Sempon Sei Koil Ramani Deekshithar

Devotional Archaka Service at 72

Ramani Deekshithar of Mannargudi has performed the role of a sole archaka for 26years at  Sempon Arangar Divya Desam

He overcame the early loss of his father and poverty in childhood to serve as a Headmaster of a School near Thiru Nangur for over three decades and to be associated with this temple for over 60years

Praising the Lord as Per Arulaalan, Thiru Mangai Azhvaar described  Sempon Sei Koil as being in the middle of Thiru Nangur

Having lost his father aged five, Ramani Deekshithar fought through poverty in the 1950s and 60s to rise to manage a school for 35years as its Head Master. For almost seven decades he has been associated with the Thiru Mangai Azhvaar praised Sempon Arangar Divya Desam in Thiru Nangur, supporting the then Bhattar for almost 40years and then managing the temple all alone for the last 26years as an archaka. Despite a financially challenged childhood, he did not seek to leave Thiru Nangur and has lived in the Sannidhi Street for seven decades opposite Sempon Sei Koil.  Here’s the story.

From Mannargudi to Thiru Nangur 90years ago

Ramani Deekshithar’s father Ramaswamy Deekshithar belonged to Raja Mannargudi and was a hereditary archaka at the Raja Gopalaswamy temple (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2007/05/mannargudi-rajagopalaswamy-temple.html) with about 20days service annually. After his wedding, Ramaswamy Deekshithar was invited by the Sthalathars of  Thiru Nangur to take care of three Divya Desams in this region  “My amma was the only daughter of my grandmother, who had lost her husband. My grandmother too invited my appa to move to Thiru Nangur about 90years ago so he could perform round the year archaka service here."

He nodded to this invitation and thus the family settled down in Thiru Nangur around 1930. Two other long time resident families too had left made Mannargudi in the first half of the 20th Century. S Venkatesan, who was struck by Polio in his childhood went on to become the CFO of Sundaram Finance and served the NBFC for four decades (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/09/venkatesan-s-sundaram-finance.html). R Madhavan's forefathers belong to Raja Mannargudi and they moved out of the temple town in the early part of the 20th Century. With passion for cricket, Madhavan played for TN in the Ranji Trophy in the 1980s and was on the verge of playing for India end of 1984 after a strong performance that year including a century against David Gower's England (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/10/r-madhavan-tn-cricketer-1980s.html).

For over two decades, Ramaswamy Deekshithar performed archaka service at three Divya Desams in Thiru Nangur – Narayana Perumal, Kavalambadi and Thiru Mani Koodam. He would go to Raja Mannargudi whenever his days in the year came up at that temple.

Childhood in Poverty, No Devotees at Temple

The sudden and unexpected death of Ramaswamy Deekshithar at a young age sent shock waves in the family. Ramani Deekshithar recalls that week in 1954 “He was unwell for a couple of days. There were no medical facilities in the region. He was in bed for two days and we expected him to recover but he passed away without any medical treatment and quite unexpectedly.”

Ramani Deekshithar’s elder brother was already married at that time and had moved away to the in-law’s location after his wedding. The untimely death of his father meant Ramani Deekshithar’s childhood was spent in poverty in Thiru Nangur. Through the first three decades of his life, he lived in an old fashioned small ‘Ottu Veedu’ “My amma’s amma had a piece of land in Thiru Nangur and it was income from that land that helped us survive the financially challenging phase in the 1950s and 60s. My three sisters (a fourth and his elder brother had married while his father was alive), my amma and Patti all lived together in the hut.”

Archaka Service Support during School Days

Ramani Deekshithar did his early schooling at Nangur Elementary School and then moved to Nangur Government School for his high school education. While his father had served three Divya Desams at the same time for over two decades, the above three temples were handed over to another Bhattar after his death as Ramani Deekshithar was too young to manage a temple. 

Support Service at Sempon Sei Koil

His mother’s uncle, Lakshmana Bhattar had taken charge at Sempon Sei Koil in 1945. In the late 1950s and through the 60s, Ramani Deekshithar would support him in the daily activities at the temple before and after his school hours. During his childhood, Ramani Deekshithar remembers the Sempon Arangar temple being in a dilapidated state with falling roof and walls. At Sempon Sei Koil, there were no vahanas and processions on select occasions would be of Lord being carried on simple pallakkus. He recalls the special Thaligai at Narayana Perumal Koil as a special attraction. The Brahmotsavam there was an important occasion for people in this region and everyone would gather there for the processions.

 “There was no electricity at the temple. Lakshmana Bhattar himself did Thaligai each day of the year and presented to Sempon Arangar. Till the Samprokshanam of 1962 performed by Kuttrala Narayana Pillai, Thalaichanga Sundara Ramanujam and Trustee Krishnamachari (Sthalathar), the temple had been in dilapidated state and we were always worried that the roof would fall one day. The powder from the ancient brick structure was constantly coming off and in my childhood we used to play with it spraying on one another as if it was red chilli.”

Following this, there would not be another consecration for another 38years.

He recalls the entire Nangur having just one house of Srinivasa Mudaliar with first floor construction till the 1970s. “While the agraharam comprised of Iyengars, the Nangur region was dominated by Mudaliars with 300 of them living in and around Nangur.”

Pays College Hostel fees through amma's loans

After completing his SSLC, Ramani Deekshithar went to the Teachers Training College in Thanjavur for two years. “While there was no term fee to be paid, I had to shell out Rs. 85 every month as hostel fees. As we were financially challenged, my amma took loans and paid the hostel fees. I received a monthly stipend of Rs. 18 which I spent on my food and coffee.”

HM at Neppathur School from 1975

After having worked in the Panchayat Board for a couple of years, he was roped in as the Head Master of the Government aided school in Neppathur in 1975 and was assigned the task of managing the entire affairs of the school. “In those days, only Grade Two teacher could become a Head Master. Since I had completed SSLC and also secured the teachers training degree, I was appointed as the HM. I taught all the subjects to class IV and V students and served there for over three decades."

For over 15years, he cycled his way to the school that was six kilometers from Sempon Sei Koil.

He spent a lot time in those early decades with the renowned VS Lakshmana Deekshithar of Parthanpalli Divya Desam(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/10/parthanpalli-nangur-divya-desam.html). It was from him that he learnt the Pooja Kramas. Ramani Deekshithar recalls Lakshmana Deekshithar telling him several decades ago of the scenario that existed at these Divya Desams in the 1940s and 50s “There were no visiting devotees to the Parthanpalli Divya Desam. Lakshmana Deekshithar would shut the gate of the temple and sit in front of his house at the end of the Sannidhi Street waiting for an outstation devotee that proved elusive most of the time. But when a devotee family finally turned up in a car, he would run to the temple to open the door. After performing pooja in all the Sannidhis, he would receive a Sambhavanai of 25paise.”

The scenario was no different at Sempon Sei Koil in those decades. Devotees were elusive and even when they turned up at infrequent intervals the sambhavanai was so minimal that it would be just enough to take care of the expenses of the large family for just a few days. 

