Srirangam Temple Popular shops shut down

The shops around the Ranga Vilas Mandapam that had become popular among devotees over the last 50 years have been shut down paving the way for better darshan for devotees. This follows a court order after the fire accident at the Meenakshi Amman temple a few years ago. 

JC Mariappan, who took over a year ago, has been strict in taking action on many aspects at the Ranganathaswamy temple and this is one such where he has gone ahead and implemented the order when many efforts in the past had failed.

Over the last decade or so, efforts had been made to vacate the shops that numbered over 30 but as has been the case in most temple locations, the shops managed to get a stay. But this time, under the supervision of the JC, all the shops that had been selling toys, devotional items and kitchen utilities have been sealed. It had become a practice among the outstation devotees to buy something from these shops after they have had their darshan and while making their way back from the temple.

Located at the entrance of the Ranga Ranga Gopuram, these were too tempting for the devotees and the shops have been doing good business over the last few decades. These shops had come at a time when there was not much income at the temple and the rental income from these shops served as a boost to the temple at that time, several decades ago. 

But after these shops came up in good numbers, the visibility to Thirupaan Azhvaar and Vittal Krishnan Sannidhis had reduced. Similarly, the shops selling kitchen utilities either side of the Natha Muni Sannidhi blocked the visibility to that Sannidhi located on the western side of the Ranga Ranga Gopuram.

With the sealing off of these shops, the Natha Muni Sannidhi has received a facelift and devotees have begun visiting the Sannidhi that had not been the case previously.

Former CFO of Wheels India S Srivathsan 

(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/06/srivathsan-cricket-to-tvs-cfo.html) has been a regular at the Ranganathaswamy temple over the last few years with his now 95 year old amma residing all alone on North Adayavalanjan street. 

He told this writer that though he is upset that the shops have been sealed and the shop owners will face financial hardship, he has suddenly begun having darshan at the Natha Muni Sannidhi in the last few days “I did not even know the presence of the Sannidhi in the past as the shops blocked the view but with all the shops sealed on either side of the Sannidhi, it has now received a facelift and more devotees are now likely to visit the Sannidhi.”

The physical structure of the shops next to the Ranga Vilas Mandapam will have to be removed for Thirupaan Azhvaar and Vittal Krishnan Sannidhis to receive the visibility. It is likely that action will take place once the shop owners take back all the items from their shops. This is also likely to make it easy for the Sripatham personnel to make their way through this stretch to the Ranga Ranga mandapam. 

If it happens soon enough, more devotees may visit the Vittal Krishnan on the occasion of Sri Jayanthi next week. 

The shops in the stretch leading to Chakkarathazhvaar Sannidhi that sold Thiruman and photo frames, among other items too have been sealed off.

A couple of weeks ago, the JC had made an attempt to similarly seal off shops in front of the Ranganayaki Thayar Sannidhi and near the Jeer Mutt but with the shops asking for more time, he put off the decision to seal off but it is likely that in the near future those shops too would be sealed off.

It's unlikely that devotees, especially outstation ones, who visited the temple would not have bought something from these shops sometime in their life over the last few decades, such was the experience that these shops provided. 

These shops played a part in the devotees' temple experience for many decades and made good business but it's now time to bid goodbye to that 'shopping experience' inside the Srirangam temple.