100s of devoted Vethal Volunteers of Srirangam carry Lord Namperumal through a 5 ½ hour long trip to Jeeyapuram through Pits and Pot Holes on a narrow dark path on Friday night
This
week in Panguni sees two of the longest trips of the year for Namperumal, the
utsava deity of the Lord Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam. Last Friday
(March 23), on the second evening of the Panguni Brahmotsavam, Namperumal left
for a night long ‘Stoney’ and ‘Thorny’ 15 km trip to Jeeyapuram, West of Tiruchirapalli
and on the Southern banks of Cauvery. In under a week of this trip, he will make
another long trip this time across the Coloroon to the Ellaikarai Mandapam
North of Srirangam this Thursday (March 29). In between these two long trips,
he also makes a ‘secret’ trip to meet his beloved in Woraiyur ( the procession
started this Tuesday (March 27) morning at 3am.
The
story goes that the Lord answered the sincere prayers of an old lady in
Jeeyapuram and decided to come all the way out of Srirangam crossing the
Cauvery to provide a surprise darshan to her.
The
centuries old trip has historically been one of the most tedious for
Namperumal. And this time proved no different.
Leaves his abode in Srirangam
When
he set foot for his trip at 9pm on Friday evening, there was a buoyancy at the
temple with several hundreds of devotees waiting at the Ranga Vilas Mandapam to
accord him a warm send off for a day away from the temple. And as he made his
way around the South and West Chitrai Streets, it looked that the devotees were
delighted to be part of this long night for the Lord as they lined up both
sides of this traditional street in large numbers and walked along with the
Lord who was flanked in the front by the Divya Prabhandham Ghosti and in the
back by the Veda Parayanam Ghosti.
At
the Northern exit point of Srirangam, the Divya Prabhandham Ghosti presented
the Satru Murai verses to bid good bye to the Lord for the rest of his trip.
Welcoming the Lord on
Melur Road
There
has been a big development in recent times on the previously deserted Melur
Road on the Western side of Srirangam with big modern residential complexes lining
up the road with the centuries old Thathachariar Garden being one of the few remaining
groves on the Southern side of the road providing the much needed greenery to
this temple town. Hundreds of families have moved into these new complexes and
they welcomed the Lord along this stretch.
While the 16 HR & CE
appointed Sri Patham Thangis carry out the service inside the temple, it is the
100s of Vethal Volunteers who carry the Lord on their shoulders on long
processions and on occasions like Voiyali.
But
as the Lord left Melur close to mid night, the energy began to sap. A few kms
West of Melur, the tar road gave way to a path that was filled with sharp
stones. There were no lights on the narrow route. For over two hours, there
were no devotees leaving one to admire the selfless service of the Vethal Sri
Patham Thangis in carrying the Lord on dark streets, stoney and muddy path that
was full of pot holes, with space just enough for the Lord to be carried.
Past
mid night, the Lord crossed Butterfly Park on the Western Outskirts of Melur. By
1am, the Sri Patham Thangis already had bruised feet and many sat down to
remove the thorns that had penetrated on to their feet.
100s
take turns to carry the Lord on the Dark Road
Every
15 minutes, the Vethal Volunteers took turn to carry the Lord. A number of
temple staffers and the priests/ Kainkaryapakas took the easy option of making
it directly via the Coimbatore National Highway to the banks of the Cauvery at
Jeeyapuram leaving the Vethal Volunteers to their own to wade through the
holes, stones and sliding pits that were a continuous feature all through a
long stretch of the narrow pathway after Oosikan Palam. A couple of Theevattis
was the only source of light.
.
No
Devotees in sight for over two hours
A
van with a power generator led the Lord in the front but unfortunately through
the entire trip the lights hit directly into the eyes of the volunteers and
proved more of a distraction than a help to the Sri Patham Thangis. Repeated
requests to turn down the focus light went unheard causing additional stress on
the volunteers.
Srinivasan, the Sri Patham Thangis Head has been on this trip for three decades and as he walked along, he
narrated the tale from his younger days in the 1980s and 90s ‘In the decades
gone by, the Lord used to go further North West of Melur, cross the Coloroon,
visit Kiliyanallur and Karugamanickam villages before coming back into the
Melur road. I myself have carried the Lord across the Coloroon to these two villages till the mid 1990s.”
“But the big advantage
in those earlier decades was that Lord Namperumal would cross the Cauvery West of Melur near the Vrikshi Mandapam making it a lot easier for the Sri Patham Thangis. From the end of Melur, the Lord waded through the Cauvery to reach Jeeyapuram. However, the construction of a number of burial grounds alongside the Cauvery
has made it unviable for the Lord to use the historical pathway through the Cauvery. It is easier to carry the Lord through the sand of the Cauvery as it provides for a better grip. This current route through sharp stones and very narrow path makes it a very difficult journey and it is commendable of the Sri Patham Volunteers to
carry the Lord non-stop for over five hours despite the deep strain caused to them, physically.”
Finally
after five hours, the Lord reached the Northern banks of Cauvery at 2am. There
were about a 100 devotees waiting there at the Cauvery waiting to have a
darshan of the Lord. The Lord made his way through the thigh deep water in the
Cauvery to reach the Southern banks.
The
clock had ticked to 2.30 am when the Lord reached the Asthana Mandapam in
Jeeyapuram to halt for the night. The first phase of this long trip had been
done but there were no official arrangement from the temple for these
volunteers and all of them had to find their own accommodation for the night.
