Kottur Maniambala Natha Swamy Temple

For the last three decades, Sankar Gurukal has been carrying forward the selfless service rendered by his forefathers at this remote temple near Mannargudi - At a Salary now of Rs. 1200!!!

Sankar Gurukal has been at the Maniambala Natha  Swamy Temple, Kottur since the time he was a teenager. His forefathers had been performing archaka service at the temple for over a century. He joined the temple in the early 1990s on a daily wage scheme. In the not too distant past, this had been a vibrant temple with service personnel performing service in good number. North of this temple is Thiru Gnana Sambandar praised Kozhuntheeswarar temple. Till the first half of the 20th Century, his forefathers had been serving at the Paadal Petra Sthalam as well.  And then with shortage of service personnel, the family decide to split the services between the two temples. While his grandfather’s brother performed service at the Kozhuntheeswarar temple his grandfather, Dhandapani Gurukal performed service at the Maniambala Natha Swamy temple. 

A Once Vibrant temple with agraharams around

 During the period of his grandfather, utsavams were integral to this town. Navarathri, Vaikasi Visakam, and Thiruvathirai were grand with devotees in the agraharam participating actively in the Vahana processions. It was a phase when the Mudaliar community managed the temple. They took good care of the priests 

Mass Exodus leaves the Priest all alone

As with many other remote towns in TN, the 2nd half of the previous century saw a mass exodus of original inhabitants and this saw a deterioration in both the infrastructure of the temple as well as a big negative impact on the vibrancy in the Utsavams. Most of the Service Personnel made their way to cities seeking more lucrative opportunities. The Gurukal became the sole custodian of the temple performing pooja as well as doubling as the cook in the madapalli each day of the year. As with many other remote temples, the HRCE took away the utsava idols to the safety locker in Tiruvarur. The vahanas lay in dilapidated condition and with that the vahana processions too have become a thing of the past. 

Agama lessons from appa

Sankar Gurukal, who studied till Class X in the local school, quit academics and learned the pooja karmas from his appa Jatadhara Shivachariar before joining the temple in his teens.

                        Jatadhara Shivachariar

Appa served for decades at Rs.210, Son now serves at Rs. 1200

While his appa served at the temple for over four decades at a salary that did not top Rs. 210, Sankar Gurukal joined at Rs. 350 in the early 1990s and after three decades now gets Rs. 1200 for his solo services. For financial survival, he performs pooja in nearby village temples and participates in Kumbabhisekams. 

Revival of a few Utsavams

Over the last few years he has been trying to revive the historical utsavams. The procession on Thiruvathirai has restarted while he is currently bringing back the three day Vaikasi Visakam utsavam including Thiru Kalyanam and the Pancha Moorthy procession around the four Mada streets. And so too the Theerthavari on Karthigai Rohini at Maniya Kulam. 

Sankar Gurukal has had lucrative overseas opportunities coming his way including from temples in Singapore. But his appa had directed him to stay back at the temple where their forefathers had performed service. And thus unmindful of the low salary (40 per day), he continues to serve into the fourth decade at the temple. Despite the challenging scenario, he has sent his son to the agama patshala in Poonthottam and is hoping that he will continue the hereditary service at the temple. 

Ranganathapuram Mannargudi Jambunatha Temple Vignesh Gurukal

Keeping to the promise he made to his grandfather as a school boy, Vignesh Gurukal is dedicating his lifetime to this remote temple despite no income 

Referred to in historical times as Visweswarapuram, the centuries old Jambunatha Swamy temple in Ranganathapuram is located amidst greenery about 15kms from Mannargudi. The sixth generation priest 30 year old Vignesh Gurukal is now performing archaka service at the temple. His Great Great Grandfather Jambu Gurukal had performed service in the latter part of the 19th century. 

Through the previous century, his grandfather Panchapakesa Gurukal served at the temple till the age of 92 seeing through really challenging times, though in the 1st half the town was prosperous with the priest receiving 80 kalam paddy. The Zamins of the period took good care of the temple and the priest. Joint family system was still in vogue and the large family of the priest lived in the small house opposite the temple. 