From the early 1970s, through till 1995, he continued to support his grand uncle Lakshmana Bhattar at the Sempon Sei Koil in all the daily activities.

Morning and Evenings at the Divya Desam

In addition to his discharging his duties at the school, Ramani Deekshithar was also actively involved in the conduct of the Utsavams including the celebrations on the Vaikunta Ekadasi day. Outside of this, the key events at the temple, whose Lord Thiru Mangai Azhvaar praises as Per Arulaalan, have been the Thirumanjanam on Swathi every month, a procession on Tamil New Year day, the Margazhi Utsavam and the 11 Garuda Sevai on Thai Amavasai(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/03/thiru-nangur-11-garuda-sevai.html).

With old age issues affecting his health, Lakshmana Bhattar handed over the baton completely to Ramani Deekshithar in 1995 and he has been taking care of the temple all alone since then for the last 26years. Under the one pooja a day scheme, the HR&CE pays Rs. 700 every month!!!

 

Turnaround at Sempon Sei Koil

It was at the turn of the century that things turned positive for the Divya Desam thanks to the efforts of Muralidhara Swamigal who organised Sambhavanai for the priest as well as took care of the expenses of the temple.  In recent years, a devotee from Coimbatore has organized for the construction of all the vahanas. With the raising of a flag post, Brahmotsavam has come to be organised every year in Aipasi over the last four years. The belief here is that if one offers sincere prayers to Sempon Arangar, one would recover his lost wealth and this too has brought in crowds to this temple.

Thiru Mangai Azhvaar described Kreedam is back

In the last decade or so, Ramani Deekshithar says that the devotee crowd has increase dramatically from the times he experienced in the late 1950s. Big improvements have been taking place at this temple with devotees offering Kreedam and Kavachams for the Lord.  Thiru Mangai Azhvaar who described Sempon Sei Koil as being at the heart of Thiru Nangur praises the Lord as one is seen adorned with glittering Kreedam.

வசை அறு குறள் ஆய் மாவலி வேள்வி  மண் அளவிட்டவன் தன்னை 

அசைவு அறும் அமரர் அடி இணை வணங்க 

அலை கடல் துயின்ற அம்மானை 

திசை முகன் அனையோர் நாங்கை நன் நடுவுள் 

செம்பொன் செய் கோயிலினுள்ளே 

உயர் மணி மகுடம் சூடி நின்றானை 

கண்டு கொண்டு உய்ந்தொழிந்தேனே 

Dedicated Service at 72

Ramani Deekshithar has lived almost the entire seven decades of his life on the Sannidhi Street opposite the Sempon Arangar Temple. The financial challenges from his childhood and the poverty stricken life with no devotees at the temple and with no money to even fund his basic education now seem like a distant memory for Ramani Deekshithar. Through sheer hard work and under the care of his grandmother and amma, Ramani Deekshithar grew to become the Head Master of a school in Nangur while at the same time being associated closely with Divya Desam service. For a long time, he also doubled up as the cook at the Madapalli. 

Life has turned around for him in the last two decades. In 2005, he received an award from the TN Government for long time outstanding service in the education space as a high quality teacher in a remote town. He now leads a secure life with monthly pension having retired from a Government School. He has Ramanujam to assist him in making garlands and to unofficially perform the role of a Mei Kavalar at the temple.

At 72, when one could lead a quiet retired life, Ramani Deekshithar, unmindful of the heart surgery he had in 2017, has chosen to dedicate himself to Sempon Arangar  and performs archaka service through the year at this historical Divya Desam including anchoring the annual Brahomotsavam in Aippasi.

Thiru Nangur Divya Desams: https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2008/05/thiru-nangur-divya-desams.html

Ahobilam Yogananda Narasimha

Thiruvallikeni School boy and Narasimha devotee Prahladh spots the interchanged Yogananda Narasimha at Ahobilam Divya Desam - Officials now confirm the reversel of the idols during the Previous Samprokshanam

In May last year, this section had featured a story on 10 year old school boy from Thiruvallikeni and his devotional passion to hand sketch Narasimha idols (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/05/prahladh-devotional-drawing.html). A version of this story had also featured earlier in The Hindu Friday Review.

A couple of years ago, this writer had seen the young Narasimha devotee stand in front of the Yoga Narasimha sannidhi at the Parthsarathy Perumal Divya Desam in Thiruvallikeni and within hours sketching the Moolavar idol of Narasimha.

Prahladh spots the interchanged idols

In quite an unbelievable devotional absorption power, Prahladh, who visited the Ahobilam Divya Desam over the weekend spotted the interchange of Swayambu and Pratishta Murthy at the Yogananda Narasimha Sannidhi. Prahladh had been given photographs of the Sannidhi in its previous form and the current structure.  When he returned home on Sunday evening and began sketching the idol, he found something odd and his drawing came to an instant halt.

When Prahladh looked deep into the two photographs, he found that the Swayambu and Pratishta idols had been interchanged and his inquisitive instincts enquired as to how and why this had happened.

OLD YOGANANDA NARASIMHA SANNIDHI, AHOBILAM

Multiple officials related to Ahobilam that this writer spoke to over the next 48 hours were clueless that such a change had taken place. Ananthapadmanabhanchariar, Upanyasakar and Srikaryam of the Ahobilam Mutt, told this writer that he was not aware of any such changes to the Yogananda Narasimha Sannidhi.

Venu Srinivasan's Ahobilam Restoration but not of Yoga Narasimha Sannidhi

In November last year, this section had featured a story last year on Venu Srinivasan undertaking restoration of the Ahobilam Divya Desam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/11/ahobilam-temple-restoration.html) but interestingly he had not performed any restoration work in the Yogananda Narasimha Sannidhi for the repair works had already been completed prior to his taking up the restoration work at Ahobilam. 

Sources say that the Jeer may have requested Venu Srinivasan to undertake the restoration work in the rest of the Ahobilam Divya Desam temples after seeing the 'modernised' work at the Yogananda Narasimha Sannidhi.

Tiled works and Modernisation of Yoga Narasimha Sannidhi

The Thiruvallikeni devotee also brought to this writer’s attention the modernization of the Yogananda Narasimha Sannidhis as compared to other sannidhis in Ahobilam - with the difference in the stone structure from the earlier period and now clearly visible..

NEW YOGANANDA NARASIMHA SANNIDHI -REVERSED IDOLS 

AND TILED BACKDROP

When contacted, a source related to Ahobilam who has been associated with the Divya Desam for the last two decades said that the renovation of the Yogananda Narasimha Sannnidhi had been performed a Mutt Sishya as a one off exercise and that this had indeed been completed before Venu Srinivasan took up the works at the Divya Desam.

Clearly, in the one off exercise, one finds tiles replacing the ancient stone structure at this sannidhi.

Historical Background to Prathista Idol

Between 1995 and 98, the Swayambu Idol of Yogananda Narasimha had been damaged. The Power Agent of the time had directed and organised a Prathista Murthy to be sculpted.  Till then, there had been only the Swayambu Idol at the Yogananda Narasimha Sannidhi.

