Thiru Purambiyam Satchinathar Temple

Revival next year of the Maasi Brahmotsavam after five decades

A young Visionary Priest is dreaming big in this remote temple town on the outskirts of Kumbakonam and bringing the temple back to its historical glory

The Lord is believed to provide solutions from Legal Hurdles – Perform a Pooja on a Tuesday

Not so long ago, the four Saint Poets praised Satchinathar temple in Thiru Purambiyam, a location where a historical battle had been fought, was not in great shape. As with many historical temples in TN, there was a shortage of service personnel including archakas and paricharakaras. The Maasi Brahmotsavam had come to a halt. It was then that the Madurai Atheenam, that administers the temple, identified a young man, Rajasekara Gurukal, who was serving at another popular temple, Patteeswaram (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/07/patteeswaram-thiru-gnana-sambanthar.html?m=1), not too far from here. But he seemed to be well settled there and was initially reluctant to move. But with persuasion from the authorities, he finally relented and made the move to the Satchinathar temple, about 2kms north of Innambur (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/08/ezhuthurai-nathar-temple-innambur.html). In the eight years that he has been at the temple, he has begun the process of the transformation of the temple to its historical glory reviving utsavams, getting the devotees back into in the temple and building a team of service personnel.

The work load for archakas in remote temples is heavy and hence not many in the new generation are interested in this service but not so Rajasekaran Gurukal. Madapalli personnel in most remote temples are in short supply. With the cooks in demand elsewhere, few are ready to offer their services in temples that offer a low salary. For long, there were no public transport services to this historical temple. Even now, it is infrequent. The size of the temple would shake even an enthusiastic archaka for maintenance is a big challenge. 

Every morning, he rides over ten kms from the Mutt Street in Kumbakonam to the temple on his two wheeler and returns after the pooja at noon. He then returns again in the evening for the pooja. Thus he rides over 40kms each day to perform service at the temple. He also doubles up as a cook each day.

      Appar on Thiru Purambiyam

Historical Names

The huge Satchnathar temple in Thiru Purambiyam that measures 1 lakh sq ft in size is 10kms West of Kumbakonam on the banks of Manniyaru.  Historically this was referred to as Kalyana Maa Nagar, Punnaaga Vanam, Aathi Thechuram. At the eastern entrance is an 81 feet high five tier Raja Gopuram. In ancient times, Swami was referred to as Purambiya Mudayara Nayanar, Purambiya Mudayara Mahadevar and Pattaalekar Thambiraanaar. 

The Lord as Witness in Madurai - Satchinathar

A businessman from Poompuhar married a woman from Madurai and settled there. When he heard the news of his sister’s death, he returned to his home town. On his way back, he came along with his niece. At this temple, she was bitten by a snake. Invoking the blessings of the Lord here, she was brought to life and he married her at this temple.

When they returned to Madurai, his first wife went to the King’s court. When they were asked for proof of the wedding, the niece invoked the blessings of the Lord of Thirupurambiyam. The Lord, Vanni Maram and the well, the only three present there that day presented themselves and confirmed the wedding. Hence the Lord came to be known as Satchinathar. 

Tuesday has now become a popular day at the temple with the devotees coming in to invoke the blessings of the Lord to sort their legal problems. Bring the lord who acted as a witness, every Tuesday he performs special pooja for devotees caught in a legal tangle. 

             Sundarar Purambiyam

Revival of Murasu

The beating of the big drum (Murasu) was a big feature at the temple for Artha Jaama pooja. The beating of the drum was heard at Kollidam and the devotees would rush to the temple for darshan. In a devotional development, he has revived this after 50 years. He is hoping to building a strong young team that will take this service into the next few decades. 

Brahmotsavam after Five Decades

The chariot that had been in a dilapidated condition is being currently repaired as are a few of the vahanas. By the time we are into the same period next year, it is likely he would have revived the Maasi Brahmotsavam that has been off for almost five decades. 

Chozha Period Contributions

Following his transformational victory in the battle of Purambiyam, Aditya Chozha built this as a Granite structure from the previous brick construction. In memory of this, this location was named as Aaditheswaram.

Sembiyan Mahadevi, who contributed to the development of many temples including Konerirajapuram(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/03/konerirajapuram-thiru-nallam.html?m=1), donated a silver kalasam for thirumanjanam invoking the Lord for the well being of her son Uthama Chozha. During the period of Aditya Karaikalan, lands were donated for the creation and maintenance of a nandavanam.

One of the Chief Ministers of Raja Raja Chozha directed the daily pooja for Ashta Parivara idols and allocated funds for this. During his rule, a separate sannidhi was built for Ambal. Kulotunga I contributed to the Panguni Utsavam. Vikrama Chozha allocated lands for the celebration of festivals for the Saint Poets For amavasya thirumanjanam, lands were granted during the rule of Kulothunga III. 

Vijayanagara King granted several lands for the conduct of the utsavams at this temple including a grand one in Maasi.

An interesting directive

Centuries old inscription points to an interesting direction from the time. Those residing in the inner street had to delivery 20 coconuts to the temple for every tree they owned in their house. 

Originally Ambal Kuraivilaa Azhagi was East facing. At a later point of time, Nagoor Chettiar constructed a South facing Sannidhi. In memory of this, there is a sculpture of the Chettiar with folded hands. 

Devotional Service in a Remote Location

Rajasekara Gurukal is a Commerce Graduate and could easily have gone the corporate way like so many others from his generation but right from a young age, he has dedicated himself to performing service at temples having begun helping his uncles from the age of seven. He sees touching the Lord and performing pooja every day in a Saint Poets praised temple as a blessing that came its way on its own and considers it his duty to revive the festivals and bring the temple back to its historical glory.

He learnt the agamas and the secrets of alankaram from his uncle and cousins. He does not have financial desires and his entire focus is on getting the Satchinathar Temple in Thiru Purambiyam into a self sufficient mode where utsavams can be run on its own through devotee support for the next several decades.  He expects a grand revival of the Brahmostsavam in Maasi of 2022 by when he hopes to have the Chariot and all the vahanas in great shape. He is currently laying a strong foundation at the temple sowing the seed that hopefully will sprout for another 100 years. 

All by himself, single handedly, he lights the lamps in all the Sannidhis in the morning, performs abhisekam, cooks at the madapalli and talks to the devotee network to lure them back into the temple for the utsavams. He is devotionally excited all the time and is grateful to the Lord for assigning him the task of managing such a huge temple and is constantly thinking of improving the temple and reviving all the festivals. 

