Torch Bearer of Kapali Temple is back in the NEWS after a 18 month hiatus this time launching a News Network!!!
For a couple of years, former World Bank staffer and consultant to the PMO, Sanyasi 'Brahmanandha' Ramkumar was the most renowned devotional face at the Kapaleeswarar temple in Mylapore. After having let go of the corporate life that had taken him to many overseas locations, Ramkumar sole destination in life became this legendary temple praised by Thiru Gnana Sambandar as one having utsavams round the year.
As he settled down into the temple as a devotee who inspired others to read devotional books and to follow a certain path within the temple, he found the absence of a permanent torch bearer during the processions and decided to take it upon himself. He would ride early in the evening on his old two wheeler from his home in Kodambakkam on the days in the month when there was a street procession. On other days, he would be in time for the Artha jaama pooja.
His contribution assumed great significance during the annual panguni utsavam when he stayed in a room on the south mada street and arrived at the temple at 3am to don an early morning role of carrying the Theevatti to the Yaaga Salai and then stayed back for the vahana procession in the morning. He came back in the evening carrying the Theevatti through the entire length of the 2-3 hour procession and stayed back at the temple till after midnight.
Even as he was performing this duty at the Kapaleeswarar temple, a high profile engagement of a Consultant to the PMO came his way. And for over a year, he straddled between the street processions and working on the digitisation of temple records.
Kapali Temple to the Banks of Ganga
In Karthigai of 2024, he came up and told this writer in front of the Murugan Sannidhi at the Kapaleeswarar temple that he was ending both his engagements – the one at the temple where he had become the face of the street processions with his vocal conversations with devotees as well as the engagement with the PMO and that he was heading into a saintly life.
And all of a sudden much to the shock of the devotees of Kapaleeswarar temple, he left the temple one night to never return. He initially reached the banks of Cauvery in Mayiladuthurai and then went to historic sacred places across the country and to Nepal as well. He was mostly out of sight and available only to some of his close devotee mates with whom he had built a devotional engagement at the Kapali temple.
The Sanyasi Journalist
In this phase he told this writer that disengaging with the worldly life including the bonding with Kapaleeswarar was his next phase of devotional enlightenment. Now, over 18 months after he quit the worldly life, he is back in the limelight with Brahmanandha News Network that he says is an independent editorial platform dedicated to verified, curated and meaningful journalism!!! He says that it was born from a vision of culture, truth, dharma and nation first and is hoping that this will be trusted source for balanced, indepth and inspiring news across India and World. He has a morning, midday and prime time bulleting.
Interestingly, he is going deep into understanding AI and how it can be used to disseminate insightful information to the readers. He says that AI assisted human curated news sets BNN apart. Kapali Theevatti Ramkumar who acquired Deekshai and is now known as Brahmanandha also has on offer weekly specials on wide ranging topics. He calls himself the Editor in Chief!!!
In his life, Kapali Theevatti Ramkumar had donned various roles – from overseas corporate engagements in the 2000s to being a consultant to the World Bank and then moving completely away to the devotional world and to a daily life at Kapaleeswarar temple to then disengaging his bonding with Kapali to move on a path of a rishi. Now after all these, Ramkumar (Brahmanandha) has got into journalism and with AI as an important assistant, he is confident of taking on the best in the business to provide news promising depth with clarity, truth with responsibility and speed with accuracy.
In his more recent roles over the last decade or so, he has managed to capture the imagination of people and more often than not became the centre of attraction. When the devotees of Kapaleeswarar thought that they had lost him forever, he is back with a bang proudly announcing on social media about his launch. There is also a Brahmanandha Bhakthi Network (BBN) that will provide info on events and the happenings at temples
One long standing devotee of Kapaleeswarar told this writer at the Singar temple over the weekend that Theevatti Ramkumar’s launch could even give the CNN a run for its money – for a start at least the name 'BNN' sounds so. It is just over a month since the launch and Ramkumar is highly active on the social media including on his instagram page as he looks to take the news consumers by storm like he did with his 'Theevatti' engagement and his digitisation role with TN temples.
This section will track the developments at the BNN and BBN. Till this weekend he has not been back at the Kapaleeswarar temple after his sudden exit after the Murugan procession on the Karthigai evening in 2024.
Best wishes to Brahmanandha News Network!!
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