Srirangam Sripatham Chakrapani

Chakrapani, the Sripatham at Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam, is delighted with the developments of the last week. He has just been assigned additional charge of the historical Kothandarama Sannidhi, where one also finds Kulasekara Azhvaar, who sung thirty verses of praise on the people of Srirangam surrendering himself to the Lord of Srirangam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/03/kulasekara-azhvaar-srirangam-ranganatha.html).

From the time, he struggled working late night shifts at manufacturing firms in Trichy two decades ago and lost his health to now spending all his time with Namperumal, it has been a transformation that he simply did not foresee. And that he says is all God's play.

Just over a dozen ago, Chakrapani, a longtime resident of West Adayavalanjan street near Veli Andal Sannidhi https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2011/08/aadi28-festival-in-srirangam.html), faced severe financial challenges. His appa Anantharaman had been a school teacher for three decades in Kambarasampettai but the family was short on finance. 

Chakrapani secured a diploma at the ITI and joined the manufacturing sector soon. But constant late night shifts in manufacturing firms in Trichy for many years was taking a toll on his body. He could not no longer do the fifteen kilometer rides on the two wheeler from Srirangam, and returning well past 1am every night of the year was proving a tedious exercise. Even as he was pondering over his future, an unexpected devotional opportunity came his way. 

The Srinivasa Perumal temple (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2013/07/srinivasa-perumal-temple-srirangam.html) South of the toweing Raja Gopuram was looking for a cook for its madapalli and Chakrapani grabbed that opportunity with both hands. He quit his manufacturing job, quickly learned the art of sacred cooking from his uncle in Bangalore who was into catering and moved into temple service. He slogged for a couple of years and made the madapalli a popular one among the devotees of the temple.

Just under a decade ago, the Ranganathaswamy temple was looking to strengthen its Sripatham team and Chakrapani applied for the post. In his younger days, he had been part of the Vethal team and performed the Sripatham service in Srirangam as well as in Thiruvallikeni and Thirupathi among other Perumal temples in Tamil Nadu including the popular Srinivasa Perumal temple in Papanayakan Palayam in Coimbatore during the Brahmotsavam. Carrying the Lord on his shoulder was something that he had always had devotional interest in and it was one of the biggest moments of his life when he received the appointment as a Sripatham at the Ranganathaswamy temple.

It is just past five am on the seventh day of the Oonjal utsavam at the Ranganathaswamy temple. The elephant carries the sacred water from the Cauvery on the Golden Pot in this Tula month. Walking alongside the elephant from the Amma Mandapam, Chakrapani told this writer as to how a devotional fervour has taken over him in recent years “I consider it a great blessing to have the opportunity to carry Namperumal on my shoulder from the sanctum. It had been a financial struggle for several years and we were living in a house with a thatched roof. I would start cooking at 3am at the madapalli at the Srinivasa Perumal temple and the devotees took to a special liking for the prasadam in that temple. I was motivated by that and slogged even harder to make them enjoy the prasadam.”

Chakrapani has been the front anchor of the Sripatham team since the time he joined. It is a role that he has thoroughly enjoyed“When I was at the factory working late nights, I never visualized that I would carry Namperumal and Ranganayaki Thayar at every procession in the year. It is easily the greatest blessing I have had in life.”

When not on processions, he is the chosen one by the HRCE to manage the crowd at the Moolavar Sannidhi between six am and noon. 

Last week, much to his surprise he was asked by the HRCE to take additional charge of the Kothandarama Sannidhi near the Chandra Pushkarani “When I was appointed as a Sripatham, I considered it a great blessing. And this one now to be given the responsibility to manage this South facing Sannidhi (providing darshan to Vibheeshana in Lanka) is beyond my wildest dreams. It is a big honour to take care of the devotees and ensure that they find peace in the Sannidhi.”

It is also the same motto with which he serves when he manages the crowd at the Moolavar Sannidhi. While most devotees these days get only a few seconds in front of the Ranganathaswamy in Sayana Kolam, Chakrapani is keen to ensure that they find their moment of happiness in those few seconds so they go back satisfied after the darshan. Not once in the last few years has he uttered a harsh word on the devotees at the Moolavar Sannidhi.

After he took charge of the Kothandaramar Sannidhi last week, a Thirumanjanam has already been performed for Moolavar deities. He is hoping to make it a more vibrant Sannidhi given that Kulasekara Azhvaar who quit his kingdom and surrendered to Lord Ranganatha is also housed there (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/03/kulasekara-azhvaar-srirangam-residents.html). 

From a very young age, Chakrapani had great faith in Ranganathaswamy and Ranganayaki Thayar and he always believed that there will be a turnaround in fortunes. While the financial scenario at home led him into working at the manufacturing plants, the devotional call came his way a decade ago. And since then there has been no looking back with him spending almost his entire time at the Ranganathaswamy temple. While he thus performed his service with unwavering devotion and commitment, his wife who manages the finances at home, he was delighted to hear from his wife that they were now completely away from debt, a scenario that they had previously been locked in for many years. His daughter is soon to complete her Engineering at the Sastra University and he believes that she will be able to find her way into the corporate world. And when that happens, it would have been a big relief for him as he had to encounter financial poverty during his childhood years.

Chakrapani dedicates this devotional turnaround entirely to the Divine Couple. He says he thanks them every single day of the year for this unexpected service opportunity that has been handed to him at the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam and hopes that God will bless him with this service till the very end for that is where he has found the greatest happiness in his life.