In remote temple locations, there still are a few priests who make a big difference in the world of selfless service to the Lord and Rajasekara Gurukal is one such. Not so long ago there was a big agraharam in this temple town. May be one day he will be able to convince the descendants of the original inhabitants to come back and revive the vibrant agraharam in  the same way he is reviving historical activities at the temple.

The temple is open from 7am-12noon and 4.30pm-8pm. Contact Rajasekara Gurukal @ 98946 52238.

Narasimmapuram Azhagiya Singar Pancha Brindavanam

In a remote location near Pullam Bhoothangudi within a single complex is the Brindavanam of five heads of the Ahobilam Mutt

The Brindavanam and the Lakshmi Narasimhan Temple had been in dilapidated condition for several decades and was renovated under the leadership of the 45th Jeer

Just over 200 years ago, the 25th Jeer of Ahobila Mutt, HH Srinivasa Yatheendra Maha Desikan made a trip to the then vibrant Thiru Mangai Azhvaar praised Valvil Rama temple at Pullam Bhoothangudi. To seek his blessings, the Prince of Thanjavur Serfoji visited Pullam Bhoothangudi. Soon after, he handed several villages around Pullam Bhoothangudi Divya Desam in donation to the Mutt. Over time, this location a couple of kms North East of Pullam Bhoothangudi came to be named as Narasimmapuram. It is here that one finds a beautiful Brindavanam of five Heads of the Ahobilam Mutt.

All those centuries ago, Thiru Mangai Azhvaar praised Pullam Bhoothangudi as a well laid out city with huge Mansions and Mandapams (much in contrast to what it is now), Pullam Bhoothangudi was home to scores of Vedic Seers who in their chants through the day spread the message of forgiveness and patience as part of one’s lives. The temple was surrounded with beautiful red lotuses that seemed to bloom all through the year in the water tanks, where one also found bees drinking nectar and humming sweet tunes. He makes a specific reference to Punnai Trees that sprinkled golden turmeric like pollen. Water, he says, gushed from the Cauvery with gems being washed ashore on to the banks in Pullam Bhoothangudi (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/05/pullam-bhoothangudi-divya-desam.html). 

                                        25th Jeer (1776-1811)

The first Brindavanam was for the 25th Jeer who secured these lands for the Mutt in the late 18th Century from Serfoji. Soon after he passed away, in 1811, the first of the Brindavanams came up in Narasimmapuram. Over the next century, Brindavanam for the 26th, 30th, 37th and 38th Jeers of the Mutt was also built within this beautiful complex. Half a km South of the Brindavanam is a small temple for Lakshmi Narasimhan also on the piece of land handed to the Mutt by the Thanjavur Prince(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/06/thanjavur-palace-babaji-rajah-bhonsle.html). 

However, with the infrastructure development in the 20th century skewed towards certain locations, this entire region including the Divya Desams of Pullam Bhoothangudi and Athanur turned ‘remote’ in the new scheme of things. And for several decades, the two Divya Desams as well as the temple and the Brindavanam in Narasimmapuram remained in dilapidated condition.

                        26th and 30th Jeer ( 1811-28/1837-42)

While the devotional wave saw improvements in the two Divya Desams (another renovation exercise is currently on at Athanur Aandalukku Aiyan Divya Desam with the Samprokshanam expected shortly), the Brindavanam and the Lakshmi Narasimhan temple in Narasimmapuram continued to remain deserted and unattended. Broken walls and big bushes were seen inside the two complexes.

The revival in Narasimmapuram

It was during the period of the 45th Jeer HH Narayana Maha Desikan that a complete renovation exercise was initiated at the Brindavanam and the Lakshmi Narasimha temple and consecration performed earlier last decade.

                                            

                          37th / 38th Jeers at the Brindavanam

Three years ago, the Mutt in a formal directive handed over the maintenance and organizing of festivals at Narasimmapuram to the trustees of the Brindavanam. The 46th Jeer of the Mutt instructed that the Trustees of the Narasimmapuram Brindavanam Trust, who are related to the 38th Head of the Mutt, Srinivasa Satakopa Yatheendra Maha Desikan (Mutt’s head - 1905-09) to maintain the two properties. 

Currently Kannappan, a resident of Sannidhi Street in Pullam Bhoothangudi for the last 25years and the trustee of the temple, has been rendering service all alone performing daily aradhana at both the Brindavanam and the Lakshmi Narasimhan temple. 

For centuries, his forefathers had taken care of the Athanur Divya Desam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2010/04/athanur-divya-desam.html). Given the challenging financial conditions of the time, his father who had been managing the temple services all by himself handed over the temple to the Mutt in the 1950s. 

Both at the Lakshmi Narasimha temple and the Pancha Brindavanam, Kannappan meticulously lights lamps every morning and performs aradhana. He also presents Thaligai at the Lakshmi Narasimhan temple.

The Brindavanam of the 19^th Head of the Mutt is also in this region, very near the Pullam Bhoothangudi Divya Desam.

Kannappan can be reached on: 99446 30182

The story on the Brindavanam of the 40^th Jeer of the Mutt at Thuvariman (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/01/thuvariman-rangaraja-perumal-temple.html)

Sarangapani Koil Naana Bhattar

Financial Constraints led him to let go an Engineering Degree opportunity in the 1990s, and with that the possibility of a corporate job overseas

Financially much less lucrative, but the satisfaction and happiness of serving Sarangapani and Komalavalli Thayar at Thiru Kudanthai for the last 18 years is unmatched- Naana Bhattar

S Narayanan’s forefathers had performed archaka kainkaryam at the Sarangapani Koil in Thiru Kudanthai (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/06/sarangapani-koil-thiru-kudanthai.html). As with temples across Tamil Nadu, things turned for the worse in the 70s and 80s. Service Personnel had begun moving away from Kumbakonam to bigger cities and devotees too found their way out of the ancient temple town seeking greener pastures elsewhere. The devotional wave was still at least a decade away when the teenaged Narayanan completed his Class XII exam. There was not much Thattu Kaasu in those days and with increased cost of living, the priests had begun to feel the pinch. As has been the traditional within the family of priests, one of the sons continues with the temple service while another goes out into the corporate world. His elder stopped academics after Class X and began his service at the temple. Narayanan, a student of Town High School, Kumbakonam,  was a bright student at School and secured well over 1000 marks (out of 1200) and was handed a BE computer science seat at the Shanmugha College. He attended the interview and much to his delight was offered a seat on merit. There were less than 50 Engineering colleges in the state at that time and he felt good to be joining a number of his school class mates at the college. It seemed at that time that the elder brother would be at the Sarangapani Koil while the younger one would find his way into the corporate world and probably somewhere overseas.

