A once vibrant Divya Desam with Prabhandham Scholars as a distinguishing feature saw a mass exodus after HR & CE captured power
Thirumangai Azhvaar's 'Radiant' Temple Town resonated with the sounds of Conch, Chants and Dance (anklets) all the time - Till half a century ago, oil for lighting the lamp inside the temple and during Street Processions was extracted from Iluva Trees but those trees too are gone now as HR & CE shifted focus to 'Donor' Funding Methodology
Vedu Pari on the eve of Panguni Uthiram is still celebrated in a grand manner
The
cluster of temples within a radius of a few kms in Nangur was praised by Thiru
Mangai Azhvaar, who was born in this ‘Aali Naadan’ region with an exclusive
decad in the Periya Thirumozhi. Collectively in each of these, except the ones
in Thiruvali, Thiru Mangai Azhvaar refers to them as being in Nangur. He found
the entire region impressive with tall groves and big mansions all around and
Seers chanting the Vedas with great expertise.
The
town resonated with the sounds of conch, chants and dance (anklets) all the
time.
பாடல் இன் ஒலி சங்கின் ஓசை
பரந்து பல் பணையால் மலிந்து
எங்கும் ஆடல் ஓசை அறா
அணி ஆலி அம்மானே
Several
centuries after his description of the state of life in Thiruvali, the town seemed
vibrant with Vedic and Prabhandham Chanting going into the 20th
Century. Till 1950, the temple used to receive 1000 bags of paddy annually from
the huge lands. This was distributed among the Kainkaryapakas who were residing
in large numbers in the agraharam.
During
the 19th century the temple was under the control of Edamanal Vijaya
Raghava Naidu. They took care of the temple and helped the proper conduct of
the festivals. In the first half of the 20th century, Keethi Pillai
of Sirkazhi too managed the temple well and everything seemed to be going on
track. During those 150 years from 1800, the temple had been in good shape with
income accruing from the lands belonging to the temple helping run the poojas
and the annual festivities in a grand manner.
Till
the 1950s and 60s, the bhattars of Thiruvali Thirunagari were well respected and patronized. They were
generally a contented lot and led a happy life performing daily aradhana for
the lord. 4-5 bags of paddy were given to the kainkaryapakas such as the bhattars
and parijarakas every month for their kainkaryam.
Lamp
Oil from Ilupa Trees
Around
the temple were found Ilupa Trees in big numbers. The leaves from these trees
were crushed and large quantities of oil were extracted that was then used to
light the lamp at the temple through the year. The oil thus extracted was also
used for theevatti during the street processions of the Lord and Azhvaar
reminding the then residents of the praise of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar as a
location full of big trees and fragrant flowers.
When
he first entered the Northern part of the Nangur region after having finished
with his praise of Trivikrama at Kaazhichirama Vinnagaram, Thiru Mangai Azhvaar
found Asoka Trees, Shenbagam and Jasmine flowers all around Thiruvali.
வந்து உனது
அடியேன் மனம்
புகுந்தாய்
புகுந்ததற்பின் வணங்கும்
என் சிந்தனைக்கு
இணையாய்
திருவே, என்
ஆர் உயிரே
அம்
தளிர் அணி
ஆர் அசோகின்
இளந் தளிர்கள்
கலந்து
அவை எங்கும்
செந்தழல் புரையும்
திருவாலி அம்மானே
He
also found the region full of Serundi and Punnai trees. Valai Fish in paddy
fields, male crabs resting on lotuses, bees humming sweet tones and the sharp
beaked cranes caught his attention in Thiruvali. As he went around the temple
town, he found lotus lakes, nectared groves, creepers and bamboo thickets.
‘புன்னையும் அன்னமும்
சூழ்
புனல் ஆலி
புகுவர்கொலோ’
‘புண்ணை மன்னும் செருந்தி வண் பொழில்
வாய் அகன் பணைகள் கலந்து
எங்கும் அன்னம் மண்ணும் வயல்
அணி ஆலி அம்மானே’
மாதவன் தன் துணையா நடந்தால்
தடம் சூழ் புறவில்
போது வண்டு ஆடு செம்மல்
புனல் ஆலி புகுவர்கொலோ
The
Vedic Seers of Thiruvali
Thiru
Mangai Azhvaar reserves the greatest praise of Thiruvali for the Vedic Seers.
