Iyyappan Sastrigal Muttam Kattu Mannar Koil

This Veda Sastrigal family from Muttam, now firmly entrenched in Mylapore, has remained traditional 

Hailing from a hereditary Veda Sastrigal family from Muttam agraharam near Kattu Mannar Koil, Iyyappan Sastrigal moved to Mylapore over 25years ago to explore opportunities in the heart of the city.  He had been stricken with poverty in his childhood as the decades of the 1960s and 70s turned sour for traditionalists. His forefathers had been involved in performing ‘Vaideeha’ activities and they had been leading a peaceful life until then.

His appa Ramanathan Sastrigal passed away young at a time when medical facilities were minimal. Iyyappan was just 8 years old and the death left him in a state of shock. At that time, his family could not pay even Rs. 15 as rent. 

“My appa had been ‘aachaaram’ in the true form. He did not go after money and was as straight forward as it could get in those days. We were in poverty but could hold our heads high as we led a dharmic life” says Iyyappan Sastrigal looking back at his early childhood.

Childhood in Poverty

Performing the role of a cook, his amma inspired him to continue the traditional way of life. She was everything to him and her motivation drew him into Vedic Studies. He quit school at 11 and moved into a Patshala in Kanchi and Kumbakonam to learn Yajur Veda. He later learned the Sastras at the Madras Sanskrit College.

He found the early phase of his life in Madras in the 1980s very challenging “There was no respect for vedic personnel in the 1980s. While minimal sambhavanai was presented for veda paranayanam, the fate of Brahmacharies was even worse as the Sambhavanai to them was just one third of what was paid to others.”

Though he wanted to stay in a traditional house in Mylapore, he could not afford the monthly rent of Rs. 350 (and an advance of Rs. 900) and spent the early years in Kotivakkam at a rent of just over Rs. 100.

Earns the respect of Mylaporeans

Being the grandson of Raju Sastrigal of Muttam gave him much needed credibility early on in his career. He joined as an assistant to Swaminathan Vadhyar and a few others and gained valuable experience. His sincerity impressed a number of the Mylapore residents and he began to perform daily Thiru Aradhanam in the house of many top personalities in Mylapore that fetched him a monthly Sambhavanai of Rs. 30 from each of them!!!

Rejects lucrative overseas offers

By the turn of the century, he had moved to Puthu Street in Mylapore and begun to perform Vaideeha activities for the top lawyers, doctors and auditors in the city. He had lucrative offers coming his way from South Africa and Singapore but rejected those as he believed he could gain the confidence of the traditionalists here and lead a peaceful life.

He reflects on his three decades stay in Madras with a great deal of happiness “Vaideeham is all about Aacharam and I have been able to perform it in the way my forefathers had done. I had decided early on that I would perform Vaideeha activities only for those who respected me for my dharmic nature and I have largely stuck to that.” 

Overcomes Challenges - Fullest faith in Kapaleeswarar

If his appa’s death was his first big shock in his life, he has had to encounter several other challenges later on. He survived a heart attack. And a road accident left him with a plate inside his leg. But he has had firm faith in Kapaleeswarar for the last 25years since the time he has come to reside in Mylapore. 

He wanted to remain traditional and chose a home that reminded him of his early days at Kaattu Mannar Koil (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/01/kattu-mannar-koil-annan-srinivasan.html). Over a dozen years ago, he moved to East Mada Street and into one of few remaining traditional homes in Mylapore.

Youngest Daughter's hand to a traditionalist

His amma, who passed away at the age of 86, had a fulfilling life watching her son turn around the financial fortunes of the family while staying traditional. From a poverty stricken life in the 1970s and an uncertain start in the 80s, he became financially independent and carved a name for himself in the city. Just past 60, Iyyappan Sastrigal is contented at the way life has gone. One of his daughters is a CA. His wife, always seen in a Madisaar, and the youngest daughter continue to follow the practices of a traditional household. And unsurprisingly they have come to be devoted to Kapaleeswarar. Bringing back memories from the century gone by, the family members sit on the floor for a discussion in the evening. There is a Thinnai at the entrance and none in the family is ‘ashamed’ to be living an old fashioned life that has now lost its fancy among the city dwellers. 

Even more interestingly, much against the run of play, Iyyappan Sastrigal is looking to get his (youngest) daughter, a post graduate in commerce, married to a traditional ‘tuft attired’ Vaideeha. And that is great news in a world that is moving the corporate way (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/02/temple-priests-next-gen-mismatch.html). 

There are still those in the city who remind us of the traditional life that once was.