Joining the 1990s TN Engineering Wave!!

The 1990s also saw the first wave of a large number of Engineering students from Tamil Nadu make the trip to the US for their first jobs. Engineers were the flavour the day that decade and Narayanan too wanted to be part of this wave and visualized working in the US as an Engineer from Kumbakonam. When things were looking up for him academically, he found a problem typical of a middle class house hold, especially the priests of Divya Desams. His parents did not have sufficient savings out of the income from the temple service to fund his Engineering education (it was around Rs. 20000 annually) and hence much to his disappointment, he could not graduate as a Computer Science Engineer. Instead he did B. Sc in a local college in Kumbakonam. Alongside his studies, he began performing support services at the Sarangapani Divya Desam from the 1990s. Before he turned 20, his appa passed away that meant a further dent into the finances.

He pursued a Post Graduate Diploma after his graduation and hoped for a job in a local firm but his mind slowly moved away from the corporate thought and he stood transformed from wanting to be an engineer working in the US to a priest following in the footsteps of his forefathers.

Overseas Dreams shattered, remains in Kumbakonam

He put behind his dreams of going overseas as an engineer and learnt the agamas for a few years from a Vedic Pundit in Kumbakonam. He officially joined the temple in 2003 after his wedding (as per the tradition at the temple, priests can present the entire service only after the marriage) though he had begun supporting his elder brother, Sudarashan Bhattar even earlier but with restrictions. With the 13 days service on offer each month across Sarangapani, Ramaswamy and Chakrapani temples, he has now been serving at these temples as ‘Naana Bhattar’ for the last 18 years.  

Reminiscing with his school mates

During Covid, after the temples closed for devotee darshan for several months last year, Naana Bhattar reconnected on social media with his classmates from school and found that a majority of his mates were overseas in high paying corporate jobs. If he had been able to pay the annual fees in the 1990s, he too may have been in a similar corporate job in the US. Instead he has been serving at the Divya Desam in Thiru Kudanthai without a salary (they perform service as hereditary descendants) depending solely on Thattu Kaasu during the 13day service to make ends meet.  

Interestingly, it is Naana Bhattar that they (his classmates now stationed overseas) reach out to when they encounter a problem in their lives for him to perform an archanai for Sarangapani and Komalavalli Thayar. And they look up to him to provide them with comforting words and solace that the Lord of Thiru Kudanthai will take care of the devotees' problems. When they land in India for a holiday, they are always at the Sarangapani Koil to both see their old school mate as well as invoking the blessings of Perumal and Thayar through his archanai.

Once in a while, the thought crosses his mind, especially when he is in conversation with his old mates in the US and elsewhere overseas, on what might have been had he joined the Engineering course.

But soon he reminds himself that very few in the world can touch Sarangapani Perumal at Thiru Kudanthai Divya Desam, one praised by seven azhvaars and that he has been blessed as one designated to do that service at this historical temple. No amount of corporate compensation and glory can match the happiness of serving Sarangapani and Komalavalli Thayar.

While it is tempting to look at the other side and the financial glory of his batchmates and the settled look,financially, of their families, only a select few in the country get the opportunity to serve at Divya Desams. Money is required to pay the house rent and the bills that crop up every month. To that extent, some amount of financial security is required. With the big devotional wave that has been hitting the TN temples over the last decade, the priests of Divya Desam are beginning to have a reasonably strong run financially, of late. Finally, though, it is the exclusivity of the devotional experience and being with God all through the day that makes the difference. And that experience has an umatched feel about it for Divya Desam Bhattars such as Naana.

Srirangam Madapalli Fame Lakshmi Narasimhan enters Sainthood

From a crorepathi IT Professional a few years ago to Sainthood in the 40s

Lakshmi Narasimhan transformed the Srirangam Madapalli in 2017-18 but moved on from the temple after being rejected the post of Jeer

End of  January 2021, he has officially renounced family way of life and become 'Dhanurudhas Ramanuja Jeer'

Just under three years after he gave up a high paying job in a MNC and took up service at the Madapalli at the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam, Lakshmi Narasimhan, in his 40s, has given up family life and taken up Sainthood. He will now be referred to as Dhanurudhasa Ramanuja Jeer.

17-18 in Srirangam

This section had in July 2018 written about his transformational services at the Srirangam Madapalli (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/07/srirangam-madapalli-transformation.html). However, his stint at the madapalli was shortlived with constant detractors making it difficult for him to pursue the large scale transformation that he was attempting at the madapalli. Following the death of the Jeer of the Ranganathaswamy temple, Lakshmi Narasimhan had indicated his interest for that post and was willing to quickly learn the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham in its entirety. But the temple authorities did not act in his favour with several opposition to him being nominated for the post. Shortly after, he quit the temple initially indicating a temporary leave for physical health issues relating to carrying heavy vessels at the madapalli. But he never returned again to the temple and the madapalli. His mentee of the time, another former IT professional Srivathsan continues to serve at the madapalli in Srirangam.

2019 at Azhvaar Tirunagari

The next year,  in June 2019, this section tracked him at 5am on the Nava Tirupathi Garuda Seva day at Azhvaar Tirunagari Divya carrying sacred water from the Tamaraibarani for the day's utsavam(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/06/nava-tirupathi-garuda-sevai.html). He had performed selfless service through the Ramanuja Utsavam in the summer of 2019 at Azhvaar Tirunagari Divya Desam. He was also involved in propogating the traditional way of life to the priests in the region. Priests had told this writer in 2019 as to how he would present verses from the scriptures and initiate the thought process of following the traditional ways at the Divya Desam temples even in these modern times. However, his stint there too was shortlived as his traditional ways and getting everyone to follow his way did not find favour with the temple authorities. He moved on from the temple leaving indication to very few people there on his whereabouts. 

2020 at Melkote/ Kirangur

And then, this section spotted him at the Avathara Sthalam of Ananthazhvaan at Kirangur, near Srirangapatna(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/08/ananthazhvaar-kirangur.html). He had spent some time at Melkote, most of the nights sleeping on the banks of the Theertham before joining hands in service with the now 88 year old Ananthacharya  at Kirangur. Over the last year, he has been at the madapalli at Kirangur much to the delight of Octogenerian Ananrhacharya, who  told this writer that he feels blessed to have someone like Lakshmi Narasimhan joining him out of nowhere.

And earlier today, he officially renounced his family way of life at Melkote and assumed the status of Jeer (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/09/melkote-araiyar-sri-rama-sharma.html).

