A devotee couple from North Chitra Street present a Rs. 60 Lakhs Diamond Studded Kili Haaram on the occasion of Panguni Uthiram
Bhama Ranganathan is 74 years old. She grew up in West Adayavalanjan, very near the Thayar Sannidhi and was a lecturer at Seethalakshmi College, Trichy. Both her Grand Fathers dedicated themselves to Lord Ranganatha and were to spend their lives in Srirangam till their last breath. They were always keen on kainkaryam at the feet of Namperumal. It had been her long time wish to present something to Namperumal and finally an opportunity presented itself.
In conversation with hereditary priest Harish Bhattar, also a resident of North Chitra street where Bhama and her husband have been residing since his retirement, she found that there was no Kili Haaram for Namperumal and took that opportunity as a great blessing
Over the last year, she worked closely with Harish Bhattar and a jeweler in Bombay to craft this beautiful necklace that Namperumal adorned at the Serthi Sevai on this Panguni Uthiram day on Monday here in Srirangam.
Shortly after the Serthi Sevai, she told this writer that it was a great feeling to be blessed with such an opportunity to present the necklace on this sacred occasion “We readily agreed when Harish Bhattar told us that Kili Maalai would be a good addition to the collection. We identified a high quality jeweler in Bombay who would get us the best quality stones and who was experienced in this field. He came to Srirangam to have darshan of Namperumal and was excited at this opportunity to craft the necklace. Harish Bhattar was involved in every step from designing the necklace to selecting the stones.”
There are thirty parrots in the necklace in line with Andal’s 30 verses from the Thiruppavai.
It was a time consuming process and took a year but Bhama is delighted to Namperumal adoring this necklace on the sacred occasion of Panguni Uthiram with several thousands thronging the temple through the afternoon for a darshan of Namperumal and Ranganayaki Thayar at the Serthi Mandapam.
Bhama’s husband Ranganathan, an electrical engineer worked in Dubai for four decades and he told this writer that his wife was always in thoughts of Lord Ranganatha and for long had been keen to present an ornament for the Lord. He too expressed happiness at the end to end involvement of Harish Bhattar in this devotional engagement.
Harish Bhattar who draped Namperumal with this beautiful necklace told this writer that the stones comprised of high quality and pure diamonds, emeralds, blue sapphire and ruby. He says he was particularly keen for it to be pure and original and hence he and the jeweler took time to find the right stones for Namperumal.
In a beautifully crafted letter to EO Mariappan, Bhama requested for the temple to use this necklace on appropriate occasions through the year.
On Monday afternoon, following the debate between the Araiyars on Namperumal's side and Pandari on Thayar's, Namperumal made his way to the Panguni Uthiram mandapam followed shortly by Ranganayaki Thayar.
When the screen opened for the first time just after 1.30 pm for the first glimpse of the divine couple, devotees were thrilled to find the star studded Kili Maalai across Namperumal’s chest. Many stood there spell bound watching the glittering jewel on Namperumal.
The Diamond Studded Necklace costed over Rs. 60lakhs.