Vaanamaamalai Thothadri Srinivasan

Back to the roots

From Tier 1 IT company to Madapalli Cook at a historical  remote Divya Desam

It is past 1am on Wednesday (May 7) night. 47 year old Thothadri Srinivasan (Nambi) is still at the Madapalli at the Thothadrinathan Divya Desam in Nanguneri and he brings Dosai Thaligai to be presented to Deivanayagan following the Horse Vahana procession on the 8th day of the Chitrai Brahmotsavam.  Shortly after, he is at the moolavar Sannidhi for the Thaligai presentation at the Artha Jaama Pooja. 

புள்ளின் வாய் பிளந்தாய்

மருது இடை போயினாய்

எருது ஏழ் அடர்த்த என் கள்ள மாயவனே

கருமாணிக்கச் சுடரே

தெள்ளியார் திரு நான்மறைகள் வல்லார்

மலி தண்  சிரீவர மங்கை

உள் இருந்த எந்தாய்

அருளாய்  உய்யுமாறு எனக்கே - Thiruvoimozhi (5-7) 

In March 2018, this section had featured a story on how the once vibrant Divya Desam with over 300 kainkaryaparas in the century goneby had dwindled to 30 (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/03/nanguneri-vanamamalai-divya-desam.html). This story is about one who has chosen to return to his hereditary town to perform lifetime kainkaryam at this historical Divya Desam and the headquarters of the Vaanamaamalai Mutt.

It is almost 2am when he is the last to leave the temple having made it to the temple at 3am the previous morning for Vishroopam Thaligai. He tells this writer as he walks back to his hereditary house on the Sannidhi street as to how his life has been transformed by his move to this Divya Desam.  “It has been over three years now and I can feel the spiritual progress I have made during this three year period. Being on the ground and carrying out kainkaryam in the presence of your acharya is a special feeling. It is printed after one’s death that one has attained Acharya’s feet. We have an opportunity when alive to perform Kainkaryam at the feet of our Acharya and that is what I have sought to do in this phase of my life.”

Top Tier I IT company

Thothadri Srinivasan spent the first 15 years of his life at Nanguneri studying in the local school. After completing his Engineering, he joined a top Tier 1 IT company where he worked for well over a dozen years serving as a Group Project Manager in his final role. And then for close to a decade, he travelled across TN into remote towns working for an NGO as its Project Director.

Residing in Thiruvallikeni during his corporate stint, he was an integral part of the renowned Prabhandham Ghoshti led by MA Venkatakrishnan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/05/ma-venkatakrishnan-thiruvallikeni-divya_16.html). His son, Sreekar, too learned the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham very early and had completed the entire 4000 verses by the time he was 10. 

After Thothadri Srinivasan had become interested in Kalakshepams, his interest began to wean away from the corporate world into exploring a spiritual journey. After a brief experimental period of six months at the Vaanamaamalai Mutt in Thiruvallikeni, he decided to move full time to the Mutt headquarters in Nanguneri to take care of the Vastram Kottadi at Thirumadi Vilagam in September 2021.

Horse Vahana procession - Periya Thirumozhi

Late on Wednesday night, he along with his son, presented over three hundred verses of Thirumangai Azhvaar’s Periya Thirumozhi as part of the Prabhandham Ghoshti during the Horse Vahana procession of Deivanayakan (and Sesha Vahana of Srivaramangai Thayar) on the 8th evening of the Brahmotsavam.