Not just those he saw during his visit but the expertise of the Seers and their
manner of teaching the youngsters initiating them into the Vedas led him to the
view that generations of them had lived there and had passed on their knowledge
to the succeeding generations. They were seen learning and teaching the chants,
the sacrifices and the ritual practices.
சந்தி வேள்வி
சடங்கு
நான்மறை ஓதி
ஓதுவித்து
ஆதியாய் வரும்
அந்தணாளர் அறா
அணி ஆலி
அம்மானே
Chariot
Festival and the Wide Streets of Thiruvali
தேர் ஆரும்
நெடு வீதி
திருவாலி நகர்
ஆளும்
Chariot
festival was a feature on the annual calendar as can be seen from his reference
to the wide streets of Thiruvali that allowed the Chariot of Vayalali Manavala to run.
So
thrilled was he with what he experienced and saw at Thiruvali that he called it
the ‘RADIANT’ City.
HR & CE drives out the Kainkaryapakas
During
his early childhood in the late 1950s and early 60s, Embar Rangachari, the
Sthalathar of the Thiruvali Thirunagari Divya Desam remembers the agraharam as resonating
with sounds of Vedic and prabhandham recital through the day. The Seva Kalam at
Thiruvali was renowned in those days and a distinguishing feature. The Prabhandham
scholars stood out for their style of presentation. Till the HR & CE take
over there was Thatheyeeradhanam for visitors to the big utsavams including an exclusive
one for the sacred Vaishnavite women.
And
then the residents of Thiruvali felt the shock waves hitting them, something
that they have not been able to recover from. Around 1950, the HR & CE took
over the control of the temple, a move that spelt death knell for the
traditionalists of Thiruvali.
Just
two decades after the HR & CE takeover, basic sustenance had become
difficult. Private agricultural lands held by the Kainkaryapakas were sold away
following pressure from the Government policy. Almost the entire kainkaryapakas
went away from the agraharam leaving behind just a couple of families at
Thiruvali. A lot of them fighting for daily survival were wiped out from
vaishnavite kainkaryam and for the first time in the late 1970s, one saw the
Thiruvali traditionalists moving into the corporate world.
Since the takeover by
the HR & CE, the nearby trees were cut resulting in loss of the oil,
bemoans Embar Rangachari who spent his entire childhood and teenage years in Thirunagari in the late 50s and 60s. Like
with many other Divya Desams in Tamil Nadu, the takeover by HR & CE saw the
drying up of income at the temple.
The biggest negative swing over the last 50
years both at Thiruvali as well as at many other remote Divya Desams has been
the financial maintenance and running of poojas and festivals has shifted
completely to donors.
The mandate of the HR & CE was clear – look for
donors, get them to fund everything at the temple, while the income that was to
accrue to the temple went elsewhere. Today the temple does not get even 50 bags
of paddy annually down from the 1000 bags decades ago, though the temple continues
to own 100 acres of land.
61
year old Embar Rangachari went to school, first in Thirunagari and then in
Nangur. He was the first graduate in his family having gone to college at
Poompuhar. There was no electricity in
his early childhood. There were no bus facilities to Nangur from anywhere. He
and many other children would walk over 6kms to Nangur for their schooling.
Later many students walked or cycled to Sirkazhi for their collegiate
education. There was not enough money to
pay Rangachari’s college fees in the early 1970s and it was a financial
struggle during those years.
He
just managed to sail through and became the first graduate in his family. However years of financial struggle and the
influence of the political class on temples in Tamil Nadu led to the migration
of the original inhabitants away from Thiruvali Thirunagari as income went down dramatically in the temple.
One
brother of the Embar Sthalathar family decided to hold fort at the Agraharam.
Aali Naadan had a double MA and became a school teacher in Sirkazhi. He has
been a resident of the agraharam for over five decades without ever moving out holding on to the Sthalathar rights and performing the duties each day at the temple without fail, ensuring the presentation of the Thiruppavai Satru Murai in the morning and Nithyaanusanthaanam in the evening.
Establishment of Seva Trust ensures funding for the festivals and the celebration of the Brahmotsavam for Perumal in Panguni and the Avathara Utsavam for Thiru Mangai Azhvaar in Karthigai.
