Pullam Bhoothangudi Athanur Mei Kavalars

Two Mei Kavalar families have been performing selfless service in remote Divya Desams near Kumbakonam for decades but have remained financially challenged

Pullam Bhoothangudi Divya Desam is a temple whose tale relates to the legendary episode of Jatayu Moksham from the Ramayana. Praised in the Periya Thirumozhi by Thiru Mangai Azhvaar 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. 

While several other Divya Desams have flourished because of the infrastructural development and ease of access, Pullam Bhoothangudi, administered by the Ahobilam Mutt, has been off the radar and been a rather quiet Divya Desam without too much of a devotee crowd. For several decades, till the end of the 20th Century, there was no access to this Divya Desam in a sad contrast to having been a ‘Well Laid Out City’ with mansions during Thiru Mangai Azhvaar’s period. Right through the previous century, one had to weed through the green fields North of Swami Malai to reach this temple. And later, a small one way mud road from Swami Malai had been the only improvement in terms of access to this temple.

மறையால்  முத்தீ அவை வளர்க்கும் 

மன்னு  புகழால் வண்மையால்  

பொறையால் மிக்க அந்தணர் வாழ் 

புள்ளம் பூதங்குடி தானே 

Thiru Mangai Azhvaaar describes the scene around the temple during his time over 1000 years ago in these ten verses at the beginning of the fifth canto.

நறிய மலர்மேல் சுரும்பு ஆர்க்க 

எழில் ஆர் மஞ்சை நடம் ஆட 

பொறி கொள் சிறை வண்டு இசை பாடும்

புள்ளம் பூதங்குடி தானே 

The temple was amidst huge groves where bees provided sweet musical tunes to the dancing peacocks, Pullam Bhoothangudi, where Lord Rama is seen in a Bala Sayana Posture, was a place with huge water tanks and wet fields in which fish fell prey to the birds that then took their prized scalp to feed their young ones.

பள்ளச் செருவில் கயல் உகள 

பழனிக் கழனி அதனுள் போய் 

புள்ளுப் பிள்ளைக்கு இறை தேடும் 

புள்ளம் பூதங்குடி தானே 

There were huge coconut groves and coconuts constantly fell from the trees (that is one commonality that existed till the end of the last century as seen in the story below). The scared fish jumped in and out of water and water birds kept flying away. He also praises the place as being home to Vedic Seers who constantly chanted the Vedas trying to understand its inner meaning.

கா ஆர் தெங்கின் பழம் வீழ 

கயல்கள் பாய, குருகு இரியும் 

பூ ஆர் கழனி எழில் ஆரும் 

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. 

While Thiru Mangai Azhvaar has praised the place in such glory, when infrastructure development happened over the last century, Pullam Bhoothangudi as well as Athanur Divya Desam , a couple of kms East have remained sidelined and come to be classified as a ‘remote temple’ among Divya Desams. 

Mei Kavalar family

39 year old Saravanan has been Mei Kavalar at the Valvil Ramar Divya Desam in Pullam Bhoothangudi near Kumbakonam for the last 5 years following in the footsteps of his father Narayanaswamy Naidu who had performed Kainkaryam at this remote temple for two decades. His Grandfather too had served as Mei Kavalar for decades at Athanur Divya Desam in the 20th Century. 

At Rs.2500 per month, it has not easy to make both ends meet, financially. He comes to the temple every morning at 6.30am and stays through till 12.30pm. And then he comes back in the evening and heads back home only after 8pm. Even on days when the priest has been away for a few hours, its the trusted Mei Kavalar Saravanan who manages the devotees taking them around the temple.

Contact Saravanan Mei Kavalar @ 95662 61138

Similar Story in Thiru Athanur

Thiru Mangai Azhvaar in the Periya Thiru Madal refers to the Lord of Athanur as one who measures time – The yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

அன்னவனை ஆதனூர் ஆண்டு அளக்கும் ஐயனை

நென்னலை இன்றினை நாளையை

The Mei Kavalar there too has been counting on the prospect of 'Good Time' but that has seemed an endless wait. With absolutely no access to Athanur from Swami Malai in the century gone by and no transport facilities, one had to walk all the way across the fields or take a bullock cart ride through the pits from Swami Malai.  Rarely would a devotee turn up at the temple in the decades gone by. Despite these, Brahmotsavam was performed in a grand way with the local residents playing the role of Sri Patham Thangis and carrying the Lord around on Vahana Processions across the streets of Athanur. 

A sincere Mei Kavalar at Athanur too

Over the last 15 years, Mei Kavalar Balakrishnan (Balu) has been opening the main door at 630am to stay on till 12.30pm. He comes back again at 4pm and stays on till 730pm in the evening. With better roads and slightly improved bus services,  the devotee crowd has increased over the last decade but still its nowhere like the temples in the main town of Kumbakonam and other bigger towns and cities. One has to still keep the temple open and wonder if a devotee will turn up on a week day. Here too he is the one who manages the devotees when the bhattar is away from the temple. His finances are no different from that of the Pullam Bhoothangudi Mei Kavalar. 

With his devotional attachment to the temple, he has also doubled up as a garland maker and knots flower garland every day for the Lord in addition to the security services for which he is paid an extra 500 per month by the Ahobila Mutt. 

