He refused a
Lucrative Offer in the 1990s from a temple in London and has continued to be
dedicated to the Lord of Malaikottai from a small house at the foot of the rock
temple
Othuvars have been in the limelight in the
recent past with a High Court order by the Madurai Bench directing the HR
& CE to pay them a fair remuneration for their services.
Muthu
Kandaswamy Desikar, who turned 81 recently, is the oldest Othuvar
in action in the Saivite Saint Poets praised Thevaram Sthalams and has been
part of the Kasi Mutt of Thirupananthal for six decades presenting the verses
at Thayumanavar temple but despite all his years of experience, he is paid only
Rs. 2400 per month up from Rs. 70 when he started off way back in the 1960s.
For his age,
he has remarkable memory of the Thevaram verses as he rolls out one after
another from each of the four prominent Saivite Saint Poets. His vast
experience of almost 6 decades has equipped him with the power to pull out the
meanings from 5000 verses and to give detailed explanations. "These verses
even contain information on what to look for in a girl, how to conduct
marriages and the art of living a good dharmic life".
Formative Years
Muthu Kandaswamy Desikar belonged to Thiru
Kodikkaval (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2013/11/thiru-kotteeswarar-temple-thiru.html), a remote location near Mayiladuthurai
that is home to one of the few temples dedicated to Yama and Chitragupta. He
had his primary schooling there before moving on to Sirkazhi for higher
secondary education.
1950s –
Thevaram Initiation - A Legend in the making
Later, he
was initiated into the sacred Thevaram verses for over 5 years at the
Dharumapuram Aatheenam in Thirupananthal. His Acharya was the brilliant R
Velayutha Othuvar who also trained well over 300 other Othuvars in Tamil
Nadu. The revered scholar used to identify talented students very
early into his training. He saw the light in Muthu Kandha Desikar and
identified him as one with the potential to be a legend in this service. When
Muthu Kandha Desikar was in the very first year of his Thevaram initiation, his
Guru brought him into the 5th year class and made him sing
along with them. It was a privilege none others had received in his lifetime,
such was the potential that the acharya saw in this young student.
Muthu Kandha Desikar came out of school in 1958 after 5 years of
Thevaram initiation and went to the Kasi Mutt in Thirupananthal. He became a
Kattalai Othuvar there. He presented service at the Thiruvannamalai temple and
a few others in the initial period but even as a teenager Thayumanavar found a
place in his heart and he seemed to have a permanent connect with the Lord of
Malaikottai.
Dedication to the Lord of Malaikottai
One day he
went up to the authorities at Kasi Mutt asking for him to be stationed
permanently at Thayumanavar temple in Malaikottai, Tiruchirapalli. Earlier, the
HR & CE had wanted him to join the Thayumanavar temple as an employee
but Kasi Mutt did not approve him becoming a staffer there. Later he joined the
same temple under the condition that he would not be exclusively bound to them.
For over five decades, he has presented the Thevaram verses at the Siva Siva Ul
Mandapam in Thayumanavar Sannidhi for an hour each day.
HR and CE invited Muthu Kandaswamy Desikar as a full time staffer
at many temples including Madurai Meenkashi Amman Temple and Palani
Dhandayudhapani temple but he refused all these offers sticking to his
presentation at the Thayumanavar temple.
A Voice that
was heard till Kollidam!!!
In the
1960s, his voice over the speaker system was heard on the banks of Coloroon,
such was the clarity in the voice of his devotional rendering and modulation of
the verses. Even after the current infrastructure development in the
Srirangam- Tirichirapalli region, his voice is heard till the banks of the
Cauvery. Over these decades, he identified and developed several Ragams for the
Thevaram verses.
An
irresistible Offer in UK Pounds!!
When he once
presented these verses in a highly devotional tone in London, so impressed were
the authorities in the temple that he was offered an extremely lucrative
‘deal’, one very few would have refused. Muthu Kandaswamy Desikar distinctly
remembers that day in history “It was so high that I could have built four
houses in Malai Kottai. But I was committed to presenting before Thayumanavar
and hence let go of the financially remunerative move.”
Students who learnt from him in London went on to release CD and
Thevaram albums. They were so grateful for his initiation that they funded a
entire trip of his to London on another occasion.
Lankans – The
most devoted people
He has gone
to Ceylon 49 times to present in two Padal Petra Sthalams there. During
Vaikasi, he presents the sacred verses at Thiru Conamalai (Ravana performed
pooja for this Lord), a temple that Thiru Gnana Sambandhar sang praise of from
the shores of Rameswaram. On the Maha Sivarathri night, he presents Thirumurai
at Thiru Ketheescharam, a temple where Raja Raja Chozhan contributed in rich
measure.