With the traditional residents in the once vibrant North and South Agaraharam moving away to cities in the decade starting 1960, the temple’s infrastructure deteriorated and by the latter half of the century it had fallen into a dilapidated state. There was no income at the temple and devotees turned up in very few numbers and that on select occasions. All the utsavams had come to a halt. There were no processions inside or outside the temple.

With the 2nd half of the 20th century being really terrible for the temple towns in TN, more so the remote ones, it would have been justified for this family to have moved away from the hereditary service. However, Panchapakesan Gurukal took a promise in the late 1990s from the then school going grandson Vignesh that he would carry forward the tradition irrespective of the financial challenges he has to face in life. “Appa’s philosophy was that we are blessed to be performing abhisekam for Jambunathar and irrespective of the financial situation, we should continue the pooja” recalls 62 year old Santhanam Gurukal, who served as a postman in the village while also performing archaka service at the temple.

A Life Time Commitment

When Vignesh was ten, he was keen to pursue academics for he was doing well at school but by then he was already supporting his grandfather in the daily pooja and that had created a devotional interest in him in archaka service. When his grandfather asked him to continue the service, he agreed and kept to the commitment. At 11, he moved to the patshala in Pillayarpatti where he was initiated into the Saiva Agama for six years.  

Message from his Guru

When he was in Pillayarpatti, his acharya at the Patshala Pichai Gurukal handed him a strong devotional message “You have learnt the agamas for six years.  Do not forget your grandfather’s temple. You should perform at least one kaala pooja every day during your lifetime.”

Vignesh Gurukal was initiated into the consecration processes by the now famous Avarani Sundar. He received the Shiva Deekshai at the historical Thyagaraja temple in Thiruvarur and joined the temple when he was just 17years old.  He has been performing archaka service at the temple for just over a decade for which he gets a salary of Rs. 1000 once every three months from the HR & CE.In addition to the Akilandanayaki Jambunatha Swamy temple, he also performs pooja at the Ayyanar and Kali temples in Ranganathapuram. 

In the decade he has been at the  Jambunatha temple, he has received lucrative offers from across the country but he is committed to continuing the service at this temple. He is currently anchoring the restoration exercise. He is keen to revive the Nandavanam that was once integral to the temple.  The last Kumbabhisekam took place three decades ago. He is keen to perform the consecration sometime in the near future.

“The income may be low and original inhabitants may have left the town but I have promised a commitment to this temple and performing service here gives a lot of satisfaction” says Vignesh Gurukal. 

He is fully aware that if he leaves the temple seeking greener pastures, the lights will not burn at the temple. “My heart does not permit to allow the temple to get into that state.”

Vignesh Gurukal can be contacted @ 96559 88448

Kapali Devotee Aparna Panguni Utsavam Rishabha Vahanam

While the next gen is moving towards a 'modern way of life', this teenager from Mylapore has turned the clock back in time devotionally bonding with Kapaleeswarar

On Sunday Night, Aparna had her childhood dream fulfilled as she experienced Kapaleeswarar all through the night around the Mada Streets on the Rishabha Vahanam

Kapaleeswarar draws true devotees towards him and binds them for life. This section had in 2020 featured a story on a long time devotee, S Harini Yogalakshmi, who missed her favourite Rishabha Vahanam for the first time in her life after the Pandemic led to the cancellation of the Panguni Utsavam. As a Mylapore resident during her entire school and college days in the 1990s and the 2000s, she had been devotionally engaged with the Lord each session of the grand annual utsavam.

She had told this writer in April 2020 that for a true Kapali devotee, the Gopura Vaasal darshan each morning and evening during the Panguni Utsavam is pure bliss. Marriage had taken her to Erode and she had been away from the city for 5 years but that did not deter her from being part of the Panguni Utsavam. She would take the Yercaud Express to watch her favourite Lord on the Rishabha Vahanam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/04/kapali-panguni-utsavam.html).

