Srivilliputhur Araiyar Natha Muni Srinivasa Rangan

32year old Araiyar Natha Muni is back in Srivilliputhur to take forward the Araiyar Sevai service

He hopes to use the emerging WFH model to combine Corporate Work with Temple Kainkaryam

Way back in June 2007, this section had featured a story on Araiyar Sevai and how the service had dwindled to just a handful of Divya Desam in Tamil Nadu. Bala Mukunda Araiyar of Srivilliputhur, who is one of the few Araiyars still practicing this difficult art, had told this writer that month that while it was a great honour for him to be performing the ‘Abhinaya’ that he had learned from his legendary father for over 18 years, it was a pity that Araiyars had not been taken care of financially and hence many from other divya desams had gone away from this art seeking greener pastures in the corporate world. With the limited financial wherewithal he managed to perform the Arangetram for his son while he was still a young school student.

15 years later, his son Araiyar Srinivasa Rangan (Natha Muni) has taken a big call this month quitting his high paying job at HDFC Bank where he served as a Branch Manager in a devotional endeavor to continue the Araiyar Sevai Kainkaryam at the Srivilliputhur Vadabadrasayee Divya Desam. Earlier he had been with ICICI Bank for six years.

While a lot of the Pandemic challenges resulted in gloom, there were some positive outcomes as well. The Work From Home model has thrown open new opportunities and Natha Muni Araiyar is hoping to leverage that model to his advantage  “I have been away from full-fledged Kainkaryam over the last decade ever since I completed my Engineering degree. With the WFH concept now becoming an accepted model especially in the IT industry, I am toying with the idea of exploring opportunities in the IT space that would allow me to continue with the Araiyar Sevai Kainkaryam.”

Even as a young boy, he had begun learning the sacred verses from his grandfather Araiyar Srinivasa Rangachariar(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2013/08/araiyar-srinivasachariyar-srivilliputhur.html), who had performed service at this Divya Desam for over five decades. His grandfather, who passed away last decade, had even presented Araiyar Sevai once in the Himalayas in freezing conditions.  Araiyar Natha Muni was also initiated into the Vyakyanams by his appa. 

    Natha Muni Araiyar's Arangetram

Moves into the Corporate World

However, like most in the new gen, he too was keen to get into the corporate world having seen the financial struggles of his appa and grandfather through his childhood years. They had lived in a dilapidated house near the temple for a long time. Bala Mukunda Araiyar went through a lot of financial stress in getting his daughters married “My grandfather and appa performed this as a kainkaryam without salary from the temple. It had been a financially challenging period. My appa found it financially strenuous to help me become an Engineer and getting my sisters married. With both of them performing service at the temple, I wanted to get into the corporate world to put my engineering degree to use.”

Natha Muni Araiyar joined IBM Info Service in Madras a decade ago. After a few years, he moved into the banking industry and joined ICICI Bank at Tuticorin. While he was away at the corporate world, he did perform service at the temple once in a while whenever he was in Srivilliputhur.

Taking over the mantle from his appa

His appa is turning 70 and it is not getting any easier for him to perform the service, especially through the 21 day Adyayana Utsavam, given the health challenges. In 2019, during the Brahmotsavam at the Nambi Temple in Thiru Kurungudi, Bala Mukundan Araiyar swooned and fell down unconscious soon after presentation of Araiyar Sevai (it was again the TVS family - Venu Srinivasan - that offered immediate on the ground support). Despite challenging health conditions, Bala Mukundan Araiyar continues to perform at the Srivilliputhur Divya Desam but the medical bills have been mounting. In recent years, he has also been performing at the Maasi Utsavam at Thiru Kannapuram.

While he deems the financial part important for survival and hence a foot in the corporate world, Araiyar Natha Muni is keen to continue the Araiyar Sevai during his life time. It was that devotional mindset of trying to takeover the mantle from his aged appa that Araiyar Natha Muni has quit his coveted post at HDFC Bank and returned to Srivilliputhur. 

A full Margazhi presentation this year

10 days from now, Araiyar Natha Muni, who has learned 10 Vyakyanams from the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham, will be presenting the service during the Adyayana Utsavam. Some of the presentations during this utsavam are distinctive and a unique feature at this Divya Desam. This Margazhi, he will also be performing daily service at the temple through the entire month, for the first time in over a decade.

He is clear in his thought process. At the Srivilliputhur Divya Desam, Araiyars are bestowed with the exclusive rights during Thodakkam and Saatru Murai each day of the year. But except for select Thirumanjanams every month, income has been almost non-existent. Araiyar Natha Muni and his sisters also grew up in a dilapidated house whose roof could have come down anytime in that phase “Appa has performed service for several decades without a salary. The Sambhavanai from devotees accrues only during the Adyayana Utsavam. For the rest of the 11months, there was very minimal income for appa in all the decades that he performed service. I do not want my two daughters to go through the same financial challenges that we encountered and am hoping to lead a life that combines Selfless Kainkaryam with Corporate Work.”

The Pandemic and the resultant WFH has come as a blessing in disguise for him. Starting 2023, he expects to begin the process of mastering the entire Nalayira Divya Prabhandham as well as undergoing a further initiation into the Vyakyanams, while he simultaneously dons the role of a ‘WFH’ Business Analyst at one of the top IT firms. With Bangalore based IT firms offering full-fledged WFH, he is confident of picking up a job after the Margazhi Utsavam by when he is likely to complete his Java certification course that he is currently pursuing. 

The Araiyars

Araiyars (King of Music) are descendents of Nathamuni, who is said to have introduced the Araiyar Sevai. Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam himself gave the Araiyars the right to perform the unique musical chanting at the temples and presented them with the cone-like cap, two cymbals and the sacred garland (which they wear around their neck when they perform).

The Araiyars first recite the Paasuram, they then explain its inner meaning and finally perform the Abhinaya, a unique art/dance performance with their hands and legs explaining the Paasurams with special musical effect.

The Araiyar Sevai requires a deep knowledge and understanding of the Paasurams. It is not an easy art, as can be seen from the fact that it takes nearly 20 years to learn and perfect the ‘Abhinaya’.Araiyar Sevai that had once been performed in several Divya Desams in TN,, is currently seen only in four Divya Desams - Srirangam, Azhvaar Tirunagari, Thiru Kurungudi and Srivilliputhur - in TN. It is this Araiyar family from Srivilliputhur that had also been performing at Thiru Kurungudi during the Kaisika Ekadasi and Panguni Utsavams. 

With his return to his home town for this year's Margazhi Utsavam,  the young Araiyar Natha Muni has taken this big devotional call to keep this historical service going at Srivilliputhur at least during his lifetime.  His intent to take over from his appa Bala Mukundan Araiyar and to continue this service is laudable. In the coming decades, one can expect this Araiyar family from Srivilliputhur to continue to delight with the presentation of this rare art of Araiyar Sevai. And that’s great news for the devotional world.