When the then Jeer of the Ahobilam Mutt came to know of this development, he ordered that the Swayambu Idol cannot be done away with and directed the repairs of that historical idol. During the 1998 Samprokshanam, both the idols were consecrated. At that event, the Swayambu idol was in the front while the newly sculpted Prathista Murthy was in the background.

Recently, when the consecration of the Yogananda Narasimha Sannidhi took place after the repairs exercise by the private donor, the idols were swapped and one now finds the Swayambu Idol at the back and the Prathista Murthy in the front. Agama experts say that the current order of placement of the two idols is the way it should have been in the original instance.

On Tuesday evening, the official of the Divya Desam confirmed to this writer that the idols were indeed interchanged in the recent Samprokshanam.

Hats off to the 11 year Prahladh for spotting the change!!! It indeed is a reflection of his devotion for Narasimha and his attention to minute details while sketching his favourite Narasimha drawings on a white sheet of Chart paper.

R Venkataraman Catholic Syrian Bank Syndicate Bank

The small town school boy in Dindigul who aspired to become a Maths Teacher rose to great heights in the Banking Sector becoming the Chariman and CEO of Catholic Syrian Bank

It is not often that you have someone who has spent the first two decades of his life in a quiet Tier two town in Tamil Nadu with very little exposure to city life reaching the top of the Banking World. R Venkataraman is clearly an exception. While he aspired to be a Mathematics Teacher for all his life, opportunities at 22 led him into the banking space and he grabbed it with both hands and made a mark for himself in four different banks. While he was roped in by the promoters of the Catholic Syrian bank to head the Kerala headquartered bank as its Chairman and CEO in his late 50s, Syndicate Bank remains his favourite bank for it helped him to graduate to what he is today. He also played a role in  the IT industry where for TCS he set up the Virtual Banking Services and Treasury Products. A cricket fanatic right from his childhood days, he watched at the Wankhade Stadium that unforgettable incident of K Srikkanth’s run out in his debut test match in 1981. He remained a close confidant of the late VB Chandrasekar and had met him just a few months before his death.  Here is the story of a remarkable Banker who made his way to top of the leader board without a  God Father.

Early Decades in Dindigul

R Venkataraman’s forefathers hailed from Kodimangalam, a village near Kumbakonam. But his father had moved to Dindigul very early on in his life and served in the Co-operative Bank there till his retirement in 1971. Dindigul was renowned for the historical Sundararaja Perumal Temple in Dhaadi Kombu (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2008/10/thaadi-kombu-soundararaja-perumal.html) that is abound with beautiful sculptures but there was not much of exposure in those early years other than leading a religious life visiting the neighbourhood temples. 

Venkataraman's childhood in Dindigul was largely uneventful and there was no inkling of him becoming a banker for his early interest was in Mathematics. His interest had become so addictive that after his centum in Maths in SSLC, he aspired to spend his life as a Maths Teacher. He was a Gold Medalist in SSLC and a Topper at College as well.

Outside of academics, he was an active participant in elocution contests, where he won many prizes and at the cricket ground where he bowled off spin. Later on, he captained the Arts College cricket team during his three years as a B. Sc Maths student. His association as a lover of cricket has remained right to this day and he rooted for the country in the recent World Championship final watching the entire match from his home in T. Nagar.

His amma’s musical interest led him to attend kutcheris right from his days as a teenager at the temples in Dindigul including Abirami Amman, Mariamamman, Kottaikulam Hanuman and Srinivasa Perumal Temple (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2012/11/dindigul-srinivasa-perumal-temple.html). “It was the Nagaswaram recitals in temples that led to my decades long interest in Kutcheris.” 

Aspires to become a Maths Teacher

With an eye on pursuing a career in teaching, he moved to Madurai for his Post Graduation in Mathematics under the tutorship of Dr. M Venkataraman. As things turned out, there were no new vacancies for a Maths Teacher in any of the colleges. Around the same time, the BSRB called in for an examination to recruit officers “I got through the competitive examination and joined Syndicate Bank as an officer in Vellore in 1972. While I wanted to explore opportunities as a teacher, my appa asked me to take up the bank job as it offered long term security.”

And there ended Venkataraman’s dream of becoming a Maths Teacher.

Life Changing Experience in Bombay

After a brief period in Erode, he moved to Bombay in 1975 and worked there for a dozen years, one that he considers as a life changing experience “Professionally it was the best corporate experience in my life. The opportunity to interact and work with the top bankers in the country, the engaging experience of travelling to office in a Suburban train and managing tough customers with high expectations taught me a lot in my banking career. It was a very fast paced life there but if someone wants to get to the top of the business world in India, a stint in Bombay will provide a rich learning experience that will stand him in good stead later on in his career.”

His wife, also a banker who rose to be a Chief Manager at India Bank, hails from Srirangam. Her grand father was the family doctor of this writer's family in the 1960s.

Multiple Diplomas

It was also during this period in Bombay that he realized the importance of expanding his Banking knowledge. He completed CAIIB and followed that with Diplomas in International Banking, Business Management and Financial Services. In this phase, he was also a member of the Group of ForEx experts at FEDAI.  While in Bombay, he had begun delivering lectures in Staff Training Colleges on Credit and ForEx. He was also a visiting faculty in the Bankers Training College of RBI.

Alongside his professional growth, he expanded his musical interest and was a regular at the Shanmugananda hall in Bombay during the 1980s.

Srikkanth’s Debut Test

India’s upcoming test series against England took him back to the memories of the test match in 1981. It was during his long phase in Bombay with Syndicate Bank that he had the opportunity to watch that unforgettable debut test match of K Srikkanth (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/10/abhinav-mukund-bizarre-dismissal.html) at the Wankhade Stadium “It was a great experience to be watching a Test match at the ground in those days. The stadium was packed and we were against Willis and Botham. As one from Tamil Nadu, I was excited to watch our hero Srikkanth open alongside the legendary Gavaskar but was completely saddened by the way he strolled out of his crease to tap the pitch and run out by John Emburey.”

For the first time in his life, he moved to Madras in 1988 at the Regional Inspectorate/Vigilance department. After about five years in Madras, he moved back to Bombay as the Divisional Manager (International Banking Division) where he was the head of Systems and Processes as well the ForEx Head. 

He considers his 23years at Syndicate Bank as the best in his banking career “It was those two decades at Syndicate Bank that laid the foundation for my career growth in later years. The solid foundation there helped me graduate the next level in other banks.”

Private Sector Bank offers him a niche role

He had settled down well at Syndicate Bank and was enjoying his role there when an unexpected call came his way in 1995. Private Sector Bank, Bank of Madura, was on an expansion spree and had turned into a popular bank having caught the eye of the customers in that phase. As part of that expansion, they were look for a professional to head their Foreign Exchange Division and  they offer him that niche and specialised role.

