Sarangapani Koil Madapalli Srinivasan

From Ordinance Factory to Thaligai for Lord Aaravamudhan

This section had earlier featured a story on a person making the transition from working in late night shifts a manufacturing firm in Trichy  to carrying Namperumal on his shoulder. This story is of another person who worked in a manufacturing firm, again in Trichy to now preparing the sacred food for Lord Aaravamudhan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2023/11/srirangam-sripatham-chakrapani.html).

ஆரா அமுதே அடியேன் உடலம்  நின்பால் அன்பாயே

நீராய்  அலைந்து கரைய உருக்குகின்ற நெடுமாலே

சீர் ஆர் செந்நெல் கவரி வீசும் செழு நீர் திரு குடந்தை

ஏர் ஆர் கோலம் திகழ கிடந்தாய் கண்டேன் எம்மானே  - Thiruvoimozhi (5-8-1)

63 year old N Srinivasan has received a new lease of life years after his retirement from manufacturing defence equipment at the Ordinance factory in Trichy. Hailing from Kumbakonam, Srinivasan, who holds a diploma in Electrical Engineering, belonged to the phase when temples in TN witnessed a severe slowdown arising of the anti bhakthi movement of the 1970s. As was the case with many service personnel of the time, he too sought greener pastures elsewhere away from a life at the temple that was very close to his heart during his entire childhood and teenage years. 

He went into the manufacturing space and was involved in the manufacture of defence equipment. Over the last few years, he has been an integral part of the Prabhandham Ghoshti at the Sarangapani Koil. 

This section has featured stories on the issues that Divya Desams in Tamil Nadu are facing in terms of shortage of personnel at the Madapalli and the substantial lowering of Thaligai for Perumal. At the Sarangapani Koil, the man who was managing the Madapalli decided to head overseas leaving the temple in disarray and that’s when the services of Srinivasan was sought. 

An Unexpected Opportunity

Into his 60s, this was a completely unexpected invitation from the temple and he has grabbed it with both hands. He is at the madapalli preparing akkara vadisal and tells this writer that he considers a great blessing to be the one preparing the sacred food for Aaravamudha Perumal and presenting it each day over the last couple of months.

வாரா வருவாய் வரும் என் மாயா மாயா மூர்த்தியாய் 

ஆரா அமுதாய்  அடியேன் ஆவி அகமே தித்திப்பாய் 

தீரா வினைகள் தீர என்ன ஆண்டாய் திருக்குடந்தை 

ஊரா உனக்கு ஆள் பட்டும் அடியேன் இன்னம் உழல்வேனோ 

He is still in his early days at the madapalli but he has enjoyed every minute of it though he misses the recital of the Prabhandham during the utsavams including the just concluded Vedantha Desikar utsavam of which he had been an integral part in the last few years.

Prabhandham Ghoshti Srinivasan in far left - Desikar Utsavam 2021

Much to his surprise, he has already received positive feedback from the devotees and the locals have been enjoying the prasadam prepared by this new man at the madapalli.

Miniscule daily wages

As is the case at HRCE temples, the salary is miniscule and Srinivasan is working at a daily wage of Rs. 300. Even at the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam, the authorities are finding it difficult to find service personnel for the madapalli and there is a severe shortage there. While the financial part is frustrating, Srinivasan is enjoying the mantle of being the sole man in charge of every day Thaligai. It is a challenging task to be preparing multiple food at different times of the day ranging from Puliyotharai to Chakkara Pongal and Dhadhyonam to Kathamba Saatham but he is up for it and like his Prabhandham recital is doing this with great devotion.

குன்றா மது மலர்ச் சோலை வண்கொடிப் படப்பை

வரு புனல் பொன்னி மா மணி அலைக்கும்

செந்நெல் ஒண்  கழனித் திகழ் வனம் உடுத்த

கற்போர் புரிசைக் கனக மாளிகை

நிமிர் கொடி விசும்பில் இளம் பிறை துவக்கும்

செல்வம் மல்கு தென் திருக்குடந்தை

அந்தணர் மந்திர மொழியுடன் வணங்க- Thiru Ezhu Kootrirukkai

For a temple of its size and the round the year utsavams, having just one person at the madapalli is an indication of the current 'Kainkaryapara' scenario in historic temples and from that point of view having the 63 year old Srinivasan at this point of time at the madapalli away from his favourite prabhandham recital is indeed a boon for the temple. Devotees are hopeful that he will be in this for the long haul though the remuneration is abysmal considering the long hours of duty at the madapalli. He himself does not know what plans Aaravamudhan has for him but at the moment he considers this one of the greatest blessings of his life to be assigned the task of managing the madapalli all alone.

Nageswaran Temple Kumbakonam Restoration

HRCE Minister takes an unprecedented call to suspend an EO citing 'unclean' temple

New EO in temporary charge Prabhakaran turns around the temple complex within a few days

For over 25 years, a largely quiet set of temples during the weekdays would suddenly turn into a rush of activities once or twice a year. It almost always signified the likely arrival of industrialist Venu Srinivasan, the man behind the large scale restoration of Nava Tirupathi Divya Desam. The entire service personnel work round the clock to clean the temples leaving no dirt unturned, even in the most unlikeliest corner of the complex for they knew that he had the uncanny knack of spotting  unclean zones in the temple. As devotees, there was always the prayer for him to visit more often so the temples looked spic and span through the year (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/07/venu-srinivasan-historical-temples.html).