Curd Rice and Keerai
for the Lord – Reminiscing a historical episode
Three
hours later, at 5.30am on Saturday (March 24) the Veda Parayana Ghosti
presented Vedic Recital following which the Lord was presented with a special Thaligai
comprising of mangoes, keerai and curd rice.
True
Devotion brings the Lord to you
A
grandmother hailing from Jeeyapuram doted on her shepherd grandson. She was a
staunch devotee of Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam though she had not seen him
being in this far away Jeeyapuram. Invoking the blessings of Lord Rangantha, every
day she would send curd rice and keerai to her grandson for lunch. The story
goes that Lord Ranganatha was so moved by the sincere devotion of this old lady
and her care for her grandson that He decided to provide darshan to her by
coming over here. Disguised as the grandson, he reached Ammayar Pandhal in the
afternoon. As usual the grandmother made her way to hand over the lunch to her
grandson. A pleased Lord had a filling lunch and thanked the grandmother. In
the evening when the grandson returned home, he enquired as to why she had not
brought food that day and if all was well with her. When she told her grandson
that she had indeed come that afternoon and that he had enjoyed the food as
always, the boy denied it.
It
was then that the Lord of Srirangam appeared before her and applauded her for
the curd rice and Keerai that he had taken earlier in the day and provided
darshan to the delighted grandmother.
It
is in memory of this episode that Lord Namperumal makes this annual trip to
Jeeyapuram to reach here on the third morning of the Brahmotsavam in
Panguni.
Balasubramaniam and
Balachandran have been residents of the Agraharam in Jeeyapuram for several
decades having been born and brought up here.
They have seen the Srirangam
Lord’s trip from close quarters over the decades “There were periods when
Cauvery was to the brim and the Lord would wade through high waters to reach the Southern
Banks. It was a great sight to watch the Lord cross the Cauvery in the decades
gone by. To this day, curd rice and keerai is presented to the Lord on the
morning of his trip here.”
Govindarajan and his
family have been residents of the agraharam at Jeeyapuram for the last five
decades. It is one of the very few houses in the agraharam to retain the
ancient traditional look ‘We decided long ago not to modernize the house as
this house reminds us of the old world charm and the times we lived in.’
The
entire place wore a festive look through the day with temporary shops lining up
entire Jeeyapuram. Children from all the neighbouring villages were seen in
large numbers. The stalls made brisk business selling balloons and toys for the
kids to play with.
By
5.30pm, thousands of devotees had positioned themselves atop the big mound
overlooking the Cauvery to have a darshan of Namperumal for one final time on
this annual trip. Sharp at 6pm, Namperumal began his long trip back to
Srirangam through the same narrow stone filled path.
A
Scorpion Bite!!!
The
10 hour procession (5 ½ hours to Jeeyapuram the previous night and the 4 ½
hours around Jeeyapuram on Saturday morning) had taken a big toll on the Vethal
Volunteers, Many were seen with bruised shoulders and bleeding feet. And to top
it, one of the Sri Patham Thangis was bitten on the night by a scorpion from inside the bushes just past the Butter Fly Park
near Melur.
As
the Lord crossed Melur after a few Mandagapadis, the Sri Patham Thangis were in
no mood for anymore stopovers and thus the residents in the residential
complexes on the Melur Road were given a go by with the Lord rushing back at a
fast pace to the Melur Road Junction in Srirangam, where a huge crowd had
gathered to welcome the Lord back to their abode.
Joined
by the Prabhandham Ghosti at the North Chitrai Street, the Lord made his way
back to the Sanctum just before mid night on Saturday bringing to end a long
and tiring trip.
Sri
Patham Thangis’ Commendable effort on two successive nights
The
role of the Vethal Volunteers had to be commended, for without battling an
eyelid and keeping their devotional commitment through the 30kms trip, they
carried the Lord on difficult unlit roads unmindful of the physical injury.
Just
before mid night on Saturday, the Sri Patham Thangis were offered a sumptuous
dinner at the Natha Muni Sannidhi. Their shoulders were seen with blood clots
and their feet bruised. But to them, many who had come from Madras, the service
to the Lord was foremost and they were back the next morning for the 4th
day procession along the Chitrai Streets.
A 11 hour trip to
Jeeyapuram and back offers a great devotional opportunity to the residents of
Srirangam to be exclusively alongside the Lord and to experience the joy of
long trips of the Lord. But no devotee from Srirangam stayed through the trip
with the Lord with all of them taking the easier option of receiving him in
Jeeyapuram on Saturday morning and at Srirangam on Saturday night. That way
they will appreciate better the efforts and devotional commitment of the Sri Patham
Thangis.
5 comments:
Thank you for another enlightening article, very touching indeed. Respects to the volunteers. HR and CE's corruption is intolerable.
thank you very much for posting this. Hope the authorities will make the festival more comfortable for the Lord and his servants.
In your narration there is no mention of the shaving ceremony and the boy who was waylaid by the Kaveri. Please clarify.
thank you very much for giving a detailed description of this festival.
There is a shaving ceremony of the Lord in Jeeyapuram. Have you heard about this also?
Excellent presentation..To me I m hearing this festival 1st time. It was ..no words to explain!...Though I was resident of Ariyalur &studied in trichy I couldn't or I forgot I don't know..Thank you very much a lot!for this message and presentation..
Beautifully written.
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