He joined the Bank as an AGM in September 1995 and played an important role in their transformation over the five year stint by anchoring the integration of the ForEx and Treasury. At Bank of Madura, Venkataraman travelled to the Middle East and Malaysia to integrate the Rupee Drawing arrangements. He recalls his modus operandi of handling what could sometimes be a tricky operations“I was cautious in my approach and the key was to not incur any loss in ForEx. I had laid out a clear policy guideline and adhered to the safeguards advised by the RBI, especially in ForEx dealings. There was no flashy trading or leveraging opportunities to make quick money for the bank. It was a safety first model of working.”

In this period, he was deputed for a reputed Euro conference organised by Citibank in Thailand. He was a regular at the IFMR as a visiting faculty for management lectures.

With the then PM of India, AB Vajpayee

Seven years at Lord Krishna Bank

The talks of the BOM’s merger with ICICI Bank coincided with a call from Lord Krishna Bank. After one and a half years of ForEx role in Delhi, he moved to the Ernakulam HO as the GM and Head of Operations and worked there till 2007. He made inroads in ForEx profitability despite it being a small bank. It was also Venkataraman who automated the whole operations in ForEx “Even though it was a smallish bank compared to Bank of Madura in terms of size, it was a rich experience for me to manage the operations at Lord Krishna Bank.”

During his time as the ForEx Head at Lord Krishna Bank, Venkataraman made several trips to Saudi Arabia, Muscat, Bahrain and Doha to finalise Rupee Drawing arrangements interacting with Non Resident clients and to bring in Non Resident investments.

Chairman and CEO of Catholic Syrian Bank

Having tracked his progress, the promoters of Catholic Syrian Bank saw him as an ideal candidate to head the bank and roped him as the Chairman and CEO end of July 2007. It was almost a dream come true for the man from Dindigul, where there was almost zero exposure to corporate life. He moved from Ernakulam to the CSB’s headquarters in Trissur. During his three year stint, the bank’s profitability peaked and was able to pay dividend of 30%. 

Doubles Business, Anchors Automation

He had taken over as the Chief when the Bank’s business was just over Rs. 7000cr. Under his leadership, business grew rapidly and doubled. It was a phase that saw a large expansion of the branch network as well as the biggest automation seen at the bank. He anchored three AGMs in a phase when talks were rife of the merger with Federal Bank. He was at the center of attention and for a while was hounded with queries on the merger.

During this phase in Kerala, he was one of the invitees to the Credit Monetary Policy Review in 2008.He also travelled to Greece deputed as a leading banker from India to demonstrate and give feedback about technology products in the banking space. 

Having spent almost a decade in Kerala, he retired end of 2009 around the time when the merger talks had hit a roadblock. He calls the phase in Kerala as a fulfilling experience “I enjoyed working in Kerala. Personally, I was able to deliver results for both Lord Krishna Bank and Catholic Syrian Bank and a fulfilling experience for me to have worked in Ernakulam and Trissur. More importantly, the promoters were very happy with my performance and wanted me to continue for another year but I was keen to return to Madras.”

He was missing the Margazhi Kutcheris as by then he had become a big music buff!!!

From Banking to Teaching

Having worked for almost four decades, he took a short breaking from the Banking circuit and took to his favourite option – Teaching. For a brief while, he served as a guest faculty at LIBA teaching Banking and Finance and enjoyed what was he loved most in life.  

Banking in the IT Industry

However, another offer came soon after this time another unexpected one from the IT industry. TCS wanted him as a Consulting advisor and for three years he worked onsite at the Whitefield center setting up the Virtual Banking services as well as Treasury Products which they  were to cater to many banks worldwide. For another year, he worked offsite in the Banking space at TCS.

Prior to the Pandemic, he would not miss a day of the Margazhi Kutcheri and would jump from one Sabha to another each day of the season.

Syndicate Bank - His Favourite

Despite all his successes at Lord Krishna Bank and CSB at Senior Management roles, Venkataraman looks back at his over two decades stint in Syndicate Bank as his favourite “Syndicate Bank remains my favourite. I joined afresh from College  with all my thoughts till that time having been on wanting to become a Maths Teacher and it was my experience there in varied roles that helped me graduate to what I am today. Syndicate Bank gave me the exposure across departments that were to serve as great value to me later on in my management stints.”

Venkataraman is 73 and the Pandemic has locked him inside his Syndicate Bank constructed Quarters in T. Nagar off North Boag Road for 15months. Just a couple of years back, he lost a long time friend in cricketer VB Chandrasekar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/01/vb-chandrasekar.html) for whose family he had been a close confidant for several years. He himself has also not enjoyed great health in the recent past. Despite the restrictions and the challenges, the credibility he has enjoyed over several decades has led to offers continuing to pour in for consultancy roles in the Banking space. 

It may not be long before he is back to serving the Banking Sector again with his rich experience and expertise. For the moment, he is spending his time listening to the favourite songs of Bombay Jayashree, Ranjani Gayathri and Sanjay Subrahmaniam and is eagerly looking forward to India’s Test Series in England. 

Golf Referee K Sundar

Circumstances forced him to let go his Big Basketball dream four decades ago but Passionate Sportsman Sundar is now back into the serious sporting arena and on the verge of  an overseas debut as a Golf Referee from Madras

Sundar was a Born Leader and the Best Player in our Team in the late 1970s - Former National Basketballer Surya Sekar

He is in the list of Top Golf Referees in India and the opportunity in Overseas Tournaments should come soon - Ishwar Achanta, Top International Referee and Treasurer IGU

In 1977, opening batsman S Kedarnath(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/06/kedarnath-s-opener-from-1970s.html), who was in prime form that year, was invited by batting legend GR Viswanath to move to Bangalore so he could explore options to play for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy. When he came home to inform the news to his father, his enthusiasm was crushed as he was asked to stay back in Madras and continued his work at SBI. And there ended his Ranji cricketing dreams. Hailing from T. Nagar, another youngster from that era could easily have become a member of the Guru team at Somasundaram ground and pursued the favourite sport of the time but he chose one that was played just 50yards west of the YSCA tennis ball team (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/11/ms-gurumurthy-ysca-somasundaram-ground.html). At the turn of that decade, a star basketball player, who was just coming out of his teens cherished dreams of playing for the state. Much like Kedarnath in cricket, he too was told by his father to stop his sporting pursuits and settle down in a stable job. There ended his basketball dream and he almost never entered the court again. Touching 60, he is back now with that same passionate sporting interest that he had displayed all those decades ago and this time is confident of scaling global heights in Golf, if things go his way in the next couple of years. Here is the story.

Another sportsman from T. Nagar but this one in Basketball

K. Sundar,a student of T. Nagar High School, took to Basketball at an early age though he played a bit of cricket and tennis as well during his childhood years. Every evening were spent at the basketball court on Venkatnarayana Road (opposite Natesan Park) with boys his age under the tutelage of JBC Sampath. The bunch of boys took part in many tournaments during their teenage years both at this court as well as the popular one at Somasundaram ground and had become a team to reckon with in the city. His elder sister was a rank holder in Class X and he was constantly told by her to focus on academics. 

