Thenthiruperai Ananthu Bhattar

In Silent Service of Makara Nedung Kuzhai Kaathan

He joined the Nava Tirupathi Divya Desam in Puratasi 1999 at a monthly salary of Rs. 200. 22 years later, he gets Rs. 950 with his salary having remained static at this level for 16years

As known to the regulars at the Nava Tirupathi temples, Ananthu Bhattar has not raised the issue of his financial challenges with the HR & CE, TVS’ Chairman Venu Srinivasan or with any devotee in the last two decades

Hailing from the Tiruvoimozhi Pillai clan, 47 year old Thiru Venkatam (Ananthu) Bhattar is acknowledged widely across the Nava Tirupathi Divya Desam as the most sincere and devotionally committed priest in that region. After 22 years of archaka service at this renowned Divya Desam, he still has not got an official posting with the HR &CE and his life as an archaka has been hanging in the balance for over two decades. Many service personnel have come after him in Nava Tirupathi at a much higher remuneration but this priest has remained a 'Silent Archaka' focusing on performing his duty and leaving the rest to Makara Nedung Kuzhai Kaathar.

வெள்ளைச் சூரி சங்கொடு ஆழி ஏந்தி 

தாமரைக்கு கண்ணன் என் நெஞ்சினூடே 

புன்னைக் காடாகின்ற ஆற்றைக் காணீர் 

என் சொல்லிச் சொல்லுகேன் அன்னைமீர்காள் 

வெள்ளச் சுகம் அவன் வீற்றிருந்த 

வேத ஒலியும் விழா ஒலியும் 

பிள்ளைக குழா விளையாட்டு ஒலியும் ஆறாத் 

திருப்பேரெயில் சேர்வான் நானே 

The Lord (Makara Nedun Kuzhai Kaathan) who is seen with a crown, conch and discus was so happy on hearing about the happy and playful state of the children that he asked Garuda to move to his left so he could watch their games. To this day, Garuda is seen away from the line of the Lord, a unique feature of this Divya Desam.

Well Versed in the Agamas

As a youngster, he had been initiated into the daily Thiru Aradhanam process by Periya Thiruvadi Bhattar of Srivaikuntam Divya Desam (Kallarpiran Temple). In the 1990s, he learned the Pancharatra Agama for four years from Varada Ramanujam, Retired Principal of Tirupathi Patshala. He came back from Tirupathi to his native Azhvaar Tirunagari and served as a Paricharaka for three months at Sri Vaikuntam Kallarpiran Divya Desam. 

Joins Thenthiruperai at Rs. 200!!!

He was to be appointed as the Archaka at Kallarpiran temple in Srivaikuntam when almost on the eve of his appointment, the archaka at Thenthiruperai quit and he was asked to take charge at Makara Nedung Kuzhai Kaathan Divya Desam on the first day of Puratasi in 1999 at a monthly salary of Rs. 200. 

He performed 15days archaka service at the Moolavar Sannidhi while for rest of the month, he performed Thiru Aradhanam at the Thaayar Sannidhi. In 2002, the other archaka (Raja Mannar Bhattar) at the temple quit and Ananthu Bhattar was left all alone to serve at the Divya Desam including taking care of all the utsavams through the year.

Salary remains static at 944 for 16years!!!

Six years after he joined Thenthiruperai, his monthly salary was increased to Rs. 950 in 2005. His wedding took place three years later in 2008 and he now has two school going daughters. However, for the last 16 years, the salary has remained static at that same level, quite unthinkable in any other service.

Margazhi in Thenthiruperai

Margazhi was a special month for the residents of Thenthiruperai. On each of the 10 first days of the Pagal Pathu Utsavam, the Lord would go to the Thayar Sannidhi in the South and a parvam (phase of life) of the Lord would be narrated as a tale through the pillai songs of Periyazhvaar.

On the 2nd set of 10 days, the Lord would go the Thayar Sannidhi in the North (Thiruperai Nachiyar).

Silent Service has been his way of life

As is known to anyone who has visited Nava Tirupathi, he has not raised a word on this issue in these two decades including to the TVS officials, who have been paying Sambhavanai to the service personnel of all the temples in the region. Unlike many priests of Divya Desams in the Chozha region, Ananthu Bhattar has also not pursued activities such as temple consecration events that would been a source for some additional income and has instead stuck to archaka service at the Divya Desam. In the two decades of his service, he has rarely gone outside the Nava Tirupathi Divya Desam either to support utsavams in other temples or even on personal visits to temples, such has been his devotional commitment to Lord Makara Nedung Kuzhai Kaathan. His long standing devotional dream has been to visit Badri Divya Desam but his life has been such that he has not been able to make time for his devotional endeavour. He is hoping that one day in his life he would be able to visit the historical Divya Desams including Naimisaranyam.