In the few months that this writer had known him in Srirangam, he had always indicated dedicating himself to a life of service to God. Even at that time, he had let go of his family and was living a life surviving on very minimal food and clothing. While the Srirangam Temple authorities were not inclined on making him the Jeer of the temple, he has two years on chosen his own path and renounced materialistic interests in life and will now pursue sainthood.

He is now taking up a round tour of Kanchipuram ( Kooram), Srirangam and Thirumalai.

At the Srirangam Temple in May 2021

It is likely he will return to Kirangur and continue to reside at the Avathara Sthalam of Ananthaazhvaan.

S Vasudevan Triumphant Return TN Cricket

The Return of the Golden Hand

In his first and only year as TN captain, he won the Ranji Trophy in 1988. Now in his first year as Chairman of Selectors, TN has won the T20 tournament that has been elusive for almost 15years

“I know that (TN's good run in white ball cricket in recent years) but what I want is the trophy. Nothing less will be acceptable” - Vasudevan told Dinesh Karthik last month after the captain's appointment

33 years ago, TN cricket was in a fix. Legendary S Venkataraghavan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/04/venkataraghavan75.html) had retired. Following his retirement, Bharat Reddy, the wicket keeper from the 1970s captained TN but was dropped soon after (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/11/bharath-reddy-players-man.html). The senior most player V Sivaramakrishnan retired at the start of the season. It was the year of the World Cup, the first after India’s historic win and K Srikkanth, still in his prime, was likely to be away for a large part of the domestic season. There were some ‘very interested’ contenders who had made known their intention to lead the state side that season but the TN selectors went for the experienced Vasudevan. In the preceding ten years, he had not captained the state once. The years leading up to that season had been dominated by Delhi, Bombay and Karnataka and very few would have given the young and un-fancied TN team a chance. But in his very first year as the captain, he led TN to a Ranji Trophy victory (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/06/vasudevan-tn-ranji-trophy-retirement.html). He was (and still is) a simple and an uncomplicated man and moved well with the players, most of them then in their early 20s. He allowed them to be their own self and gave them the freedom to express themselves, something that had been sorely missing in the earlier regime. He too played a big part in the triumph contributing with the ball in what was one of his best seasons.

In the last two decades, he has been largely out of the TNCA cricket circuit (except for one off coaching stints), initially focusing on his IT/ Oracle business and then on his role as a coach of a local cricket academy with a limited number of students. It must have come as a surprise to many in the TN cricketing circles that after over 25years, he came back as a State Selector, this time as the Chairman.

And the Golden hand has done it again. After a gap of almost 15years, Tamil Nadu has won T20 trophy (they last won the T20 tourney way back in 2006-07, the inaugural year of the tournament). It must be remembered that TN has done exceptionally well in White Ball cricket in recent years (the team lost the final last year in the last ball of the match). And that is exactly what Dinesh Karthik (who was the captain in the final a decade and a half ago) brought to the notice of Vasudevan soon after his appointment as captain last month when the two met at the TNCA. The easy going Vasudevan can get to be stern when it comes to (cricketing) business and his response to DK was straight and on his face “I know that but what I want is the trophy. Nothing less will be acceptable.”

While he is known to be a quiet man, on the ground he did put his foot down with his expectations in that successful year as captain. In the very first match, he recorded the reason on the morning of the first day of the season for wanting a ‘different’ batsman (who could also bowl) and chose him ahead of the player that the Selector had written and presented as their Playing XI for the match in 1987.

Likewise, now, soon after his appointment as the Chairman, Vasudevan  set the bar high and the expectations right. The message went around to the team that this was a year when they had to go for the trophy. Another year as a finalist was not what the selectors were looking at. Vasudevan pushed up the bar right on the evening the captain was chosen. There were many setbacks for him in the early phase. M Vijay expressed his unavailability after the squad of 25 was chosen (the real reason for his announcement will be kept away from this story!!!). Vijay Sankar informed in advance that he would not be available for the knockout phase. Like a few other teams, TN had lost a few to the test squad but the youngsters came to the fore.

Vasudevan told this writer that he saw great unity in the team and there were positive vibes on the field “I felt the team entered the field with a sense of confidence and a belief that they could beat any team in the competition. Even in the matches that they were behind, they came back strong and won with ease. You did not get the feeling even once in the tournament that it would be a tense finish.”

As the Chairman, he passed on his suggestions through the tournament to the captain and the coach including on the combination for matches “Both of them were very receptive to the suggestions and it has been a very positive engagement in terms of communication with the think tank of the team through the tournament.” 

Sidu's Selecton for the final

The selection of M Siddharth in the final for his first match of the tournament too was discussed between DK, Coach Vasu and Chairman Vasudevan. And he turned out to be the surprise package with a man of the match performance.

As soon as TN won the Trophy, Vasudevan told this writer that one cannot compare with the 5 day victory ( Ranji win of 1988) as T20 is totally a different ball game."I am delighted that our boys did exceptionally well as a unit. I am particularly pleased that the youngsters really did well backed up by Dinesh, KB and Aparajith."

Given the confidence built with this tournament victory that saw TN win all its matches, Vasudevan indicated that all the performers in this team were likely to get a chance in the domestic one day tournament as well to keep the continuity going and to carry this confidence into the upcoming tournament.

For a man who has been away from limelight and any cricketing association with the TNCA for long, this late comeback has been terrific. Like with his cricketing days, when he captained the team successfully a decade after his State debut, here too, the opportunity has been long overdue but within months of his appointment, TN has won a tournament after a decade and a half. He is silent most of the time to the external world but over the last couple of months, few know that he has put in several hours of background work each day on the team composition providing the inspiration from behind sitting at his third floor home in Gandhinagar.

Congrats to the Silent Man of TN Cricket. 

https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2011/12/vasudevan-hats-off-to-you.html

(The star bowler of the Final, Man of the Match, M Siddharth made his debut in the TNCA league as a 11 year old under the captaincy of this writer - https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/09/siddharth-tamil-nadu-one-day-team.html)

BCCI Umpire Madanagopal Bio Bubble Quarantine

Locked inside a room for six days without a face to face meeting

Top BCCI 20 Umpire recounts life in a bio bubble and the Quarantine Challenges

In March last year, former South Zone middle order batsman JR Madanagapopal received an email announcing his appointment as a fourth umpire in the 2020 IPL (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/03/umpire-madanagopal-ipl-call.html) that was to be held in India. However, the joy was short lived as the COVID restrictions that came into force a fortnight later meant that only limited number of officials made the trip to Dubai and he lost out on the opportunity. Since then, as with most other umpires in the BCCI Panel, it has been a long wait for him to get back on to the ground. And when the call came for him to leave for Bombay for the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, he was excited and looking forward to officiating in a cricket match again.