While he did follow her advice, his early sporting success easily outshone the performance in academics. By mid teens, he was part of the State Junior squad in Basketball. Sundar recalls the role played by his basketball Guru and coach at the Venkatnarayana court “JBC Sampath was an outstanding example of a selfless coach whose sole aim was to get the best out of his students. He never took money from his wards. In fact, he went out of his way and spent money for us. He would buy shoes for the deserving students. He was a phenomenal disciplinarian and those that did not stick to the timelines had to sit out.”

As seen later in this story, it is that discipline that is currently helping Sundar as he takes a second shot at achieving sporting glory.

57 year old Surya Sekar, who is now a Senior Manager at Indian Bank, played for India in the 1980s ( his wife too was a national player) and looked up to Sundar in his enjoyable teenage phase in Basketball in T. Nagar. He has great memories of playing alongside Sundar in the 1970s “While Sundar had a flair for all sports, we were fortunate that he chose to pursue Basketball. He was a toughie on court and easily the best player in our group, and a dominant one at that. He was technically superior. Even at that young age, his leadership qualities came to the fore.  He was an extrovert and his communication was crystal clear. Everyone in the team would quietly listen to his talk ahead of matches or important sessions.”

“If we beat the best of teams in the city in that period, Sundar was the reason. He played a stellar role in all our victories.”

A First -  A Strong Basketball team at Viveka

After having carved a name as a budding talent in the city Basketball circuit, Sundar did his PU at Vivekananda College and found to his dismay that the entire sporting focus there was on cricket. He along with his group of T Nagar teammates who had also joined the college that year met the Physical Director of the college. Sundar remembers those moments in 1977 “When we met him asking for a team to be set up in Basketball, he almost dismissed us as this sport had almost never been played at the college. It was after the endorsement from our mentor and coach that Ramakrishna Raju finally gave way and for the first time in college’s history, a strong Basketball team from Viveka took on the big weights in the inter collegiate circuit.” 

Sundar played for the city colleges team and did well. He was selected for the state U19 team and played for the state in the Junior Nationals in Pune. He was also in the selection camp for the Indian Junior team. At that moment, he cherished ambitions to play at the state (Men's) level and was clearly focused on pursuing his sporting interests “As a youngster, I believed I could reach the national level in Basketball.”

Has to let go his Sporting Dream at 21

His father was a Government staffer and one with sporting interests having played tennis almost all through his life including till just before his death at the age of 78 but through the teenage phase of Sundar, he was completely unaware of the sporting success of his son much like the parents of that generation. When Sundar’s name featured in The Hindu as part of the team chosen for the state, he gathered courage and went up to his father to show the news report to his father. “It was only then that he came to know that I was doing well in the sport. And from that moment would often introduce me to others as ‘State Basketball player’.”

Declines a Sports Quota Job

Soon after graduation, Sundar was offered a ‘sports quota’ job in a Government organisation in Bangalore but his father was keen for his son to explore opportunities and a career in the private sector. He declined the offer “Had I taken that up, my life could have taken a 'sporting turn' as I may have pursued my sporting interests for the rest of that decade.”

However, as directed by his father, he took to the private sector and joined HCL in 1982. He did not enter the Basketball court with the same seriousness again. Like any youngster, Sundar was disappointed having to give up a sport he loved at that age “I was hugely saddened that I had to give up my dream for ever and could not be at the court again after having played very competitively for 10years, but in those days there was no choice really. You did not go against the father’s word. Also, I had lost my mother very early and my father meant everything to me. While I was disappointed having to let go Basketball, I trusted my father on his advice.”

Surya Sekar, who joined Indian Bank at 18 on sports quota recruitment, says that Basketball was in a very primitive stage in the country that decade “Basketball was not a financially lucrative sport. We were given a Rs. 120 worth wrist watch or a Rs. 80 worth wall clock for tournament  victories. The player of the tournament would have got a tiffen carrier. If he had pursued the sport, he would have definitely played for the State and progressed well. It is also likely he would have secured several offers from organisations that promoted sportsmen but he had to quit early and moved into business where he became very successful.”

Very soon, he quit the job at HCL and for the next three decades, enjoyed life as a businessman. His elder brother and his friends had set up a marketing venture and then a manufacturing firm and Sundar joined them early. 

Leads T. Nagar Club to Tennis Championships

After staying away from sports for over a decade, he came back and took to Tennis. He played Tennis for several years including captaining the T Nagar Club in inter club tournaments. It was under his captaincy that the club gained promotion from Division E to C in the 1990s.

Addicted to Golf

At the turn of the century, he took a call to move into an unlikely sport, the third of his life. Like many in the corporate circles in the city, playing golf in the local courses was taking off and he too joined the bandwagon “I gave up tennis to take to Golf. I was warned that it would be very addictive but I was up for it. While it was time consuming, I did very well and began to enjoy the sport.”

Just under a decade ago, he shut down his manufacturing business and moved into another area in Golf. It was a ‘semi professional’ call at that time. From playing, he moved into the role of a Golf Referee. Within three years, he had gone through four different levels of exams and was certified in 2015 in Malaysia with one that made him eligible to officiate in international golf tournaments.

In the early phase, he found Golf Refreeing quite challenging “Unlike most other sports, the role of a referee in Golf is extremely challenging. The field here is not clearly defined, there are many variables and no fixed rules. More importantly, Golf is played in different terrains, on different types of courses where the size too varies. One has to be mentally alert and take quick decisions. It is physically demanding as well."

If Sampath mentored him in Basketball in the 1970s, it was Ishwar Achanta, the only Indian Golf referee to have officiated in US, British and Australian Opens, who initiated Sundar into Golf Refereeing “Ishwar is a  Golf Rules Encyclopedia and was the man responsible for my initiation into Golf Refereeing. He has guided me over the last decade and played an important role in this phase of my life as I looked to develop my skills as a referee” says Sundar.

Since 2012, he has officiated in over 50 tournaments in the country and his commitment has led him to travel almost nine months every year. In 2018, he officiated in the Asian Tournament that took place in the Prestige Golf Course in Bangalore, one that remains his favourite todate.  Last year he was to officiate in one of the most prestigious national tournaments – The Hero Open in Delhi - but unfortunately the Pandemic led to the cancellation of the tournament. 

With the experience of officiating in several leading tournaments in the country, he has also moved up to don the role of 'Tournament Director'.  

Should make his Overseas Debut soon

His mentor Ishwar Achanta, who helped Sundar understand the rules better, says that he has all the qualities required to be a top notch golf referee "Sundar is a very meticulous person, organised, process oriented and disciplined in everything he does. Golf rules are typically understood by those who have discipline in life.”

Ishwar believes that Sundar has a good chance of doing well in overseas tournaments as a referee “He has the interest and passion to perform at the top level but opportunities will not land up in his lap. He has to stay patient and committed."

