Thiruvallikeni Sripatham Thangis

Renowned for the Vibrant Prabhandham Ghosti, Parthasarathy Perumal temple in Thiruvallikeni has seen a transformation in the Sripatham service over the last decade

Devoted Teenagers taking to the Sripatham Service in good numbers augur well for the future

It is the 9th morning of the Chitrai Brahmotsavam at the Madhava Perumal Koil, Mylapore. On the final stretch of the procession on the Madhava Perumal Koil street the Sri Patham personnel made a fast paced return pushing aside the Prabhandham members in the process and racing past them. Later in the evening, ahead of the Kodi Erakkam event, the Sripatham Thangis started a procession from inside the temple to the flag post and positioned the Lord near the flag post even while the Prabhandham members were reciting the Thiru Nedunthandagam verses. In both instances, the Prabhandham members were helpless (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/05/madhava-perumal-temple-kodi-erakkam.html).

On the 11th day of the Panguni Utsavam at the Kapaleeswarar Temple, Mylapore, the Sripatham personnel made an almost one hour halt in front of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan…Reason – it was the collection day for the work they had rendered over the previous 10days. Every year, on the 11th night of the utsavam, the procession does not return to the temple until the completion of the ‘collection’ formalities from almost every shop on the four Mada streets.

A similar scenario existed at the Parthasarathy Perumal temple in Thiruvallikeni in the not too distant past. Just under 25years ago, the procession during the Brahmotsavams in Chitrai and Aani did not stick to a time bound schedule. Collection exercise was part of the agenda of the Sripatham Thangis.  They did not always turn up on time but the traditionalists were helpless. 

A Vibrant Prabhandham Ghosti

With MA Venkatakrishnan taking over charge of the Prabhandham Ghosti and anchoring the team management at a very early stage in his life, the recital of the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham had remained vibrant at the Thiruvallikeni Divya Desam through the second half of the 20th century, one that has continued to this day. He brought together school students in the 1970s and 80s to learn the sacred verses of the Azhvaars in the process also ensuring that their academic focus was not affected (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/07/thiruvallikeni-prabhandham-ghosti.html). 

While this was so with the Prabhandham Ghosti, the traditionalists could not breakthrough the stranglehold that ‘others’ had on the Sripatham service. They were outnumbered towards the later part of the previous century and had to bear the brunt quietly.

Transformational Change

The scenario had looked bleak back then in the 1990s and early 2000s, but the turnaround has been quite remarkable with a transformational change that has come about over the last decade. 

It’s Saturday (July 9) morning and day 3 of the Narasimhar Brahmotsavam, the occasion of the Garuda Sevai and Esal.  Well over a hundred Sripatham personnel in their traditional attire have gathered at the Western Raja Gopuram just after 5.30am. For the next couple of hours, one saw team work at its best and they delight the huge devotee crowd that has specially come in to watch the performance of the Esal.

 

Photo: S Sampath Kumar (Insurance)

Way back in early 1990s, a group of traditionalists started the Thennacharya Sripatham Sabha but it could not make significant inroads into the Sripatham service for close to 15years. R Lakshminarasimhan, now Mestri, told this writer in a conversation in November 2017 that when they brought a few Sripatham members from Srirangam in the late 1990s, objections were raised and the team backed out. It was a defensive phase as they watched from the sidelines the in-disciplined functioning of the then personnel.

EO Pon Jayaraman makes a big call

When Pon Jayaraman took over as the EO of the temple, he was not pleased with the way the Sripatham were conducting themselves. By this time, the traditionalists had gathered in strength and could garner over 40members for the big occasions. For a decade until then, the Sripatham had been paid close to Rs. 10Lakhs annually for their service by the HR & CE department. The traditionalists whose focus was to carry Perumal and Azhvaars as a Kainkaryam cut down on the fee quite significantly and ‘bagged’ the rights to carry the Lord through the year. Ever since, there has been a dramatic revival with Sripatham personnel in traditional attire carrying the Lord in all the processions. 

Looking back at the functioning of the then Sripatham soon after he took charge, Pon Jayaraman told this writer that he found that devotion was lacking in the Sripatham personnel at that time. “They came in shorts. I did not find them having the right process. Discipline to stick to a timeline was lacking. It was a haphazard way of functioning. I wanted to streamline the entire process.”

“I found that there were a lot of Vaishnavites in Thiruvallikeni and was keen that they take over this service. I motivated them to take this up and backed them completely. While it was not a large team back then, they have now built it into an outstanding team that is fully committed to the Sripatham service.”

“This move gained acceptance among devotees who clearly preferred the traditional Vaishnavites carrying the Lord on their shoulder.”

Teenagers now an integral part 

During this period, the Sripatham team has strengthened significantly with the size having quadrupled. A pleasing feature is the emergence of school and college boys in good numbers and they now constitute almost half of the team. Kedayam and Azhvaar Pallakku serve as the training ground for the beginners and then they graduate to the small vahanas before becoming ‘eligible’ to perform service on the big vahana days.

For 18 year old V. Yathindrapravanan, a second year Engineering Student, while recital of the Vedas and Prabhandham is of prime importance, he makes time every now and then to carry the Lord on his shoulders out of devotional interest. For teenagers like him, performing the Sripatham service also helps builds unity and great team bonding that is likely to hold them in good stead later in life. Working together with such a large team during the utsavams also leads to improvement in their communication skills early in life with many of these youngsters turning extroverts.

This large team bonding has also resulted in forging life time friendship among the members.

All of them are also unmindful of the physical pains that the ten day brings. The swollen shoulders pales into insignificance when compared to the satisfaction they derive from performing this service.

US returned G Parthasarathy is at his best when reciting the Divya Prabhandham and has a differentiated voice. He too offers his services to the Sripatham team and is ever willing to pitch in to carry the Lord on processions when the Sripatham are short on personnel on certain days.