Aparna's Devotional Initiation

Like Harini, long time Mylapore resident S Aparna, a first year student at MOP Vaishnav College (Electronic Media), too has been a devotee of Kapaleeswarar all her life. Right from the time she was a three year old, her parents, hailing from Mangudi, near Kumbakonam, had initiated her into a devotional way of life. She has been a regular at the annual Panguni Utsavam ever since and has never missed a single Utsavam. Through the early phase of her schooling days, she would be taken to the Kapaleeswarar temple by her appa, and the daily darshan of Kapaleeswarar and Karpagambal gave her a devotional bonding with the divine couple and the Panguni Utsavam had become the one utsavam that she did not want to miss. 

Saddened by the Procession on Wheels

This section has also featured stories on remote temples where the Lord is now carried on wheels during the annual utsavams. Aparna recalls with a tinge of sadness as to how that trend has caught up at the Panguni Utsavam as well “In my early schooling days, I remember all the deities being carried by the Sripatham and it was a sight behold. There was a certain devotional charm about it. I remember a few Brazilians visiting the utsavam several years ago and being completely taken over the grandeur of the utsavam and the majestic way the Lord was carried around the Mada Streets. Unfortunately in recent years, the trend has been to carry the deities other than Kapaleeswarar on Wheels and that has caused for a bit of the charm to be lost.”

Naga Vahana - A Favourite

Like with Harini, for Aparna too, the Naga Vahana holds a special place in her heart and she never misses being at the start on the fourth evening of the utsavam.

A Childhood Dream - Through the night procession 

During her schooling days, Aparna used to walk along the procession till the end of East Mada Street. Later on, into her teens, she made it to the Western entrance of the North Mada Street on the late evening procession. While she has been an integral part of the Panguni Utsavam as a devotee for over a decade, it had always been at the back of her mind to be part of a procession ‘end to end’, especially on the Rishabha Vahanam night.

Through the night processions are a regular feature in historical temple towns in Tamil Nadu. This year, on April 16, Jambukeswarar and Akilandeswari will go on a night long Pancha Prakara procession at Thiruvanaikaval https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/04/thiruvanaikaval-pancha-prakara-utsavam.html). This month will see the handsome Kothandaramar at Vaduvur go on a non stop 15 hour procession as part of the Brahmotsavam  (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/05/vaduvur-rama-navami-utsavam.html). But in the fast paced city life, the processions are run through at a fair clip. The Rishabha Vahana procession at the Kapaleeswarar Temple as part of the fifth day celebrations of the Panguni Utsavam is one where the Pancha Moorthies are there around the Mada Streets all through the night with the procession culminating on the 6th morning with Ekantha Sevai sacred verses recital of the othuvars inside the temple complex.

Last year, in 2021, the Rishabha Vahanam procession began at 12.30am and there were only a handful of devotees at the procession after 2am (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/03/maruvur-vedic-ramesh.html). When Aparna saw Kapaleeswarar atop her favourite Naga Vahana on Saturday evening, she was suddenly inspired to try out the all night procession on the fifth evening of the Utsavam. She recalls those moments on Saturday (March 12) evening “I spoke to my parents on the evening of the Naga Vahana asking for permission to be through the night at the Rishabha Vahanam procession. To my surprise, they immediately agreed. I was quite excited at the prospect of being up through the night with Kapaleeswarar around the Mada Streets for the first time in my life.”

While she spent the Sunday afternoon visualizing Kapaleeswarar on the Rishabha Vahanam, she did not prepare too much ahead of the procession except taking an hour’s nap. It is an interesting that in an age of gadgets leading to devotees’ limited patience in temples, this teenager chose to give this all night presence a try very early on in life. The early start to Rishabham this year meant she had to be around the Mada Streets for well over 8 hours and that could prove to be tiring for anyone.

Rishabha Vahanam Sunday Night

She was at the Kapaleeswarar temple just after 9pm on Sunday for the Pancha Moorthy procession inside the temple ahead of the Vahana procession. While there were thousands at the start of the procession for the Gopuram Darshan, most had left by the time Kapaleeswarar was on to the Sputh Mada Street. 