"The Indian Golf Union does recommend the top referees to international tournaments based on seniority and ability. Sundar is on that list and should get an opportunity soon to make his overseas debut.”

A Second Coming with Serious Sport at 60!!!

40 years ago, he had given up dreams of taking to serious basketball but at 60 he is now cherishing a new sporting ambition - That of making an overseas foray and officiating in international golf tournaments. Way back then, in 1982, he was just one step away from playing for the Senior State when he gave up Basketball, a sport that he still considers as his favourite. In 2021, he is just that step away from making his debut as a Golf Referee in overseas tournaments. Will it be a second time lucky for Sundar. 

This section will track his progress in the next couple of years.

Kedarnath TNCA letter

In a rather surprising move, former city cricketer S Kedarnath has sent a stinging letter to the TNCA and made several suggestions to improve cricket in TN

Reformat the Buchi Babu Tourney and Get the best out of the 'Failed' TNCA Academy

Former All India State Bank cricketer S Kedarnath (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/06/kedarnath-s-opener-from-1970s.html) has been running a cricket coaching academy in T. Nagar for the last twenty years. Currently there are a whopping 300 students in the academy. He has also been coaching the PSBB School for close to four decades. He has also been a state selector and a coach with the junior state team. During his playing days, he was at the receiving end of selection misgivings and lost out on an opportunity to play for the state. But rarely in the past have cricketers, past or current, taken to writing strongly worded letters to the TNCA. Just over 40years ago, Ranji Cricketer K Balaji (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/09/a-blossoming-cricket-career-was-cut.html) raised some important issues relating to TN cricket while still being an integral part of the state team at that time. Another former State Bank staffer R Chandrasekaran (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/09/r-chandrasekaran-sbi-globe-trotter.html) has been one cricketer who from the 1980s has sent a number of letters to the BCCI.

A Strongly Worded Letter

In a rather surprising move and in possibly a first of its kind occurrence in TN cricket in recent decades, 66 year old Kedarnath has sent quite a hard hitting letter to the Secretary of the TNCA this week. He played cricket for State Bank for close to 20years including last five years as what he calls a 'Playing Spectator'. After quitting the bank, he launched his own academy that has consistently seen an overflow of cricketing students, most of them in the 13 to 19 years age group.  Over the last couple of decades, he has not sent any such formal and written communications to the TNCA on improvements in TN cricket. Reasoning out the  letter to the TNCA, he says that he wanted to put together his thoughts as a former cricketer who has also served the association as an U19 selector and an U25 coach and was keen to get the talented cricketers in the state to come to focus. 

In the two decades of him running the coaching academy, this is the first time he has chosen to write a formal letter to the TNCA with his views on cricket in the state.

Reformat the Buchi Babu Tourney

Leading the list of suggestions is the reformatting of the Buchi Babu Tournament. He says that the tourney had served as an ideal platform, during his playing days, to spot players with potential and mould them for the future. In his suggestion to the TNCA, Kedarnath has said that the top two teams in the first division, the U19 state side, the combined districts and the city college team should compete in the tournament along with only two outstation teams. This he says would help spot the unknown potential both from the city as well as the districts.

As seen this year, Buchi Babu tourney has long taken a back seat with TNPL gaining precedence over this and even the Palayampatti shield.

T20 cricket – An early exposure

Kedarnath has asked the TNCA to identify and select the best players from the fourth and fifth divisions of the league and have a separate team in the TNPL for them to get an early exposure into T20cricket. 

Hits out at the TNCA Academy

In a stinging accusation, Kedarnath says that the TNCA Academy for U12, U14 and U16 have been conducted without any result and the regular camps relating to these age segments have been organised only to give assignment to the coaches ‘There is nothing that is coming out from these camps and it has failed.'

Without naming specific cricketers and citing examples, Kedarnath has said that a lot of cricketers with potential had been left out in recent years despite their outstanding performances in all categories. He has also questioned the players selected for the academy and says in the letter that a number of them have been average cricketers. If this be the way of selection, he asks as to how the TNCA would get players to win the Ranji Trophy. He says that these age groups are at the ‘root level’ and the TNCA should give more importance to this instead of ‘filling up’ the candidates for the camp. 

Through the letter, he has also announced his availability to be associated with the TNCA "Cricketers like me are still fit enough to serve the association and those that have not crossed the age of 70 and who are willing to serve should be utilized by the TNCA."

On TNCA League

Kedarnath has made suggestions on the running of the TNCA league. In line with his thoughts on providing early exposure to T20 cricket, he has suggested that the 5th division league be run on T20 format and the 4th divisions as 30overs matches (also if the issue relates to inability to complete the TNCA matches in lower division) while the 3rd and 2nd division matches could continue to be 50overs.

One wonders though on this suggestion that of encouraging T20 at fifth division level which is to lay the foundation for upcoming cricketers.

TNCA to look into his suggestions

When Balaji pointed out some issues all those decades ago, he did not see the desired action from the TNCA that left him frustrated and he quit cricket to move into his family business of running The Hindu. While Kedarnath remained silent for several decades including during the late 1970s when he felt aggrieved at being ignored by the State, he has now chosen to speak out and that has reflected in this rather strongly worded letter. 

In response to Kedarnath's letter, RS Ramaswamy, Secretary of the TNCA has said that he would definitely look into the suggestions made by him and that these would be placed in the appropriate forum. 

This section will track the developments. 

Palayampatti Shield 2019-20 to be decided in August 2021

TNCA 2019-20 first division Semi Final and Final to be completed in Mid August

New League season to commence soon after

TNPL to start in Chennai in mid July subject to Govt approval - RS Ramaswamy, Secretary, TNCA

With the Pandemic taking effect in early 2020, the first division semi finals and final (2019-20 season) that were scheduled to be held in the 2nd week of March 2020 were postponed indefinitely immediately after the league stage of the matches had been completed on March 11, 2020.

In the last week of December 2020, the lower division league matches commenced (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/12/tnca-league-cricket-returns-after-nine.html) and were completed by March of this year with promotions and relegations from second to fifth division decided. However, in this three month period, the two first division semifinal matches relating to 2019-20 were not conducted and continue to be pending completion, to date.

R S Ramaswamy, Secretary, TNCA told this writer on Friday evening that the two TNCA Semi Finals  and the Final will definitely be conducted in mid August soon after the completion of the TNPL “There is no question of cancelling the semi finals and the final. We plan to organize the TNPL from mid July, subject to clearances from the Govt and immediately after the tournament, the first division semi finals and the final will be played and the Palayampatti Shield awarded.”

TNPL to start in Chennai

He said that the TNPL is likely to commence in mid July in Chennai " We have sought the necessary clearances from the Govt and plan to start the tourney in Chennai after receiving the go ahead from the Govt."

Bio Bubble and Standard Operating Procedures are likely to be followed ahead of the tournament.

It may be recalled that the TN Government in its announcement last week handed permission for sports contests to be held in the four category III districts without spectators.