There are auditors, engineers and the self employed among them. All of them make time away from their work schedule to perform this service all through the year.  The work is also not restricted to just the procession, there is a lot pre and post procession work that the Sripatham personnel undertake.

Through a large part of this transformational phase, Ramanujam (Gatting) played an important part ideation and providing solutions to challenges that have come up from time to time over the last 15 years. Despite health challenges, he continues to perform Sripatham service including during the current Brahmotsavam.

From Bangalore for the Big Utsavams

The devotional commitment to the Sripatham service can be seen from the trips Sravankumar Sriram has made in the last many years from Bangalore where he is employed.  During the Brahmotsavams, he is a regular member of the team carrying the Lord on the vahana processions. Presence of service oriented devotees like him have strengthened the Sripatham team in recent years.

All the way from Nanganallur every morning and evening

Soon after the Sabha took over the service, there has been a conscious effort to scale up the team size. As one of the measures, they welcomed Sripatham personnel from Mylapore and Nanganallur.

30 year old Anirudh K Murthy, a MBA from IIT Madras, is a Product Manager in a start up firm. A resident of Nanganallur, he has been performing Sripatham service at Lakshmi Hayagriva temple there from the time he was a school boy. He has been part of the Sripatham team in Thiruvallikeni from 2010 after the Thennacharya Sripatham Sabha took over the Sripatham service there.  

Photo:  S Sampath Kumar

On Saturday morning, he and his Nanganallur team mates made the 18km trip starting at 5am to be on time for the Garuda Sevai procession.  While he began making trips during the two Brahmotsavams a dozen years ago along with a couple of others from Nanganallur, more members have joined in now and on the big days like Garuda Sevai and Yaanai Vahanam procession, there are 15 of them from Nanganallur.

On works days during the Brahmotsavam it is quite challenging for Anirudh for he has to travel back an hour in traffic to Nanganallur after the morning procession and then make his way to work ‘I have sensitized my office regarding the big Utsavam days and to the fact that my presence was likely to be a bit erratic during the Thiruvallikeni Brahmotsavam. I consider it a blessing that just like the Sripatham team members in Thiruvallikeni, the office team mates too have been very considerate that has allowed us to perform this Kainkaryam.”

He looks back with delight at the way the service personnel from Nanganallur have been welcomed “We see it as an opportunity to serve the Lord. Praveen (anna), Gatting (anna) and his team have been open hearted. After a dozen years with them, we feel like we are like their brethren. Every time, we are there for the Brahmotsavam, Praveen (anna) ensures that we are well fed after the procession. Rarely does he allow us to leave without eating food.”

Mylaporean service over the last dozen years

Mylapore resident 29year old Baradwaj has a Masters in Sanskrit and is currently a Sanskrit teacher in a School in the city. He was formerly a cricket coach at the VB Chandrsekar academy and is also a scorer with the TNCA. He has been performing Sripatham service in Thiruvallikeni since the time he was a school boy. 

He is an integral part of the Prabhandham Ghosti at the Madhava Perumal temple in Mylapore but whenever opportunity presents itself, he is in Thiruvallikeni for the Sripatham service “It’s a great blessing to be carrying Parthasarathy Perumal and Thelliya Singar on your shoulders and I am in Thiruvallikeni for all the big Utsavams. We are treated as one among them and its very satisfying that those from Mylapore (there are a few others as well who have been performing this service coming from Mylapore for a long time) have become an integral part of this team.”

From the Temple for their Service

In the decades gone by, the Sripatham personnel used to be presented with a few hundred kgs of rice annually for their service though this has been stopped since 2018. They are also presented with Pongal on most of the mornings of the Brahmotsavam. On the fifth day, on the occasion of Nachiyar Thirukolam, they are presented with Laddu, Vadai and Dosai for their service. 

As the thought process of the traditionilists has been that they are performing this as a service and not for financial remuneration, the Sripatham team has converted the annual payment received from the HR & CE into jewels for Perumal and Thayar including Pathakams and Udiyanams.

Personal accident insurance cover

A few years ago, Insurance expert S Sampath Kumar mooted the idea for an insurance cover for the Sripatham Personnel and helped implement the insurance plan. While this had not been renewed through the Pandemic period, the Sabha is looking to renew the plan once again this year. On occasions like Garuda Sevai and Yaanai Vahanam, the Sripatham Personnel are subject to serious physical injury. Also once a year they carry Parthasarathy Perumal on a long trip to Ekkattuthangal. The insurance cover would provide for any untoward events that occurs during the rendering of their tireless service.

Photo: S Sampath Kumar

Now as strong as the Prabhandham Ghosti 

In the 1990s and 2000s, while the Prabhandham Ghosti was seen in good numbers through the year in all the utsavams, the traditional feature was missing in the Sripatham service. But they have come back with a bang over the last decade or so with a team that is growing in size. A pleasing feature of the trend is the enthusiasm of the teenage boys in taking up the service. Just into their teens, the traditional boys of Thiruvallikenni are being initiated into this service with their parents and family members playing an important part in motivating them towards this devotional service. Early training at this age is ensuring that they are all set, both in terms of physical strength as well as expertise, to carry the Lord on the big vahanas once they are into the late teens. 

From the time, the Vaishnavite Sripatham were outnumbered, they have come a long way building a strong team of around 200 who perform this service for close to 300 days in a year. At a time when the Lord is now carried on wheeled tyres in most Divya Desams including during the annual Brahmotsavam, it is a redeeming feature that historical tradition of the Lord being carried by the Sripatham on their shoulders is being followed to this day in Thiruvallikeni Divya Desam. And with the new gen coming in good numbers to continue this service, it augurs well for the traditional Sripatham Service.