12 hours after the Rishabha Vahanam procession, she recounts sitting in a corner of the Kapaleeswarar temple her experience of Sunday night “It was a very different and a devotionally exciting experience. Right from my childhood, it had been a dream to be part of an entire procession. While it would have been normal to have been extremely tired on Monday morning, I found to my surprise that I felt positively energized. I almost felt like I had received a special boost to my devotional spirit. While the real feeling has not still sunk in, it has been an overwhelming experience and very satisfying to the mind. I never knew that I could pull it off. No one in the family has been at a procession all through the night. It feels fulfilling that I could do it this early in my life and has given me renewed confidence that I can do things that don’t necessarily seem easy in life.”

The devotional atmosphere around the Mada Streets

Kapaleeswarar’s walking style, the gala atmosphere with a packed crowd running into thousands, the nagaswaram and the beating of musical instruments of the Shiva Adiyars, the Vedic recital and the Sacred Verses of the Othuvars have made Sunday night very special for Aparna.

The Bonding with Rishabham right from childhood

Rishabham has always been special to her and this all night experience with Kapaleeswarar has lifted her devotional spirits “While Adhikara Nandi provides a majestic and a dominating look, Rishabham is very close to my heart. I cherish the Rishabham a lot and have a special bonding with him. As you have a close at him from just a few yards away as he arrives on to the Raja Gopuram, the devotional level increases manifold. He is pleasing to the eye and you are suddenly struck with a ‘very calm devotion’. It is something one has to experience to get the real feel. Rishabham’s eyes are so beautiful, ones that you do not find on any other day of the utsavam. And this time having been with him all through the Sunday night, I am on a devotional high with a feeling that he is one with me.”

Back home with Positive Energy

When she came home after 6.30am on Monday morning, her parents were curious to understand her all night experience with Kapaleeswarar “They wanted to know if I had enjoyed the experience and they could sense the positive energy I came back with. They were happy that I could stay with devotion through the night.”

Parents' Significant role

Her parents have had a big role to play in her devotional way of life. She credits them for her bonding with Kapaleeswarar “Instead of taking me to movies, they created a big interest for me in temples by making this my daily destination. Even the tours that we did outside of Chennai were to temples like Gangai Konda Chola Puram, Sarangapani and Chakrapani (Kumbakonam), Big Temple (Thanjavur) and Swami Malai. Thiru Meyachur Lalithambigai was a special favourite. They never forced me into temples but inculcated the devotional values and bhakthi in my childhood and allowed me to take a call on my way of life.”

“In my early years, my appa used to take me to the Utsavams at the Malleeswarar and Karaneeswarar temples in Mylapore and that made me look forward to Utsavams and the Grand Processions every year."

The Next Devotional Wish

For a girl from the new gen, it is pleasing to hear that she is never bored of temples. Through the 10 days of the Panguni Utsavam, she is there every morning and evening at the Kapaleeswarar temple well ahead of the procession. Sunday night saw her devotional dream come true. With this experience behind her, she is now even more devotionally thirsty and longing for more “My next devotional wish is to be part of an all night Aruthra Utsavam and watch the abhisekam after mid night and the Deepaarathanai early in the morning staying inside the temple all through the night.”

(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/12/kapali-temple-aruthra-utsavam.html?m=1)

Also, she has a few more devotional wishes up her list even at the Panguni Utsavam, things that she has not experienced to date “On the night after Arubathumoovar, I want to be part of the late night Pancha Moorthi procession (2am/3am), one that does not see too many devotees.”

At a time, when the next gen has been moving into what is now fancifully termed a ‘modern way of life’, Aparna has moved the clock back in time and is leading a life that those from the previous generation would be delighted with.  Outside of her educational endeavours, a lot of her life over the last decade or so has revolved around temples and particularly with Kapaleeswarar. "Even when we planned a trip, I preferred a pilgrimage than a vacation to a tourist destination."