Locked in a room for six days

However, little did he realise the 'lonely' challenges that lay in store for him in the first week of this new calendar year. After testing negative in Madras, he left for Bombay on January 3. For the first time in his life, he was locked inside a room for 6days and did not physically meet a single human being through till January 9 as part of the quarantine ahead of the tournament.  Even food was placed outside the door and he had to pick the food from there. There was no face to face interaction for 6 days even with his umpiring colleagues and the match referees, let alone the players.

Madanagopal narrates the challenging experience in the initial days of being quarantined and locked in the bio bubble “It was a very challenging experience because usually the BCCI scheduling of matches for umpires is hectic and we are on the field doing what we know best. But here I was locked inside a room and not able to meet a single individual for many days. I never came out of my room for six days. The first three days were really stressful and there was dullness within. We had to do something on our own through the day and night. It was not easy to manage but I constanly gave myself the positive reinforcement on the (umpiring) job that was coming up the next week.”

“Getting an opportunity to umpire after almost a year was paramount in my mind and I did everything possible to overcome that initial stress of being away from human beings.”

Yoga and its positive impact

Over the last many years, Madan has been known to travel light and does not carry stuff that are not considered essential for an umpiring trip. But this time he had with him multiple gadgets including the Tablet, Laptop and the Kindle. While he did use the gadgets extensively, what gave him positive energy was something else “Through that week, I was fully into Yoga and that gave a sense of peace and helped me feel better.”

And then in the second week of January, the mind switched to cricket on the ground. He recounts the experience on the field “After having been away from people for almost a week, for us to see human faces next to you and to be able to talk to them was a refreshing experience. All of us got a positive feel and energy once we were on the field. Of course, everytime the ball went into the stands, we had to 'sanitise' the ball, a totally new experience for us.”

A difficult phase

As a full time professional, one is expected to undergo these. But only after one experiences the bubble, does one get a feel of challenging life can be "It was only after I spent the week all alone inside the room and without a human in sight, could I relate to the difficulties of players being locked in a bio bubble, away from their families. Looking back, I would say that I did reasonably well facing up to the challenges of a quarantine."

And then a Second Quarantine

His umpiring performances in the domestic circuit over the last year (the period before COVID) led him to officiating in the quarter finals and Semi Final. After the round of league matches, he moved to Ahmedabad for the knock outs and he was back in quarantine again, this time for four days “Having experienced Quarantine once in Bombay, I was better equipped the second time and adapted to it better in Ahmedabad for I knew what was comign and how my life was going to be for a few days."

More Quarantines in February??

For the first time in his cricketing career, Madanagopal has been away from his family for the entire month. He is still is in Ahmedabad and will be returning to Madras only after the final that takes place tomorrow evening. However, it will not be a long time together with the family for it is likely he will be required to get back into another long quarantine ahead of Vijay Hazare or Ranji Trophy tournament that will come up in February and could be away in another bio bubble or two for the entire length of the tournament (a full month if its the one day tournament). And that will not be easy on the body and mind.

Kalli B Kalyanasundaram Selector Match Referee Director Advisor

A Glorious Second Innings in Cricket 

A non confrontational personality, he has been a role model as a fast bowler and set benchmarks as a Match Referee 

The un-fancied Temple town ‘boy’ from Kumbakonam found glory for himself as a star fast bowler amidst two spin legends of TN cricket in the late 60s and 70s, and in his second innings in cricket has been a Selector, Match Referee, Director and Advisor

                                            This 'little' young Kalli

(Just under a decade ago, this section featured a story on Kalli the Cricketer. This one looks at his 2nd innings in cricket- https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2011/08/kalli-b-kalyanasundaram.html)

In the second half of the 2000s, two major events unfolded in the TNCA relating to two former Ranji cricketers - One from the 1980s, Southpaw R Madhavan, who returned to Madras after almost 15 years in Dubai and another from the 1960s and 70s, ‘hat trick’ man B Kalyanasundaram, who had just retired after almost two decades at N Sankar’s Sanmar Group. Both had been away from cricket for a large part of their professional career and were handed the post of a Selector almost immediately after they ‘announced’ their availability to be re-associated with TN cricket. The two have had very contrasting mix of fortunes with the TNCA. While the former quit very early (interference in his role being one of the reasons and non- payment of a fee for the professional role and time being another) and has had minimal association with cricket since, the latter understood the internal complexities of the TNCA and hung on just as he had during his playing days. It’s been a glorious second innings in cricket. Here’s the story of Kalyanasundaram’s model of breaking through the shackles and achieving success against all odds.

Fighting against Personal Tragedy 

Right from his childhood, Kalyanasundaram has been one who has had to fight against the tide, quite literally in his teenage days. As a school boy, he spent a lot of his free time swimming in the then over flowing Cauvery of the 1950s and 60s in Kumbakonam. But tragedy struck early in his life as he lost his parents by the time he was into his teens (his mother Savithri when he was just nine and his father, Balasubramanyam, a lawyer who was practising in Kumbakonam, when he was sixteen). These sudden turn of events led him to focus entirely on academics, far away from cricket (sometime in the future, this section will explore a feature on another successful personality who too lost his parents by the time he was 16). 

Amma Savithri with Kumbakonam Lawyer Appa Balasubramanyam

After a short stint at St. Joseph’s college, Trichy, he moved to the reputed REC Calicut for his Engineering (an indication of his outstanding performance in academics). Despite being short in structure, his pace (strength gathered from his swimming years in Kumbakonam), was overwhelming for the Keralites and he found his way into the Kerala Ranji Team during his college days, within a few years of his entry into serious cricket driven by strong performances including in the then popular Tripanathura Pooja tournament. His performances were so overwhelming that 55 years later, the Keralites invited him last month to share his Calicut success story which he did to the who's who of Kerala cricket. He performed exceedingly well in his first year in first class cricket. 

Kerala U25 Team 1965-66 under the captaincy of SK Nair

Soon after his graduation, he came to Madras and experienced real city life for the first time in his life when he reached State Capital in the summer of 1967, the period when N Sankar (later Sanmar Group) returned to the city after his Masters in the US and began his active stint in running cricket that has now lasted over five decades. 