One would have expected such an exercise ahead of a HRCE minister’s visit as well. When S Ramesh the new minister of less than six months visited Kumbakonam for his first big meeting on the preparations for the 2028 Maha Magam, the EOs of temples in this temple town should have woken up from their slumber. Unfortunately, an EO in one temple in the heart of Kumbakonam did not and the carelessness led to an unprecedented suspension.

தக்கனது பெருவேள்வி தகர்த்தார் போலும்;

  சந்திரனைக் கலைகவர்ந்து தரித்தார் போலும்;

செக்கர்ஒளி, பவளஒளி, மின்னின் சோதி, செழுஞ்சுடர்த்தீ,

  ஞாயிறு,எனச் செய்யர் போலும்-

மிக்கதிறல் மறையவரால் விளங்கு வேள்வி

  மிகுபுகைபோய் விண்பொழியக், கழனி எல்லாம்

கொக்குஇனிய கனிசிதறித் தேறல் பாயும்

  குடந்தைக்கீழ்க் கோட்டத்துஎம் கூத்த னாரே- Appar

When minister Ramesh visited the Nageswaran temple last month, a temple praised by Appar, he was shocked to find  the shambolic state it was in. The abhisekam water did not have a proper outflow that led to a severe stink in that area arising out of stagnation. There were thick bushes in the prakara. Overall the temple cleanliness standards that the HRCE minister would have expected at this historic temple was missing and he saw as being below par.

In the decades gone by, there have not been too many instances of suspension of HRCE EOs related to cleanliness of temples. But so dismayed was the minister that within 24 hours of his visit the EO was suspended and well over a fortnight later still remains in suspension.

And then what happened at the temple????

EO Prabhakaran restores the temple complex

This section has featured a few stories over the last year or so on the proactive initiatives of EO Prabhakaran of Nachiyar Koil Divya Desam, now popular for the Kal Garuda Utsavam. From a massive restoration of the temple complex that saw the rebirth of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar who sung a century of verses on the Nambi Lord of Thiru Naraiyur to process driven initiatives to manage the ever increasing crowd on the Kal Garuda Sevai evening, from restoring the Vasantha Mandapam and reviving the Vasantha Utsavam to giving a new lease of life to the dilapidated Thoppu South of the temple, EO Prabhakaran has been impressed the devotees with his administrative abilities (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2026/05/nachiyar-koil-srinivasa-perumal-thoppu.html).

He had accompanied the HRCE minister during his Kumbakonam visit and soon after the suspension of Nageswaran temple EO, Prabhakaran was handed the additional charge of this temple with an immediate task of undoing the damage caused to the temple brand. And as has been his differentiator, he turned around the temple complex in a matter of a few days removing the bushes, the rumbles inside the complex and creating a free flowing pathway for the abhisekam water to make its way out. The temple complex now bears no resemblance to what it was a month ago.

With Maha Magam just under 18 months away, the Nageswaran temple is due for Thiruppani. Prabhakaran who oversaw the largest restoration exercise in several decades at Nachiyar Koil could be the one undertaking the restoration work at the Nageswaran temple as well though for the moment he is only there for a temporary period taking charge in addition to his full time work at Nachiyar Koil. 

Old timers to the temple recall the poorly lit complex in the century gone by. Unfortunately the temple continues to be dark with minimal lighting around the prakara. A look at the Kapaleeswarar temple in Mylapore would give one an indication of how well a temple complex can be illuminated.

The temple complex has some impressive historic architecture that dates back several centuries. The Nataraja Sabha aesthetics is as exquisite as the one seen at the Sarangapani temple just a few hundred yards away with horses and elephants pulling Nataraja. Sivakami Ambal plays the Thalam, Lord Vishnu the flute and Kaali is seen watching intensely Nataraja’s dance. The presence of Pralayakala Rudra is another feature at the temple. Nageswaran Swamy is one of the Lords to make the trip to the Maha Magam tank for the Maasi Utsavam.

On the outer temple walls of the Nageswara Swamy Sannidhi, the legend of Ramayana has been sculpted in stone.

Prabhakaran has been the EO at Nachiyar Koil for well over three years which means as per the HRCE practice he is due for a transfer. While he is currently on a short period assignment at the Nageswaran temple, it would serve the temple well if he is handed the full time engagement ahead of the Maha Magam Utsavam especially given that the Thiruppani works are slated to start soon.

But for now, the devotees of the temples count it as their blessing to have him oversee the activities in this phase and to improve the infra within the temple complex. The Navarathri is one of the important festivals in the year and that is just over 10 days away. Devotees are already looking forward to Periya Nayaki Ambal providing darshan in an improved lighting scenario during the utsavam. It is hoped that under EO Prabhakaran's supervision devotees will be able to experience a devotional Navarathri with illuminated lighting.