As she heads back to take yet another look at her favourite Lord on the Yaanai Vahanam on the sixth day of the Utsavam, one thing is clear - this teenager has been blessed by Kapaleeswarar and Karpagambal to have such a close proximity with the divine couple at this young age.

Rayanallur Varadaraja Perumal Yathulan Bhattar

At 30, Vaduvur Patshala trained Yathu Kula Thilakan Bhattar has already rejected several lucrative overseas offers instead choosing to dedicate himself to a remote temple suggested by his mentor Vaduvur Govindan

In the 3 years at the Rayanallur temple, he has been actively engaging with the local residents in creating a devotional environment and reviving historical utsavams

Displaying great devotional perseverance, he has reduced his weight by almost half to 90kgs from the 160kgs that he was at the peak of the Pandemic 

Yathu Kula Thilakan (R Srinivasan) Bhattar, who had gone through a traumatic childhood losing both hsi parents before he was ten, has chosen to serve at a remotely located temple that not too many would easily take up. He had spent a dozen years at the Vaduvur Patshala and like almost all his classmates had the option of moving to cities chasing financially lucrative temples. But he has chosen a remote temple in Rayanallur, 20kms from Mannargudi and dedicated the last three years to the development of the temple that had been in a dilapidated state till the middle of the last decade. He is all of 30 but his devotional commitment to the Varadaraja Perumal temple in Rayanallur as well as several other Perumal temples in the region has been of the highest order, especially at a time when the next gen even in most Divya Desams have been  going away from hereditary temples. Since the completion of his Patshala education five years ago, he has received offers from across the country and overseas as well, but he is clear in his mind that he will remain rooted to the temple suggested by his mentor and as close to his favourite Vaduvur Ramar for the rest of his life. Here is the story: 

A Traumatic Childhood

Yathulan, as he is now referred to in the temple circles, lost his amma when he was just three years old and then his appa seven years later. Hailing from Ezhuveri, a small village near Tiruvarur, he spent a majority of his first 25years at Vaduvur where he studied till Class VIII. His  uncle was a cook at the Andavan Ashramam Patshala in Vaduvur. Even as a young school boy, he had begun to perform kainkaryam at the Ramar temple in Vaduvur in the process becoming devotionally attached to Ramar. 

Vaduvur Patshala

He quit school to join the Patshala at 13. For the next dozen years, he underwent intense agama and vedic education under the renowned Vaduvur Desikachariar and Vaduvur Govindan. Over a decade ago, the Patshala was still vibrant and there were over 50 students undergoing vedic education. Yathulan,  was highly committed to Vedic studies as well as service to his acharyas. His commitment to studies and kainkaryam made him a favourite at the Patshala (years ago, when this writer wrote a story on the Brahmotsavam at the temple as well as the Patshala, it was Yathulan who took the writer around the Patshala and the temple)  - https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/05/vaduvur-rama-navami-utsavam.html.

During the period of his vedic education, he also performed different kinds of service through the year at the Rama Temple in Vaduvur including during the Brahmotsavam.

12 year Vedic Education and Divya Prabhandham

By the time he was 25, he had completed Kramantham. Alongside Vedic studies, he was also initiated into the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham. Almost all his fellow classmates left Vaduvur after the completion of the course and Yathulan alone stayed back though he too received several offers from elsewhere. His mind remained with his acharyas and he began to teach at the Patshala in Vaduvur. Having been there for a large part of his first 25years, Yathulan had become devotionally attached to Vaduvur Ramar and was keen to serve the Lord for the rest of his life. It was he who took care of his acharya Vaduvur Desikachariar  during the final years of the revered acharya's life performing daily aradhanam at his Thiru Maligai and serving him with utmost devotion.