Experiencing Cricket in a Metro 

Kalyanasundaram joined Jai Hind in the second division for a year (he was a bit disappointed at a Ranji player being asked to play 2nd division) as per the instructions of N Sankar before playing for a decade for Jolly Rovers, a period when he worked under KS Narayanan at India Cements. It was also a period when he enjoyed huge success with the TN Ranji team despite being in the shadows of the legendary spin twins S Venkataraghavan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/04/venkataraghavan75.html) and VV Kumar. He had to showcase himself as a fast bowler in the few overs he got with the new ball and a bit later with the old ball when Venkat and VVK took a short break. Tales of Kalli itching to grab the ball in Ranji matches when there was no breakthrough for a long time is legendary but he or his teammates went to Venkat to suggest handing the ball to the fast bowler. Almost 50 years after the event ( Kalli took a Hat Trick in the Ranji Final but TN was bundled out in the fourth innings by Bombay), Sunil Gavaskar still refers to him as ‘The Hat Trick’ man, such was the impact of his bowling in that period in the late 1960s and early 70s. 

                        Rakesh Tandon-  One of the Hat trick victims TN v Bombay Final 72-73

In the second half of the 70s, as he moved towards the end of his first class career and with the possibility of a place in the Indian team becoming remote (had he been handed more overs at his peak for TN, he may have bettered his chances of making his way into the Indian team, but Venkat and VV Kumar dominated the bowling. Despite this, he was on the verge of Indian selection but did not get the break and made his way to Coimbatore to join LMW (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2007/04/domesticindia-cricket-matches-1979-1983.html) where he worked for a decade. Well into his 30s, playing for LMW in the first division league, he gave Ranji Cricketers of the day such as NP Madhavan and S Srinivasan a run for their money. Health reasons as well as his sons’ education led him to return to Madras and surprisingly once again he worked with Sankar this time professionally at the Sanmar Group. By the time he moved to Chemplast in the 2nd half of the 1980s, he had already donned the role of a district representative in the Ranji Panel. But soon after he returned to Madras, he was out of the State Panel with the tag of district representative no more applicable to him.

Decades away from Cricket 

For a large part of two decades, after he joined Chemplast, Kalyanasundaram stayed out of TN cricket surprising including within Jolly Rovers for whom he had played an important role in the success in the 60s and 70s. His only connect with cricket was when he went with Sankar to watch matches in the city especially when VB Chandrasekar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/01/vb-chandrasekar.html)  was batting (VBC was a special favourite of Sankar in the few years that he played for Chemplast). Through this period, Kalyanasundaram’s focus was on professional work, where he rose to the position of VP at the time of his retirement in 2006. 

Role Model for youngsters - Ever Motivating 

Former Ranji cricketer and a match referee for the last decade, S Sharath ( https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/12/sharath-s-tn-crickets-atg.html ) remembers the teenaged days of his cricket at Chemplast in the early 1990s “On many days, when I climbed the stairs of the Chemplast office, he would wish me with a motivational talk which would be on the lines of ‘you should score a big hundred in the next match. You have the potential and should capitalize and go on to get big runs.’ I was in college then and these words coming from such a legend were very inspiring for me. And I remembered it every time I went to bat..” 

Interestingly, almost two decades later, when Kalli was a state selector, he came and watched Sharath bat in a first division league match when ATG of TN cricket was on the wrong side of the 30s and had retired from first class cricket. Sharath remembers the words that day from Kalli that was just as inspiring as the one in the early 90s “I scored a century that day. He came up to me at the end of the day and said “Even now, the best of attacks in the state cannot get your wicket. It was a priceless comment and I cherish it to this day. He is a great motivator for all cricketers and his communication is crystal clear.” 

His boss at the Sanmar Group, N Sankar, who turned 75 in November last,(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/11/jolly-rovers-n-sankar-75.html) has high words of praise for Kalli “I can certainly certify that when he worked for our company, he was a dedicated, loyal employee. He was primarily with the Purchase Department, and worked on many of our projects and regular purchases.”

Back to cricket after two decades 

Much like R Madhavan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/10/r-madhavan-tn-cricketer-1980s.html), Kalyanasundaram came back after a longish break from cricket. In fact, over the last decade, in his interactions with this writer, he has often reiterated his ‘ignorance’ of the happenings in TN cricket in the 1990s and the early 2000s for he was completely focused on carrying out his duties at the work place. 

Soon after his retirement at the Sanmar Group, he was roped in by the TNCA as a Selector in the U17/ U19 segment. Another player with his cricketing credentials may have been hurt to be given an age group post but Kalli is philosophical looking back at being handed the post in the U17 category “I had not been involved with TNCA cricket for almost two decades. Hence, it was logical that I start from scratch.” 

And that is exactly what he did. For a couple of years, he went and watched every round of matches in the U17 and U19 segments to get a feel of the talent that was coming up at that time in TN. In the years that followed, he also went around the State to watch cricketers in the age group category across almost all cricket playing districts in Tamil Nadu in an exhaustive talent hunting exercise. 

Over the last decade, he has repeatedly stated his view to this writer that being chosen as an official of the TNCA is something one has to see with pride, almost an equivalent of wearing the state cap (from his playing days). He did not get paid much for playing for the State in the 60s and 70s and his entire stint of 7years as a Selector was honorary without any remuneration “When there were hundreds of top notch cricketers available at their disposal, TNCA in its wisdom thought it fit to hand me a particular responsibility (a Selector’s post). Should I not consider it a matter of pride that they reposed their faith in me of doing a (bloody) good job of discharging my duty to the best of my ability?” 

And then following the sudden resignation of Madhavan as the Chairman of the TN Selection committee, Kalyanasundaram made the leap into the State (Ranji) panel from the age group category. Shortly after, he became the Chairman of the TN Selection Committee. 

Deft Handling of the TNCA 

The processes in the TNCA have always been complex and would be difficult for the common cricket fan to understand. For example, way back in 1987, when S Vasudevan (the current Chairman of TN Selection Committee) - https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/06/vasudevan-tn-ranji-trophy-retirement.html - took over the captaincy of Tamil Nadu (the team went on to win the Ranji Trophy that season), he was simply handed the playing XI by the Selectors of the time on the morning of the first match he captained. Such was the scenario prevailing at the time (it is another matter that he did not agree on that XI handed out to him and made a change). For long, there has been a debate on the role of the selectors in the playing XI. 

Over the last decade or so, coaches have become an integral part of the selection process and they have had their say in the players that they would like in the squad (prior to the selection meeting). Similarly, it has been a given that the TNCA too has had its say in selection matters and that is not new either. In addition to all of these, it is well known in the cricketing circles that the individual clubs in the TNCA and former cricketers too have wielded their influence on the selection committee in various ways. 