R Rangarajan, Manager, Youngstars CC, one of the semi finalists told this writer earlier this week that they would require at least 15 days notice from the TNCA to ensure that all their outstation players were available for the match.

Bharath Reddy(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/11/bharath-reddy-players-man.html), who has been in Charge of Jolly Rovers cricket (N Sankar Jolly Rovers) for the last four decades told this writer immediately after his return from the US this week that they, as a corporate that has invested heavily in its players, are keen to play the semi final and see the first division championship to its natural conclusion.

Over the last few months, he had been unsure of whether the first division matches relating to 19-20 would be completed and this confirmation from the Secretary of the TNCA should be happy news to Jolly Rovers as well as the other three teams that will compete in the Semi Finals.

The entire 2020-21 league season was cancelled because of the Pandemic.

The New First Division season to commence in August

Ramaswamy also confirmed to this writer that the first division as well as all the lower division matches will commence immediately after the first division championship (19-20) match is played out in mid August “We should be able to commence the new league season in the last week of August or the first week of September.”

This development and confirmation from the TNCA Secretary should come as sweet news to a host of cricket related parties including the umpires, match referees and scorers who are dependent on these matches for their livelihood. It will also send a positive signal to other states to explore and conduct state level tournaments this new season.

Nivethan Radhakrishnan Tasmania Tigers

Former TNCA Player Anbu Selvan's bold early move pays dividend for his son in Australia

18 year old Nivethan Radhakrishnan, who moved to Sydney frustrated at the lack of recognition and opportunities in Madras, bags first Professional Cricket Contract in Australia

The ambidextrous bowler is set to play for Tasmania in the 2021-22 Sheffield Shield Season and lock horns with the who’s who of Australian cricket

"Nivethan has nice skill sets and we want to give the best opportunity to develop his cricket and showcase his talent. He has an exciting cricket career ahead of him in Australia"- Simon Insley, GM - High Performance, Tasmania

Nivethan Radhakrishnan, son of former TNCA league player Anbu Selvan, was set to make cricketing waves at Chepauk such was his talent. He had scored 30 centuries by the time he was into his mid teens but frustration here with the TNCA and the lack of proper opportunities led his father to take him to Australia to further his cricketing interests in a professional set up there. In a significant development, 18 year old Nivethan has last week bagged his first professional cricket contract in Australia. The left hand bat, who bowls spin with both hands, has been roped in by Tasmanian Tigers for the 2021-22 Season and is likely to lock horns with the who’s who of Australian cricket in the Sheffield Shield tournament. This follows Nivethan's strong performances in the first grade New South Wales Premier league in Sydney. He will now move from Sydney where he has been residing for a large part of the last decade to Tasmania for the new season that starts in a few months time.

Away from the TNCA and Madras

Just under a decade ago, the then 26 year old Sriram Krishnamurthy based in Madras elicited interest to play the role of a high performance coach. As a Southpaw, he had played for an Indian Cements run team in the first division league under former South Zone batsman JR Madanagopal, now an IPL umpire(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/05/jr-madanagopal-ipl-umpire-2021-and.html).This section had written a story in 2012 asking the question if the TNCA would utilize his services, lest he be grabbed by overseas talent hunters. The TNCA did not and Sriram moved to Australia and then later to England and has now finally settled in New Zealand. He has been credited with the development of opener Devon Conway, who has been making waves this month with an extraordinary start to his test career. 

Similar to Sriram Krishnamurthy, Anbu Selvan too had faced frustration during his playing days in the 1980s at not being able to break through in any of the age group teams despite running up good scores. Undaunted he played cricket for close to three decades even flying in from the US to play league matches. He also managed several league teams in the city mentoring youngsters, in addition to playing league cricket as an opening batsman. 

He initiated his second son Nivethan Radhakrishnan (named after Anbu’s parents) very early into cricket – at the age of three!!!. He bagged a hat-trick with his right arm off spin aged 8 and scored a century in a U12 match off just 60 balls a year later. The special talent that he was, Nivethan was already a junior Olympiad winner in Maths and Science from Sri Sankara School by then. 

Age restriction in the TNCA league – off to Australia

Just when things seemed to be going in the right direction, a new rule brought out by the TNCA restricting players below 13 years to be registered in the league frustrated Anbu Selvan. Nivethan was just 9 years old and was performing well in cricket. This new rule was likely to put him out of league cricket for another 4 years. Angered at this age restriction, Anbu Selvan went overseas to Australia and his son began practising and playing cricket there.

Impresses Greg Chappell and Glenn McGrath

Aged 11, Nivethan had become one of the youngest to play in the U 16 league in the Green Shield in Sydney. Thrilled at his talent Aussie legend Greg Chappell called Ryan Harris to take a look at him. When a MRF trainee tried to bounce Nivethan out at the nets session at the academy in Madras, he was promptly dispatched away prompting Glenn McGrath to remark ‘You will have to try the spin tricks with him. Bouncing him up will not work on the lad.’ 

Signs up with TNPL at 14

At 14, Nivethan came back to Madras from Australia and registered for the TNPL selections for Karaikudi Kaalai. After Robin Singh watched his stroke play in the selection match, he signed him up for the TNPL that season. However, soon after Robin left for the Caribbean PL and Nivethan did not get to play any of the matches in the TNPL. There were not too many takers for him in the TNCA league as well though he did play a few league matches here before returning to Australia.

Extremely talented player

Former Ranji Trophy winning captain and current Chairman of Selectors of TN S Vasudevan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/06/vasudevan-tn-ranji-trophy-retirement.html) watched him closely in an inter academy tournament organised by the Gandhi Nagar Sport Club a few years ago just before Anbu Selvan decided to leave for good.  Vasudevan recalls left hand bat Nivethan scoring a lot of runs in that tournament and found him to be extremely talented allrounder and very useful especially also with his ability to bowl well with both hands.

Like Sriram Krishnamurthy, Nivethan leaves the TNCA

Frustrated at the way Nivethan was being discarded here and seeing that the special talent was not being recognized in the way it should, Anbu Selvan did not want his son’s career to go the way of the father and hence moved away permanently to Australia much like another left hander Sriram Krishnamurthy(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2012/05/high-performance-coaching-is-tnca.html), who has now settled down in New Zealand after moving away from his home town following a lack of acceptance of his services. Sriram has coached New Zealand A and U19 teams and been with the Northern Districts (Williamson, Southee and Watling, among others) in the last few years.

Still the Passion to coach TN Ranji Team

While he has achieved fair amount of success in New Zealand, Sriram Krishnamurthy says that the passion and desire to serve Tamil Nadu cricket is still intact, a decade after he left Madras for good!!! He even has his support staff ready, in addition to the documentation of the purpose of what the state needs to do to achieve its goal. 

Sriram’s model is to nurture a cricketing system that produces confident and well rounded young men who care about others and are passionate about playing for the state which he feels is missing now. He is hoping that one day in life he would get that opportunity to do some cricketing work for his home state. He says if it does happen, that homecoming would be the homage to all those people who motivated and inspired him (Madanagopal, RBI’s S. Ramesh and N.S. Ramesh, the late PK Dharmalingam and CB Selvakumar). 