In the decades of his visits to Sri Lanka, he found the devotion
among the people there to be the best. He says that the people of Lanka have
inherited the bhakti of Ravana, a great devotee of Lord Shiva “Each time I present before the Lord, I
found that tears rolled down like a river from the eyes of the devotees – both
men and women – there. That indicated the intensity of their
Bhakti. I have not seen such bhakti anywhere else including in Tamil
Nadu, the UK, Singapore and Malaysia.”
Yaazh was
such a popular devotional musical instrument and finds place in several verses
of the Saint Poets. It was also Ravana’s favourite instrument. Hence, the place
was referred to as Yaazh Paanam.
Differentiated Presentation
Innovation
in his presentation has been a key differentiator. He gave special effects to
the Thevaram verses to arouse the bhakti in devotees and those who heard him
once wanted to come back again and listen to his devotional rendering. Such was
the devotional style of his presentation. His imaginative mind, his ability to
create and change Thaalam and Ragam kept the devotees engrossed in temples
during his recitals.
Muthu Kandha Desikar has received 40 prestigious awards for his devotional rendering over these 6 decades including the Kalaimamani award and the TTK Memorial Award for outstanding service in temples.
The Next
Generation – His Hopes on Somasundaram Othuvar
In the last
few decades, he also passed on this art to students but as is the current trend
many could not withstand the rigorous process and guidelines and pulled out mid
way. Thevaram verses are quite difficult and presentation by the Othuvars
requires years of effort as they have to understand the meanings and present in
musical form.
Typically,
at a Patshala, the students are initiated into 200 verses that would come into
use in their every day presentation. It is then left to the students to expand
their horizon and learn the entire set of the sacred verses of the Saint Poets.
The best of
his disciples is the 29 year old Somasundaram in whom he has a lot of
confidence to take this service into the next generation of Othuvars.
Somasundaram completed a 5 year diploma course in Thevaram Isai Kalaimani from
Annamalai University. Since then he has been performing at Kandha Kottam,
Abirami Koil (Dindigul) and Thiruvasi (Trichy). He also continues to perform
the hereditary service at the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, him being the
21st descendant.
Somasundaram has applied for the Othuvar posting at Thayumanavar
Sannidhi and has gone through the interview process. He is hoping that with the
background and the proven track record of his grandfather having performed for
six decades at the sannidhi, he would get the order soon.
Othuvars - The
Diminishing Numbers
Once upon a
time there were Othuvars in all the temples in Tamil Nadu. During the reign of
Raja Raja Chozhan, Othuvars sang in big numbers in the Big Temple at
Thanjavur. In centuries gone by, there used to be Othuvars Ghosti on
Swami’s street processions but all that too has become a thing of the past
given the shrinking numbers of the Othuvars. Othuvars have reduced dramatically
in the last few decades and they are just in a few hundreds across the state.
Salary is inadequate to run and take care of a family and many have sought
other avenues, given the financial constraints.
Muthu
Kandaswamy Desikar Othuvar himself started off with Rs. 70 month. Over the six
decade period, this has gone up to just Rs. 2400. Typical of him, he is not too
concerned and shrugs off the financial issues saying ‘No amount of money can
equate the happiness of presenting the Thevaram verses before the Lord. The
inside character of a person is the true reflection of a devotional personality
and not the external colour. Thirumurai contains everything for our real way of
life and we should follow that."
He continues
to live a simple life from a small house on the South Mada street at the foot
of Malaikottai and continues to present the sacred verses of the Saint Poets at
the Thayumanavar temple. Truly Contended with what God has given him. It
is unlikely one will find another Othuvar like him again!!!
2 comments:
Thank you for the details of Othuvar Muthu Kandaswamy Desikar.
His sacrifice and passion towards Thirumurai is incomparable.
Salute Othuvar Aiya for his courage to continue this profession and way of life despite the low wages and moderate lifestyle.
We should do our part and provide some contributions to Othuvars when we see them at temples. Without their sacrifices over generations, we would not have the opportunity to hear the blissful Thirumurai today, which are over 1500 years old.
Sivasiva.
ஐயா நீங்கள் பழைய முறையில் திருமுறை பாடுவதை வரும் தலை முறையில் உள்ளவர்களும் அறிய வேண்டும் ஆகையால் அவற்றை ரீகார்டு செய்து வைக்கவும் காஞ்சிபுரம் நைனா பிள்ளை அவர்கள் சிறப்பாக திருப்புகழ் பாடுவாராம் ஆனால் ரீகார்ட் செய்யவில்லை அவருடன்
அது மறைந்து விட்டது நீங்கள் கூறுவது போல் சைவ நெறி இலங்கையில் சிறப்பாக தழைத்திருக்கிறது.
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