Jolly Rovers, Madras - That great Master KR Rajagopal bottom righ

 Through the entire period of his regime as the Chairman, he deftly managed these complexities of the TNCA. To Kalyanasundaram’s credit, right from the days as a selector in the age group category, he has been one who has been present in the grounds to watch the league (and the age group) matches. In those years, one often heard the remark in the cricketing circles - ‘this man really does justice to his role’. Even when a strong personality such as the late VB Chandrasekar became the coach of the TN team (he was sacked within the first year by a ‘player revolt’) and by when the state coach had begun to have a larger say in selection matters, Kalyanasundaram held his ground as the Chairman. 

Of course, many decisions and non decisions during his time were questionable. The Selection committee led by Kalyanasundaram was not bold enough in taking some tough calls that was the need of the day but that has been his style all along. He understood the system as a player in the 1970s and when he came back in the 2nd half of the 2000s, one of the very first things he did was to ‘understand’ the constraints of the system. 

During his time as a player, a period that was dominated by Venkataraghavan and VV Kumar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2007/07/cricket-tales-exclusive-with-vv-kumar.html), he tried to perform to the best of his ability in the 3-4overs he was given in between their long spells. He understood that he was never going to be the spearhead of the attack when the country was dominated by spin bowling. But even in the most difficult of scenarios, of the spin twins bowling a large majority of the overs, he held his own and managed to pick well over a 100 wickets for TN. 

Safe Calls as a Selector 

Similarly, over the last 15 years, he has been one who has understood the system well – the players, the administrators, the coaches and the clubs and its members. He did not try to be revolutionary and was not the one to create ripples and shake the system with his team selection. He took safe calls as a selector. It was clear to everyone at that time he was not one who would change the system with big decisions. There was also no ‘visionary’ selection in that phase but the meetings itself were professionally organised. Clearly, he brought all his corporate experience from Chemplast into the meetings and that was reflected in the way every single meeting was organised over the five years.

Former Central Zone leg spinner S Madhavan is now well into his sixties. With the unlocking of the COVID restrictions, he was back on field late last month and  continues to pick up wickets in the TNCA league. He was part of the State Selection panel under the Chairmanship of Kalyansundaram and says that the communication was clear "His English language skills combined with the ability to communicate in clear terms was outstanding. The meetings were well planned under his chairmanship. Prior to the meeting, we would sit together and discuss informally. Once inside the meeting room, I spoke my mind on the suggestions I had and he would listen to me and each one of us patiently and hear out our views. The meetings were conducted professionally."

Another member of that selection panel, former TN Ranji Captain S Suresh (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/11/sweety-s-suresh-tn-ranji-finals-captain.html), who has just succeeded Kalyanasundaram as the Chairman of the CAC, too was part of the state selection committee that he (Kalli) had headed. Suresh remembers the ease with which the meetings were chaired “While he was a real senior to us having played in the 60s and 70s, we were never overwhelmed with his presence. None of us were restricted in any way from expressing our views. He adopted a consensus approach in the meetings and gave utmost importance to the points shared by the panel.” 

The Chairman turns SILENT for five years 

Interestingly, in that phase, all of a sudden the Chairman of Selectors stopped talking with the media (including to this writer) on selection decisions. When this writer called Kalli very early on in his stint, his response was that he had been asked by the TNCA to not talk to the media on selection matters. How odd – the only time in recent decades that Chairman has been asked to be silent!!! Just prior to him, R Madhavan spoke to this writer as a Selector on his vision for TN cricket and also on the selection matters. Immediately, after Kalli’s tenure, Sharath spoke on the big selection decisions he had made within the first six months of his stint and he continued to speak throughout his five year period including to this writer. Nationally it has been a practice for the chairman of selectors to talk to the media on the team selection. It was only during Kalli’s tenure that the TNCA ‘chose’ to take away the ‘spokesperson’ status from the then chairman of selectors. He did not speak to this writer anytime during those five years on selection matters citing TNCA’s mandate to him to not talk on selection matters in the public domain. 

While clear cut communication in classy English has been his strength, this decision was a reflection of his personality of playing it safe at all times. In his mind, he was clear and saw as his role the selection of the team that was best according to him for that season as against justifying that team and the thought process to the media. TNCA handled that part through the five years of Kalli’s tenure. 

Given the cricketing scenario in the country, it is likely that there will be pressure on each of the selectors. These would come not just from the governing body of the time but from club secretaries, friends of the selectors, former cricketers (there are many instances of how former cricketers have got their relatives into cricket), the political class and many others. Given the short term and immediate requirement of each of these classes, it requires great ‘staying power’ to survive in this environment. And Kalli just had that – the knack of survival while at the same time carrying out his duties with great integrity.

Match Referee- The Glory Days in the 2nd Innings

With match referees coming into play at every first class match, there was a new found opportunity for Kalyanasundaram (this of course was a well paid for engagement). Within a couple of years of his retirement from his professional career, in addition to his role as a selector, he had also become a match referee on the back of his first class record and a solid understanding of the laws of cricket and the strong communication skills. He went on to don that role for five years, a period that he considers as one of the most enjoyable of his life “There is a misconception that a match referee is one who books players and downgrades umpires. I always saw it as one of proactive match management, communicating clearly the expectations ahead of the match and allowing it to flow without ‘incidents’.” 

As with his life’s journey, this one too was not a path without thorns. In the early phase, not knowing his cricketing credentials from his days as a star performer in the 1960s and 70s, he was posted for matches that did not do justice to his track record as a player. But as soon as the powers that be of the time noticed the respect he garnered from the players and the umpires and the credibility he brought to the engagement, he was assigned top Ranji and Zonal matches. In October 2011, he was the match referee in the Quadrangular U19 tournament featuring the WI, Australia, SL and India at Vizag. 

The Big Year 

2013 was a big year for Match Referee Kalyanasundaram. In January, he officiated in a six day Ranji Trophy Semi Final between Mumbai and Services after day 3 and 4 were washed out by rain. His high point as a Match Referee came a month later when, aged 67, he officiated in the international tour match involving the Australians at the Guru Nanak College ground in Chennai. Later that year, he was the match referee in an international tour match involving the West Indians in Calcutta. 

IPL eludes him

At that time, his hopes of officiating in the IPL may have been high but as with his playing career, the big call eluded him. As is his way, he invokes the gracious large hearted blessings of Sabanayakar of Chidambaram (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/08/chidambaram-thillai-thiru-chitrakoodam.html) and reminds himself of being blessed with a life full of contentment (something that he has made repeatedly to this writer over the last many years) “Please remember I am not a Kapil Dev. To play for a decade alongside legends such as Venkat and VVK and to bowl to batting legends such as MAK Pataudi and ML Jaisimha,  a man from Kumbakonam could not have asked for more.” 

