Nanguneri Thothadri Nathan Temple Venkat Kainkaryapaka

In his 20s, this IT staffer quits a lucrative job to perform service at the Thothadri Nathan Divya Desam in Nanguneri

This section has featured stories in the past on how kainkaryapakas in historical temples have been moving away from their ancestral locations to larger cities in search of jobs in the corporate world. By and large that has been the trend over the last decade or so with more and more service personnel letting go Kainkaryam opportunities especially in remote temples. In March 2018, this section had featured a story on how the service personnel at the Thothadri Nathan Divya Desam in Nanguneri had experience challenging times in the 1970s and 80s and how industrialist Venu Srinivasan resurrected the dilapidated state of the temple and a consecration was performed after almost a hundred years(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/03/nanguneri-vanamamalai-divya-desam.html?m=1). This story is about one who in his 20s has quit his job in the IT industry and come back to Nanguneri with an intention to perform service at this historical Divya Desam.

Six years in the IT industry

L Venkatasubramanian completed his schooling at the Government school in Nanguneri and then graduated in Computer Science from the Madura College. The financial scenario at home had not been great back in Nanguneri and soon after his graduation he joined a BPO firm in Madurai. Over the next six years, he moved to a renowned IT Hardware firm and then to another IT firm.  

The Pandemic - A blessing in disguise

For eight years from his college days, he had been away from home. When the Pandemic struck, he moved back to Nanguneri to WFH and it allowed him time to ponder over what he wanted to do with this life. That was he found a transformational change within himself. Sitting in the outer prakara at the Thothadri Nathan temple praised by NamAzhvaar, Venkat recounts to this writer the phase that saw him transform into a Kainkaryapaka at this temple “I felt isolated at the work place. There was a rat race for money and promotions and I had no job satisfaction. I saw my IT colleagues buying a lot of luxurious items which they never used for they had no time to themselves away from work. These physical assets were like dolls and we human beings functioned like Robot. It seemed to me that we were leading meaningless lives.”

When I came home during Wave 1 and started working from home, I found a certain peace around the Sannidhi street and within the temple complex. I had begun to have darshan daily at the Moolavar Sannidhi in that phase. I suddenly felt like wanting to perform Kainkaryam at this Divya Desam.

ஏனம் ஆய் நிலம் கீண்ட என் அப்பனே 

கண்ணா என்றும் என்னை ஆளுடை 

வான நாயகனே  மணி மாணிக்கச்சுடரே 

 தேன மாம் பொழில் தன் சிரீ வரமங்கலத்தவர் 

கை தொழ உறை 

வானமாலையே அடியேன் தொழ வந்தருளே - NamAzhvaar

Venkat reached out to Srikanth, the Srikaryam at the Mutt asking him if it would be possible for him to perform Kainkaryam at the temple. There were opportunities for him but the monetary compensation was unlikely to be anywhere near his IT salary, he was told.

“I thought about it for two months and then took this big call to quit the job.”

During the Pandemic phase, he had begun to understand the functioning of the temple. When utsavams were revived, he had insights into those as well including the Brahmotsavam "I was delighted when the Jeer of the Vanamamalai Mutt expressed happiness at my decision and welcomed me wholeheartedly." 

At that time, Venkat says that there was not much of a bank balance and his earnings in IT had gone towards the expenses of the family that included his parents and grandmother ( his patti passed away recently).

Given Venkat's IT background, the Srikaryam thoughtfully offered him a systems admin work at the Mutt Office and he has been involved in the process of assisting the digitisation of all temple records that have been in physical form until now.

Over the last year, he has been enjoying the temple Kainkaryam and has found a fulfilment that had been hitherto missing “I worked 15 hours in the IT firms and came back tired every night. Here too on the utsavam days, I stay back till well past midnight, but the feeling is completely different. I have gone back home refreshed and with renewed energy.”

The Mutt has provided him with a place to stay at a service quarters within a few minutes from the temple.  He also has meals at the Thathiyarathanam provided by the Mutt after noon. His amma too has begun to perform Kainkaryam at the Mutt and she too has found it very fulfilling.

He performs Sripatham service during the street processions, gets the Chapparam ready for the procession and supports the priests in certain services. 

As part of this transformational shift to a traditional way of life, he has also begun to learn the Sukthas from the acharyas at the Patshala at the Eastern end of the Sannidhi street, one where about a dozen young boys are learning the Vedas and Sastras. His external appearances too have changed. From having sported a corporate attire in the not too distant past, he is now seen in Veshti and Angavastram and a sacred ash that is prominent on the forehead.

He says that from carrying the Lord on his shoulders to supporting the priests, it’s been a most enjoying experience "It has brought about a contended feeling that was missing when I was working in IT.”

Courageous Move, Positive Development

At 29, Venkatasubramanian is beginning to lead a new life that is giving him a great deal of satisfaction and a peace of mind that he had not experienced in his short corporate life. His mind is now focused on donning the role of a Kainkaryapara at this Divya Desam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2010/04/vanamamalai-thothadri-nathan-nanguneri.html?m=1)and participating in as many services as possible. The salary here is less than one fourth of what he earned in the IT industry but the satisfaction of the Kainkaryam is unmatched. And that is what matters to him. He has taken a big call to let go a high paying corporate job and a career that had been in front of him to move full time into temple Kainkaryam, one that he now sees as his only way for the rest of his life. 

At a time when everyone is looking to move North into a corporate career, the return of Venkat to Nanguneri and his availability for full time Kainkaryam through the year is a positive development and good news for this historical Divya Desam.