Nandavanam Kainkaryam.”
Wave 2 and the First Phase in Thiru Kurungudi
Soon after her wedding, Wave 2 struck and it was challenging times for people all around. She recounts as to how she missed her favourite Lord from Thiruvallikeni “The first six months were challenging. I had got so used to spending all my free time with Parthasarathy Perumal that I missed him badly. So too the devotional recital of the large Prabhandham Ghosti there.”
In challenging times in life, she is always reminded of the message that her appa shared during her childhood days“Have full faith in God. Thank God for everything and accept all that comes your way as His gift. In your difficult times, trust Him to take care of you.”
She counts the Vasantha Utsavam as being one of her favourite fests in Thiru Kurungudi “Watching Nambi’s procession to the Nandavanam and him providing darshan around the ‘Solai’ has been a memorable experience. Similarly, I have begun to like the Manjal Neer Chapparam during the Brahmotsavam. Darshan at 3am on the west street on the Garuda Sevai night in Panguni has been another special moment for me.”
She has found the recital of Thiruppavai every day during the Navarathri Utsavam, Thiru Mangai Azhvaar in Pachai Pattu and Nambi in a different Thiru Kolam during the return procession of the Era Pathu utsavam as positive memories since the time she came here in early 2021.`
Araiyar Sevai and Kaisikam too have been enjoyable occasions for her at Thiru Kurungudi (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2009/12/kaisika-puranam-in-thirukurungudi.html).
Divya Desam Trips
She had always wanted to visit Divya Desams as part of her spiritual journey and to experience Lords in different temples. In the last couple of years, she has been to visit Azhvaar Tirunagari Divya Desam and had darshan of Aathi Nathan for the first time in her life (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2011/06/nam-azhvaar-garuda-utsavam-in-azhvaar.html). Since then, she has made multiple trips to Nava Tirupathi. Similarly she has also visited some of the Malai Nattu Divya Desams such as Thiruvattaru, Thiruvanparisaram and Thiru Ananthapuram and says that she found a special liking for the Lord of Thiru Vithuvakodu.
தறுதுயரம் தடாயேல் உன் சரணல்லால் சரணில்லை
விரை குழுவும் மலர்பொழில் சூழ் வித்துவக்கோட்டம்மானே
அரிசினத்தால் ஈன்றதாய் அகற்றிடினும் மற்றவள் தன்
அருள் நினைந்தேயழும் குழவி யதுவே போன்றிருந்தேனே - Kulasekara Azhvaar
Kulasekara Azhvaar compares the surrender sought by him with the Lord of Vithuvakodu to a child who despite being kept away by an angry mother as punishment for some wrong doing comes back to the mother for solace. Despite all the troubles inflicted upon him by the Lord, he says he has nowhere else to go but to surrender to him and to seek his blessings.
Kainkaryam as a way forward in life
In recent years, she has also been teaching Divya Prabhandham to students and wants that to be an integral part of her life. She is also being initiated formally into the Vaishnava Sampradayam and is undergoing Kalakshepam sessions.
She says that the Kainkaryam she had wanted to do for Perumal has been offered to her at Thiru Kurungudi “I have been involved in Pushpa Kainkaryam and Kolam Kainkaryam at this temple during the utsavams and that provides a lot of peace to the mind.”
She is delighted with the fact that she has found her husband traditional in his outlook. "He performs Sripatham Kainkaryam at all the big utsavams. He sings well and one of my wishes is for him to get back to presenting the sacred songs during the Oonjal Utsavam, which he is entitled to as a Sthaanegam.”
As has been the trend in recent decades, the new gen girls at Thiruvallikeni have all stuck to a city life and many have gone overseas after marriage. When Sindhu announced her move to Thiru Kurungudi, almost all her friends wondered as to how she could live in such a remote location having spent all her life in Chennai.
Into her graduation years, she had no inkling that she would end up in a historical Divya Desam such as Thiru Kurungudi that is still steeped in tradition and has a certain old world devotional charm about it “I was devotionally attached to Parthasarathy Perumal and now I am getting ever closer to Nambi.”
There is still a lot of the agraharam feel to the streets around the temple Having experienced the utsavams at Thiru Kurungudi and found the four sacred streets quiet and peaceful, Sindhu is keen to spend the rest of her life in this temple town celebrating and enjoying the greatness of Nambi and performing Kainkaryam to Him all through the year.