His first experience at Rayanallur temple

As part of his Vedic initiation, he had presented Veda Parayanam at the Varadaraja Perumal temple in Rayanallur at the time of the consecration of the temple. The 900 year old temple had remained dilapidated for a long time with the Moolavar idol buried under the earth. The Hindu Group’s Director Vijaya, daughter of former Publisher S Rangarajan, along with her entrepreneur husband Arun, was a regular at the Kasturi Ranganatha Perumal temple in Vilakudi, about 1km west of Rayanallur.  It was they who anchored the restoration work at the temple and have continued their association with the temple ever since the consecration. 

From favourite Vaduvur to Rayanallur

Three years ago, when Ramesh Bhattar, who had been performing archaka service at the temple since the restoration, decided to quit, Yathulan received a surprise call from his Vedic Acharya Vaduvur Govindan. Yathulan was asked if he would be interested in taking up archaka service at Rayanallur. He recounts that moment "My mentor knew about my attachment to Vaduvur Rama and expected me to negate the offer. But when he asked and having already been part of the consecration of the Varadaraja Perumal temple a few years prior, I agreed instantly to my acharya's call and made the move to Rayanallur."

Transformation in remote temples

In the three years that he has been at Rayanallur, Yathulan Bhattar has started Vedic recital in the morning and Divya Prabhandham and Satru Murai in the evening while presenting Thaligai to the Lord. The utsavams too have been revived during this period. A five day utsavam for Vedantha Desikar in Puratasi, Rama Navami, Andal Kalyanam on Bhogi and Thayar Oonjal during Navarathri have now become integral to the annual celebrations at the Varadaraja Perumal temple.

He says that 'Govindan Anna' has been his guiding force over the last two decades. "He has got me a good temple with highly devoted and committed trustees. They have been here at least once every month in the last three years." 

Rejects lucrative overseas offers

Yathulan Bhattar has had offers pouring in during the last few years from across the country and overseas but his has been a stern NO to all of them for he is firm on his decision to stay back at the remote temple. 

Revival of Festivals

His devotional interest in serving the Lord has led to an increasing number of devotees coming into the temple especially on Saturdays when he decorates Hanuman with Vennai kaappu. Thirumanjanam on specific star days each month has been a new addition in recent years. Asthana Garuda Sevai on Puratasi Saturdays, a procession to the North West end of the town on Chitrai day in Panguni have helped create devotional interest in the local residents. 

Archaka, Cook, Vedas and Prabhandham reciter

Yathulan also doubles up as the madapalli cook presenting a different menu every evening to Varadaraja Perumal. At the Patshala he had managed the accounts for years and with that experience, he has streamlined the processes at the temple in Rayanallur making timely payments to the flower vendor, the milk man and the like. He has also been taking Nalayira Divya Prabhandham classes for the local residents creating the devotional interest in them. 

An inspirational leader in the region

Yathulan Bhattar has already played an inspirational role in the utsavams at the Kalyana Ranganathar temple in Vilakudi. He has led Veda Parayanam there for 20 days during the Adyayana Utsavam. Veda Parayanam is also now an integral part of the Pavitrotsavam and Adyayana Utsavam at the Perumal temple in Panaiyur, while Vedic recital has also begun during the Pavitrotsavam at the Adhi Rangam temple. For over a decade,  he has been a regular member of the Veda Parayanam team at the  annual utsavams at the Rajagopalaswamy temple in Mannargudi (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/09/mannargudi-rajagopalaswamy-temple.html) as well as the Ramar temple in Vaduvur (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2008/12/vaduvur-kothandaramar.html). He also supports the Srinivasa Perumal temple in Kottur (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2014/12/kottur-srinivasa-perumal.html), 6kms east of Rayanallur, in their utsavams. He is currently guiding the Varadaraja Perumal temple in Kadanthethi in their consecration activity.  He has also been showing the way at the Pattabhi Ramar temple (Hanuman has a veena in his hand) in Perugavaazhanthaan  where too he has revived monthly Thirumanjanam. 

