Thiruvallikeni Narasimha Brahmotsavam 2024 Cattle Menace

On Tuesday (June 25) evening, on the 9th day of the Narasimha Brahmotsavam at Thiruvallikeni Divya Desam, even as the large contingent of Prabhandham members were presenting the 9th canto of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar’s Periya Thirumozhi on the Car Street near the Chariot, a cow rushed from behind breaking through the Prabhandham Ghoshti. With the front row of the Ghoshti being led by very senior Adyapakas including Octogenarians and Nonagenarians, Venkatakrishnan, one of the Prabhandham members and son of the revered Kaval Kazhani Ananthacharya (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/07/thiruvallikeni-prabhandham-ghosti.html), tried to stop the rampaging cow from knocking down one of the senior Adyapakas. While he did manage to do protect his team members, he himself was injured in the process leaving the leader MA Venkatakrishnan (MAV) furious.

Even some of the usually cooler members expressed anger and displeasure in the way the cows were roaming about freely during the procession leaving the Prabhandham members at risk. In the past, MAV (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/05/ma-venkatakrishnan-thiruvallikeni-divya_16.html) too had suffered injuries after a cow attack during the procession. He has always been vocal at protecting the rights of the Prabhandham members and this time he decided to take it up with the authorities then and there.

While Narasimhar had arrived right behind them, MAV directed the Ghoshti members to stay put so he could raise the issue with the authorities. Ameena Ramanuja had been blissfully unaware of this incident and he came towards the Ghoshti asking them to move forward only to be told in no uncertain terms by MAV about the risks that the cows were posing to the Prabhandham members during every street procession and how his team member had been injured just a few minutes earlier. It was only after Ameena Ramanujam heard him out in full did the Ghoshti move forward again (As beautifully captured by MA Parthasarathy, the photo above shows Ameena Ramanujam, the man entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring a safe and timely procession, walking alongside the cows!!!).

This has been a long pending issue in Thiruvallikeni and has remained unresolved for a long time. For the senior adyapakas continuing to be part of the Ghoshti showing great commitment, this free roaming of cows during the street processions is a serious threat. They do not anymore have the reflexes to move away quickly when a cow attacks as they may have done a few decades ago. 

Interestingly, youngsters too have been at risk and been caught unawares. In April this year, during the Parthasarathy Brahmotsavam, S Aparna, a young devotee of Kapaleeswarar temple, who had made her way from Mylapore to experience the Brahmotsavam for the first time, was in for a rude shock when a cow suddenly attacked her in front of the Gangai Kondan Mandapam with the horn locking into her dress (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/03/kapali-devotee-aparna-panguni-utsavam.html). It served as yet another reminder of the threat that the roaming cows pose.

In February 2021, the leader of the Sripatham team (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/07/thiruvallikeni-sripatham-thangis.html), campaigned door to door in Thiruvallikeni for the DMK in the assembly elections. The Sripatham head told this writer that month that one of the campaign promises was to keep the cows away during the procession "If my campaign succeeds and if the DMK do come to power, I would personally talk to the DMK leaders and get this done", he told this writer in Feb'21. It is now 3 ½ years but the scenario has just not changed with the cows posing a threat even to his own Sripatham team members during the processions.

In the past, there have been Government officials who have visited Thiruvallikeni to take stock of the situation but nothing has changed over the last decade. Every now and then, a truck makes it way through the four streets to take away the straying cows but in no time, these cows are back on the streets.

This writer brought the incident of Tuesday evening to the attention of HR & CE Minister PK Sekar Babu informing him that there were elderly members in the Prabhandham Ghoshti and the cattle menace during the processions posed a constant threat to their lives and that only a preventive action from a member helped serious injuries to adyapakas during that procession. 

The minister’s reaction is comforting for the moment and it is hoped that he will initiate action with strict instructions to the owners to not allow the cows on to the streets during the procession.

This section will track the developments on this front. Kudos to KV Venkatakrishnan for boldly holding on to the cow to prevent it from attacking the senior adyapakas from behind. He displayed devotion and respect of the highest kind on Tuesday evening.