கல்வன்கொல் யான் அறியேன் கரியான் ஒரு காளை  வந்து

வள்ளி மருங்குல்  எந்தன் மட மானினைப்   போத வென்று   

வெள்ளி வளைக்கைப் பற்றப் பெற்ற தாயினை விட்ட கன்று 

அள்ளலம் பூங் கழனி அணியாலி  புகுவர்கொலோ  3-7-1- Periya Thirumozhi

Multiple sacred roles at Vaanamaalai

After three years of Vastram Kottadi Kainkaryam, he moved to Madapalli duty at the Mutt that he performed for six months till this March. He looks back at that phase with great delight “Each day (non utsavam days) of the year in this phase, at least 75 people participated in the Anna Dhanam organised by the Vaanamaamalai Mutt and I was blessed to be the one cooking for them. The Mutt also engaged me to initiate youngsters into the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham and I have been teaching the sacred verses to about a 100 of them in the recent past. Also, during the Brahmotsavam, I have been involved with anna dhanam presentation for several hundreds of visiting devotees each day of the utsavam. These are opportunities I have received from my Acharya, something I could not have visualised a few years ago.”

And the Sannidhi street continues to have the old traditional Agraharam kind of feel and look about it for a large part with no apartments yet.

From Mutt Madapalli to Temple Madapalli

Just last month, he has moved to the temple Madapalli with a 15day engagement every month “I considered it a great blessing to be presenting the Thaligai at the Mutt. Now it’s an elevated feeling of having the opportunity to present the Thaligai to the Lord of Vaanamaamalai. We continue to cook in the traditional way with firewood and that makes this opportunity even more special and sacred.”

He says that there are times when his wife, also hailing from Nanguneri, remembers and recalls the great moments at the Prabhandham Ghoshti at Thiruvallikeni that she misses now and discusses the possibility of moving back to that Divya Desam but Thothadri Srinivasan has his feet firmly grounded at Nanguneri. He has detached himself from most of the things in the world and has been living a life as directed by his Acharya.

Being at a remotely located Divya Desam, he has had the opportunity to carry out multiple kainkaryams and that has given him a lot of satisfaction too “While my primary duty is at the Madapalli, I have been able to don the role of a Sripatham, a seva kalam member at Prabhandham Ghoshti, a Prabhandham teacher and an anna dhanam organiser.”

The son takes to the traditional path

Despite securing 90+% in the class XII boards, his son quit academics and has been learning the Sastras over the last three years under the mentorship of Thirukovilur Jeer “On his own, my son has acquired great interest in leading a traditional way of life. There are very few Sastra experts in the state and he has taken it upon himself to master the Sastras. We are happy that at a time when the next gen is looking to go the corporate way, Sreekar has chosen this traditional path. We, as parents, are over joyed with this and have assured him that we will extend the fullest support to him, including financially.”

                                                 Sreekar

On non utsavam days at Nanguneri, Thothadri Srinivasan visits the nearby Nambi Divya Desam in Thiru Kurungudi to participate in the Seva Kaalam like he did at the five Garuda Sevai on the fifth day of the Panguni Brahmotsavam there (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2025/03/thiru-kurungudi-nambi-panguni-garuda.html).

It is almost 3am (Thursday May 8 morning) and he has to be back at the Madapalli at 4am for the Vishroopam Thaligai. Thothadri Srinivasan bids goodbye to this writer from the traditional verandah of his house on Sannidhi street to catch up on an hour’s sleep before he makes his way back to the temple for the 9th day Brahmotsavam Kainkaryam.

An early return to hereditary temple town

Thothadri Srinivasan returned to his hereditary temple town when he was just 43 - lot earlier than he had expected. In these 3 ½ years, he has found a new peace that had been hitherto missing. Most importantly, he can feel within himself the spiritual progress he has made performing kainkaryam day in day out in the presence of his Acharya and with his daily blessings.  The financial returns are minimal compared to what he earned during his corporate years but Thothadri Srinivasan has not returned to Nanguneri to boost his bank balance. His sole purpose is to serve at the feet of his Acharya and perform all Kainkaryams as directed by him as a dutiful kainkaryapara. And that is giving him great satisfaction and peace of mind. Adding to this delight is the fact that his son has chosen a traditional way of life and is looking forward to spreading the messages from the Sastras to the world at large.

It is hoped that sooner than later more devotees would return to their hereditary towns like Thothadri Srinivasan to perform Kainkaryam at the feet of Perumal like their forefathers used to in the centuries gone by.