Devotional Perseverance and dramatic reduction in physical weight

At the peak of the Pandemic, he undertook a promise to reduce his weight that had shot to almost 160kgs. In the last 12months, through sheer devotional perseverance, he has dramatically reduced this by almost half to 90kgs. He has not had rice for a large part of the last year and has still remained completely energized in discharging his temple duties leaving everyone wondering if it was humanly possible to reduced 70kgs in a year without medical intervention but Yathulan Bhattar has proved that a transformation in life is possible with devotional commitment to God and seemingly impossible things can be achieved with the Lord’s blessings.

It is not easy to be alone in a remote town and be performing service to the Lord through each day of the year. Both at the Rayanallur temple and in the ones around, a devotional vibration can be felt in the presence of Yathulan Bhattar. For such remote temples, devotional commitment of priests is of utmost importance and Yathulan Bhattar has that in abundance. For 14years, he used only well water at Vaduvur, something not common these days.  He has still not forgotten the very first Sambhavanai of Rs. 20 he received from VS Karunakarachariar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/09/karunakaran-swamy-president-award.html) several years ago. He does not spend lavishly and lives a contented life. He passes this message to other priests his age trying to impress upon them the importance of focusing on devotional service to God as an archaka's way of life. He has in his vision building a compound wall around the temple complex, a Raja Gopuram, a Go-Shala and to revive some of the bigger utsavams at the temple including the Pavitrotrasavam and Brahmotsavam. With his devotional commitment at this young age, it is likely  God will bless him in his endeavours.

Rayanallur is about 20kms from Mannargudi on the Thiruthuraipoondi route. Yathulan Bhattar can be reached on 70943 57172/95782 89842

PS School Ground now Kapaleeswarar Play Ground

Mega Cultural event is set to take place tonight right in the middle of the ground where some famous matches had been played in the century gone by

For the first time in several decades, the once famous PS School cricket ground on RK Mutt Road will host a mega all night cultural event as part of the Maha Sivarathri celebrations of Kapaleeswarar temple. The ground that had provided a platform for upcoming players to showcase their cricketing skills has now been converted into one where several thousands of people will be seated in the middle of this huge ground to watch artistes perform from 6pm this evening through till 6am on Wednesday morning. With the HR & CE department focused on using this ground for non cricketing purposes, this may be the final nail in the coffin for cricketing activities at the place where many top cricketers performed with glory  in the century gone by.

Kapali Temples takes repossession

In September 2021, Kapaleeswarar temple took back possession of the PS School Ground on RK Mutt Road. The School had taken over the ground on lease in 1928 and TNCA League matches were played on this ground till just under a decade ago when the matches came to a halt following the dispute between the school management and the temple over the payment of rental arrears. 

Outside of the league matches, there were school matches as well as some  memorable old v new club matches played at the PS school ground including one in 1979 between BRC Past and Present teams with legendary S Venkataraghavan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/04/venkataraghavan75.html) featuring in that match. State cricketer from the 70s R Prabhakar used to regularly hit the ball on to the RK Mutt Road. It was a delight to watch a young TA Sekar bowl at this ground from his long run up.

TNCA's letter to Kapali Temple

Once the temple took possession, this writer had initiated for the TNCA to hold matches once again at the ground and after a letter from the TNCA to the temple, approval had been got for the league matches to be held over the weekends. However, no further progress had been made in the last quarter of 2021 when league matches are not usually held in the city due to the monsoon rains.

On Tuesday morning, the erstwhile PS School ground now renamed as Kapaleeswarar Karpagambal Play Ground was all set for a mega cultural event with a big stage set up right in the middle of the ground. Thousands of chairs have been placed in the ground. The Eastern Pavilion that had been used for the lower division matches now wears a dilapidated look. 

The cement pitch at the North end that had been used for the net practice sessions still remains but it will now take a lot of effort to relay the center pitch after such a mega all night cultural event with several thousands expected to take part.

With HR & CE keen on gaining publicity through mega religious events, league cricket at the PS ground may be the last thing on their mind. The HR & CE minister Sekar Babu is also keen that the huge space be used for public events including sports as against being handed exclusively to one association for league matches.

We may have seen the last of league cricket at this once famous cricket ground in the heart of Mylapore.