Another point he has repeatedly made over the last decade to this writer has been the opportunities provided to him by the TNCA "When there are hundreds of well established cricketers who have made TN proud over the last several decades, should I not consider it a great blessing that the TNCA reposed their trust in me as a Selector, referred me as a Match Referee and believed that I could play the role of the Advisor in cricket development." 

He set the Benchmark

Like in his cricketing days, he landed up in several challenging situations as a match referee too but handled it with finesse. He was the official when Murali Kartik (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2013/12/murali-kartik-railways-ranji-turnaround.html) initated the 'Mankad' out in a first class match.There were other tough matches involving Rohit Sharma, S Sriram and many others but in each of the scenarios, his proactive communication skills came to the fore.

S Sharath, who played over a 100 first class matches and has officiated as a match referee in close to 50 matches says that Kalyanasundaram set the benchmark for match referees from TN “All of us looked up to him as a match referee. He was easily among the best in the country at that time and we learned a lot from him on how to conduct a match and the qualities that make for a successful match referee.” 

Identifying and Initiating former cricketers 

Not only did he perform his role well, he also encouraged other cricketers in the state, who spent the earlier decades as players, to look at match referee as an option to further their cricketing interests. TN fast bowler from the 1990s and a State Bowling Coach for 6 years J Gokulakrishnan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/03/gokulakrishnan-j.html), who has officiated in over 25 BCCI matches, credits Kalyanasundaram for initiating him into match referee “I had had a stint with the state as the coach but did not have any cricketing engagements with the TNCA for a few years. When I was wondering what next on the cricketing front, it was he who seeded the thought in me to explore match referee as an option. In the last couple of years, this has worked well for me. He is ever willing to help cricketers grow in this field and we all look at him as a genuine well wisher.” 

Bubbling with youthful enthusiasm 

Gokulakrishnan’s younger brother and BCCI umpire for the last 15years, J Madanagopal (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/10/madanagopal-j.html), has pleasant memories of BCCI and TNPL matches when Kalyanasundaram was the match referee “I found him to be a fantastic referee, who always participates actively in all the discussions and chats/banter among the officials and players. He has superb knowledge of the game and combined with great communication skills, he made for a top referee.” 

But what fascinated Madan the most was Kalli’s bubbling enthusiasm “We always felt he was so young, such is his enthusiasm and passion for the game. He gave us the feeling that he was one amongst us.” 

Absolute Team Man 

Former Kerala Ranji Captain and now ICC Panel umpire KN Ananthapadmanabhan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/08/ananthapadmanabhan-international-umpire.html) who has been an umpire in many matches when Kalli was the Match referee, recalls the motivational talks and the incisive feedback that was part of every conversation with Kalyanasundaram which gave the on-field umpires a lot of confidence in carrying out their duty “He was just outstanding as a referee and never missed a single ball. Foremost quality was the fact that he was an absolute team man, one who always wanted to be thorough with LAWS / Playing Conditions and how it should be interpreted. Every time we (the umpires) returned to the dressing room from the field, he would come out to receive us with lot of encouragement and enthusiasm. I have seen innumerable number of times Kalli getting excited (even more than us) and happy when we got a tough decision correct. He would describe in detail his observations of our performance and come up with truly valuable suggestions.” 

Roping in Former Cricketers to play a more active role

Over the last decade, Kalyanasundaram has also come on board the IPL franchise team CSK as its director. A couple of years ago, he was appointed as the head of the Cricket Advisory Committee that had as its role the appointment of the TN Selection Committee. It was he who suggested the names of S Vasudevan (originally for talent hunting and later for the selection committee) and NP Madhavan (as a selector in the age group category)- https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/05/np-madhavan.html - to come back into the cricketing fray and for the TNCA to use their cricketing experience. 

NP Madhavan had touched 60 but his employer was keen for him to continue his role as the VP. He had just got an extension at his work place at GVG, Udumalpet (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/06/svpb-udumalpet-soundararajan.html), a place where he had resided for over three decades. One evening, in 2019, he received a call from an unlikely person, one who had rejected him as a cricketer almost four decades earlier at LMW. It was Kalyanasundaram, the Chairman of the Cricket Advisory Committee.  While Madhavan had played some role in districts cricket in the 1990s, he had stayed away from any official connection with the cricket associations in the state in the last couple of decades. Kalli felt credible names were required to be associated with TN cricket and he was keen to rope him in. Madhavan had told this writer in 2019 about the persuasive powers of Kalli "I was not too interested to get back into a cricketing role but Kalli gave some very convincing reasons for me to get back into Selection and almost 'forced' me to agree."

Madhavan was appointed as a U19 Selector. It was yet another example of Kalli going out of the way in search of credible former cricketers and putting forth a convincing argument to get them to make a re-entry into cricket. Vasudevan too had been out of the TNCA for a long time. It was Kalyanasundaram who had repeatedly 'pitched' to get him to play an active developmental role in TN cricket. 

Man of Integrity

TN Ranji cricketer from the 1990s Arjan Kripal Singh has now been a regular in the referee panel. While he has not interacted much with Kalli as a match referee, he counts his integrity as a top quality "I have heard him to be a very intelligent person and one with a lot of integrity."

High on Philosophy and Ethics

LMW cricketer from the 1970s, NS Ramesh, who played for RBI through the 1980s, knows Kalli best from that decade for he was the one who gave him company for many months in Coimbatore (both stayed on/off Alagesan Road) when his wife had been away for the birth of their second son “Right from those days in the 70s, Kalli has been one who has wanted to be philosophically correct and above board in everything he did. He was always a God fearing person and would not venture into doing anything that would be seen as not ethical.” 

Kalyanasundaram has been non confrontational all his life. As a cricketer, he showcased that he was up there with the best having held his own for a decade despite the dominating presence of Venkat and VVK in the bowling unit. And in his second innings, he has managed to hold his own once again for over a decade as a Selector, Match Referee, a Cricket Advisor and a Director. In an association like TNCA, with multiple forces at play, to come so clean is a significant achievement. The fact that he was not a spokesperson of the TNCA during his five year tenure as the Chairman of the Selection Committee was a one of its kind event but that really defines Kalli as a personality – He stays away from controversial situations. 

He will turn 75 next year and one wonders as to what more he has in his cricketing cabinet for he has always sprung a cricketing surprise.  For long, Talent Spotting has been his favourite. He has always been willing to spend time travelling around, especially to remote districts to look at the cricketing talent in unexplored territories. That probably is the closest to his heart. Hopefully, there will be some positive updates on that front. This section will track his cricketing developments.