1977 Kedarnath's plea was rejected by his father, 2012 the next gen father takes his son along to Australia exclusively for cricket

Just over four decades ago, India's batting legend Gundappa Viswanath invited opening batsman from Madras S Kedarnath (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/06/kedarnath-s-opener-from-1970s.html) to move to Bangalore so he could play Ranji Trophy cricket for Karnataka. When Kedarnath reported the delightful news to his father at his home on Nair Road, his enthusiasm and hope came crashing down for his father asked him to stay put in Madras and rejected permission to move to Bangalore. And that ended Kedarnath's Ranji hopes aged 22.

Credit to his father the fiery Anbu Selvan, who played TNCA league cricket for over 25 years and at one point in his career managed as many as 7 teams, Nivethan had no such restrictions. Many a time, parents are confused on the cricketing path and opportunities that lie ahead for their children. At an early stage, when Anbu found that things were not going in the right direction in Madras, he took a bold decision in cricket leaving the TNCA, with whom he had been associated for almost three decades and moved to Australia to showcase his son’s cricketing talent there. Also around that time, he quit a high profile job at JP Morgan Chase in the US and has since spent all his time entirely on developing his son’s cricket. 

Big runs - First Grade cricket in Sydney

In the last four years, Nivethan has made rapid strides in Australia. He has been part of the New South Wales Elite Pathway programme that spots and nurtures extraordinary talent. 

In the 2019-20 Season, he scored over 600runs for first grade team Hawkesbury topping the batting charts for them scoring at an average of 52 in the longer version of the New South Wales Premier league. He also topped the batting aggregate in the Poidevin Gray Shield scoring over 150runs in six matches in addition to picking up 6wickets.

Top Wicket Taker for Sydney University Club

In the season just ended (2020-21), playing for Sydney University Cricket Club, he was on the top of wicket takers list picking up 23 wickets including a best of 4/24 in addition to scoring close to 200runs. In the Poidevin Gray Shield, Nivethan was the highest wicket taker with 12wickets including a best of 5/20. He was also among the best batsmen notching up 125runs including a half century.

Quits Academics for Cricket

Like former Tennis Star Nirupama Vaidyanathan(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/05/nirupama-vaidyanathan.html), who quit academics at 17 to pursue a professional tennis career in the 1990s, Nivethan too has quit academics as a teenager to focus full time on professional cricket in Australia. With discipline, commitment and hard work as his hallmark and a burning desire to succeed at the highest level, he has performed well in the first grade in New South Wales and has now been suitably rewarded with Tasmania picking him as a rookie in the state squad for the upcoming domestic season.

An Exciting Career ahead of him- Simon Insley

Talking to this Writer from Hobart, Tasmania, Simon Insley, GM- High Performance, Tasmania said that Nivethan has been picked for Tasmania primarily as a batsman who can also bowl off spin. “While Ambidextrous is a special quality to have, we have not picked him for that” he told this writer late on Wednesday evening from Australia. 

“He was part of the U19 set up in Australia and has been on the radar of Cricket Australia for the U19 World Cup.”

“Nivethan has been a top performer in the Premier league in Sydney and was the Young Player of the Year there. He has nice skill sets and we want to give the best opportunity to develop his cricket and showcase his talent. Like everyone, he too has a dream of playing cricket for Australia. He is young and one has to be patient with him.  If he works hard and plays some good cricket, scores a lot of runs and takes wickets, we do believe he has an exciting career ahead of him." 

Following the professional contract, Nivethan has already moved to Hobart last week from Sydney and will be training with the Tasmanian State team ahead of the new season that starts in mid September.

With a strong performance in the Sheffield Shield, this ambidextrous bowler and the top order batsman from Madras could stake a claim to the Australian National Team sometime in the near future. One will have to wait and watch as to how he shapes up in the new domestic season in Australia.

This section will track his progress in Australia.

Srinivasa Perumal Anjaneya Temple Royapettah High Road

New Sannidhis for Srinivasa Perumal and Alarmel Mangai Thayar are being constructed at the Royapettah Road Anjaneya Temple and the Consecration Ceremony will take place on the morning of July 11

Just under a Century ago, new Sannidhis for Srinivasa Perumal and Alarmel Mangai Thayar were consecrated at the Vedantha Desikar Temple in Mylapore

New Sannidhi for Srinivasa Perumal and Alarmel Mangai Thayar in Mylapore was consecrated in the summer of 1924 at the centuries old Vedantha Desikar Temple (Vedantha Desikar Temple Mylapore) in Mylapore with the help of generous financial contribution from brothers Srinivasan Iyengar and Gopalan Iyengar, the grandfather of former Ranji Cricketer K Balaji (The Hindu Ranji Cricketer K Balaji), of The Hindu family.  Over the last century, the temple has become a very popular one with round the year festivals including Brahmotsavam for Srinivasa Perumal in Vaikasi (there is one taking place currently with simple pallakku procession inside the temple) and Navarathri Celebrations for Alarmel Mangai Thayar. 

In 2021,  the consecration of Srinivasa Perumal and Alarmel Mangai Thayar Sannidhi at the Anjaneya temple near the Sanskrit College on Royapettah High Road, will take place almost a hundred years after the Mega Samprokshanam at the Vedantha Desikar Temple. 

While the restrictions on devotees’ entry still continues in the city, the date of the Consecration has been fixed for Suday July 11. The Chief Priest of the temple, Kannan Bhattachar, told this writer that the sacred events will take place between 10.30am and 11.30am in Kanya Lagnam on Poosam Star. 

Mega Street Procession in 1924

In 1924, a mega procession of Srinivasa Perumal of the Vedantha Desikar Koil took place around the Mada Streets following the consecration. There is likely to be no such processions at the Anjaneya temple next month as street processions are currently disallowed. 

At the moment, the Samprokshanam is planned as a simple internal event inside the temple without  the presence of devotees. However, if the restrictions are lifted over the next fortnight and devotees are allowed inside temples in the city, then it is likely that devotees could participate in and watch the consecration on July 11. However, a Kalyana Utsavam will be performed that evening at the temple.

While this was primarily an Anjaneya temple with Sannidhi for Rama, Sita and Lakshmana and Venugopalan, the trustees came upon the idea of building new sannidhis for Srinivasa Perumal and Alarmel Mangai Thaayar just behind the Anjaneya Sannidhi a few years ago.

B. Balaji, trustee of the temple told this writer earlier this week that the construction work was started in 2019 and has been fully funded by the temple. The Consecration was originally slated for May and then the plan was to hold it this month. But with the lockdown restrictions, work had been delayed. The authorities have finally decided on performing the Samprokshanam on July 11.

The Temple, run by the Chettiar Community since the 18th Century, is one of the oldest temples here for Lord Hanuman. Utsavams include street processions on the occasion of Rama Navami, Hanuman Jayanthi and Vaikunta Ekadasi (Garuda Vahanam).