A 1990s revival through Thiru Koshtiyur
Madhavan
Soon
after the Maha Samprokshanam at the Sowmya Narayana Perumal Divya Desam in
Thiru Koshtiyur in 1992, Koshtiyur Madhavan found that a number of Divya Desams
in remote locations in Tamil Nadu were lying in dilapidated state. Four decades under the HR & CE had seen the deterioration of these ancient Divya Desam way beyond what one could have ever visualised.
It was a period when Madhavan began visiting Divya
Desams bringing along with him a group of volunteers. When he reached Thiru
Nangur, he was in a state of shock for he found cobwebs all over the temple.
The doors were infested with Karayaan. There were no lights inside, anywhere in
these temples. There was not enough oil to light the lamps. There was just a single Bhattar to take care
of multiple temples in Nangur.
In
each of these temples, he recited the decad of pasuram relating to that temple
and explained the meaning to the volunteers, as part of an educational exercise
for them.
Madhavan
felt energized after rendering these pasurams and felt inspired to bring these
temples back to life. He came back to Madras and met with Ramachandra Wodeyar
with a request. He asked for a Van to go around Divya Desams and bring back the
lost glory of many of the ancient Divya Desams. He also requested him for
ladders, tube lights, Vastrams cleaning powder, oil and related materials.
With
the group of around 15 volunteers, he came back to Thiru Nangur in the new van
and cleaned up these temples. He installed lights in all of these temples. He
organized oil to light the lamp in each of these temples. He collected
provisions and presented to these temples for daily thaligai. In each of these
temples, he presented Sahasranama Parayanam.
Repair Works at Thiruvali Thirunagari in the 90s
At
Thiruvali Thirunagari, it was Thirukoshtiyur Madhavan who supported a phased
repair work contributing over a lakh of rupees in the early 1990s that helped
the Divya Desam survive a period of downturn even in simple maintenance works.
If it had not been for his efforts in the early 1990s, the set of Divya Desams
in Thiru Nangur might have gone into oblivion by now.
While
the entire agraharam in Thirunagari was lined up with traditionalists chanting
Vedas and Prabhandham in the early 1950s, one now finds just a couple of
families hanging on to keep the daily poojas running. There are even fewer in Thiruvali with the
temple remaining in a largely uncared for state, unlike Thirunagari, the twin
temple that is now tied together as one Divya Desam (along with Thiruvali) that
has gained prominence with an agraharam, a Raja Gopuram and twin Chariots, one
each for the Perumal and Thiru Mangai Azhvaar.
Like most of the other Divya Desams in Tamil Nadu,
Thiru Nangur too has seen a dramatic revival in fortunes. The devotee wave that
is sweeping TN temples has had a positive impact on Thiruvali Thirunagari. Over
the last decade or so, the Vedu Pari Utsavam in Panguni (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2016/04/vedu-pari-thiruvali-thirunagari.html) has seen big devotee
crowds. The Garuda Sevai on the Thai Amasvasya day in Nangur has led to the
temple gaining ‘eyeballs’ among the devotees. But all these may have come a
generation too late.
It was once home to the best of vedic and
prabhandham scholars but except for a few days in a year during the three big
festive occasions, the entire agraharam and the streets around are rather
quiet. 50 years of HR & CE rule has done its damage. The NextGen are now in
colleges and into the corporate world away from the traditional Divya Desams in
Tamil Nadu. The money is back in temples but the Kainkaryapakas are not there
anymore. There is a Sign Board of a Veda
Patshala on the Mada Street but does not seem to have any inhabitants!!!
Bhattars too are seeking greener pastures
Padmanabha
Bhattar, whose father had performed aradhana for a few decades at this Divya
Desam, has been at the temple for the last 25 years but it has not been a
greatly rewarding period financially. Like many of the descendants of the large
Sthalathar family, the bhattar’s son too has joined the race for an engineering
degree. And it is likely that after spending a huge amount on the college fees
and related expenditure, he too will go the corporate way at the end of the
course.
It
might take another generation or two for the traditionalists to make a comeback
into these remote temples. Or if the
corporate lure and the large cities bind them into the modern life style, the
kainkaryapakas may have been lost to the remote temples for the foreseeable
future.
Only
time will tell.