Over the last two decades, he has also performed Kainkaryam during utsavams in Vaitha Maa Nidhi Divya Desam in Thiru Kolur (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2008/09/thiru-kolur-vaitha-maa-nidhi-perumal.html) and at Periya Nambi (Periya Nambi Mannar Koil) and Koorathazhvaan Sannidhis in Azhvaar Tirunagari but each of these as a non financial service. His services are also sought at Thiru Venkatamudayan Sannidhi (a private temple run by Tiruvoimozhi Pillai clan) in Azhvaar Tirunagari where too he performs Kainkaryam without any financial returns.

TVS  presented him with a monthly Sambhavani of Rs. 2000 in 1999 which was increased to Rs. 3000 in 2007.

Anchoring the Big Utsavams

Over the last two decades, he has been the one who has anchored the annual Brahmotsavam as well as all the major Utsavams at the Thenthiruperai Divya Desam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/09/thenthiruperai-divya-desam.html). During the Brahmotsavam, since he is also the alankaram specialist, he has stayed back late into the night after the evening procession for the next morning’s vahana procession alankaram. It is known to most in this temple town that he does not return home in the nights to Azhvaar Tirunagari during the period of the Brahmotsavam.

Last decade, he had Krishnaswamy Bhattar (AK), who joined the Divya Desam after retirement from his corporate service, for support. In the last month or so, AK too has returned to Kanchipuram after facing health challenges during the Pandemic. In the last couple of years, he has been joined by the young Venkata Srinivasan (Rahul) Bhattar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/10/thenthiruperai-rahul-bhattar.html), whom he has been mentoring at this Divya Desam. 

It is unlikely that a corporate staffer at any level would remain silent if his salary remained static for 16years and also if he did not receive a confirmation of his posting after two decades of every day service. But Ananthu Bhattar is one of a kind Bhattar. He has not raised the financial issue with the HR & CE, TVS’ Chairman Venu Srinivasan or with any devotee in the last two decades. He has accepted life’s offerings and performed archaka service as best as he could at this Divya Desam. 

Government Rules - For its workers

Those that have served a HR & CE temple for over 5 years have to get a confirmation and a Government posting as per the rules. Many EOs have come and gone in the last 22 years but not one has been able to get Ananthu Bhattar a confirmation of his job and he continues to serve almost as a temporary staffer without the Government staffer benefits. Whenever he gets (if he ever gets) the confirmation order as the official archaka of Thenthiruperai Divya Desam, one wonders if the 22 years (and more) of service will be taken into consideration for Pension and other benefits that accrue to a Government staffer for he has officially served at this Divya Desam since 1999.

Venu Srinivasan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/07/venu-srinivasan-historical-temples.html) has made many trips in the last two decades to the Nava Tirupathi temples and there have been several archakas and service personnel who have placed requests before him that have been acceded to but not once has Ananthu Bhattar brought his precarious financial situation before the man who restored the entire Nava Tirupathi Divya Desams in the second half of the 1990s. And thus it has largely remained unattended to.

Firm Faith in the Doctrine of Bhagavad Gita

This writer has known Ananthu Bhattar for over 20 years and during this long period he has rarely spoken about the financial challenges in his life or the issues at the Divya Desam. When he came back from his agama initiation in the late 1990s, he had an option to go to Thiru Mogur Kaalamegha Perumal Divya Desam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/07/thiru-mogur-kalamegha-perumal.html) where his cousins were performing service but decided to stick to his home town of Azhvaar Tirunagari and headed back to Nava Tirupathi soon after his agama initiation at Tirumala. When the opportunity came to perform archaka service at Thenthiruperai, he had no second thoughts even though it came at a monthly salary of Rs. 200!!! If ever there is to an example in TN Divya Desams of ‘Serving in Silence’, Ananthu Bhattar would fit that bill.  

Placing Utmost faith in Thenthiruperai Lord

His wife of the last 13years has been supportive playing a role of mental strength in the background. She too has placed her entire faith in Makara Nedung Kuzhai Kaathan. It has been a long wait for the archaka service confirmation order from the HR & CE and for several years he has lived in the hope that the coming year would be the one when he gets that order from the HR &CE. But that has remained elusive todate. As another calendar year turns around, Ananthu Bhattar lives to serve another year with that same hope. It’s likely that one day the Lord of Thenthiruperai Divya Desam will open his eyes and shower his ‘financial’ blessing on Ananthu Bhattar. Till then, he will continue to follow the doctrine prescribed by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita of ‘Do your work as sincerely as possible without expecting results’.

Ananthu Bhattar can be reached on 96889 51429/ 93605 53489