Contact: Balu Mei Kavalar @ 9659238848

Kapali V Ramkumar World Bank to Sanyasam

IIT Post Grad and World Bank Consultant takes to Sanyasam and a Devotional Life in Service to people

He has handed 1000s of Rudraksha Maalai and Devotional Books to the next gen at the Kapali Temple 

In 2018, this section had featured a story on a crorepathi IT professional from Karappankadu quitting a high paying job in a MNC in his 40s and moving to the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam transforming the madapalli there (Srirangam Madapalli). A year or so later, he quit the service in the madapalli and took to Sansayam and now lay stationed at the Ananthazhvaan Avatharam Sthalam in Kirangur (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/01/srirangam-madapalli-fame-lakshmi.html). In March last year, this section featured a story on a long standing Kapali devotee who quit a high paying corporate job and moved into a dozen years of silence (Vilvam Anna Vasudevan).

This one is a story of a World Bank Consultant from Mannargudi with multiple academic degrees giving up corporate life, once again in his 40s and taking Sansyasam dedicating his life to Kapaleeswarar of Mylapore.

V Ramkumar (Vaidyanathan Subramanian) was outstanding in academics and was a topper in Biology at DAV Gopalapuram. He also took to Tamil all through his years at school. When his father (he retired as AGM at Parrys) was transferred to Trichy, he had a great experience with Ranganathaswamy of Srirangam. Since then, he has returned to Srirangam several times for a darshan of the Lord especially at the Era Pathu Utsavam. By the time he was into class III, he was full time into Bhajans and lighting 108 lamps at the temple. Even as a school boy in Trichy, he cleaned and swept the local temple before the priest arrived.

Every summer, he went back to his village in the 1970s and 80s and was associated in farming, accounts work, knotting flowers and every traditional activity in his native village.

His grandparents hailed from Sithambur village off the Mannargudi Tiruvarur highway. They were traditionalists of the highest order and followed aachaaram till the very end. His grandfather was a Mirasdaar in the village and it had become a traditional practice for his grandmother to feed all visitors to the village. "Feeding 100s of people was a normal occurrence at home and we took delight in serving people" says Ramkumar of his memories from the 1970s. 

He points out an example showcasing the traditional values of his grandparents “When the Government allocated money for steps to be built in a local temple tank, my grandfather refused as he believed that the cows would not be able to walk down the steps such was his respect for the sacred animal.”

His grandfather was a freedom fighter and had walked with Rajaji to Vedaranyam. Till independence, he did not get his son to join an English school!!!

Lets go 'Medicine' Dream, a M. Tech at IIT Bombay

Ramkumar wanted to take to medicine but the cost of studying medicine was exorbitant and he had to let go of his first dream to serve the society. His father suggested him to take to chemistry at Vivekananda College. It was a great experience where he also learned Sanskrit.  "The teachers at Vivekananda including Dr. Sundaram were simply outstanding. In addition to the core subjects, they also initiated us into the importance of a traditional way of life."

He went on to pursue his Masters in Chemistry at IIT Madras, M. Tech in IIT Bombay and then also did a MBA in International business at Symbiosis Pune.

A highly devoted teenager

Alongside all his academic pursuits, he was quietly following a devotional way of life that was far beyond his age. He began his Veda Adyayanam under Pattukottai Srinivasa Sastrigal. Later he was initiated into further Vedic learning by Sripatha Ganapadigal near Rajamundry. From Thiruvenkadu Muthuswamy Sastrigal, he learned Shanmada Upasanai and advanced Sanskrit. When his grandfather passed away in 1989, Ramkumar took up the Panchayathana Pooja that had been done previously for centuries. He was just in his teens and his devotional move at such a young age took everyone in the family by surprise.

Rathnagireeswarar – A big early influence

At 17, he was sitting alongside Octogenarians at the Rathnagireeswarar temple as part of the Veda Ghosti. For about five years in that phase, he attended every programme at the temple managing academics by the side. A year later at 18, he received Mantropadesam from Mayura Vaidyanathan Iyer. He was told later that when he was just 1 year old, he had received the blessing of Maha Periyava who sent him to Bhuvaneswari Swamigal. “The teachings of Bhuvaneswari Swamigal molded me.”

He clearly was assigned to be a one of a kind multi faceted personality, for he was also trained in carnatic music by Vaigal Gnana Skanda including in Tamil Kritis. The guru also taught him Sastras. He learned Bharatanatyam, the Veena, was involved in enacting in dramas and drew large Rangolis.

The early bonding with Kapali

As a teenager he had once been to Mylapore but did not visit Kapaleeswarar temple. His amma had studied at Lady Sivasamy School and was an ardent devotee of Kapali. “When I reached home and told my amma that I had been to Mylapore she gave me a message that has stayed all through my life – If you step foot in Mylapore, do not return without spending a few minutes inside the Kapali and Ambal Sannidhi.”

That moment created a special devotional bonding with the Kapali temple and he has remained a lifetime devotee of the divine couple. Academics and Temples were the only part of his life in his first 25years. He had never missed the annual utsavam in Panguni at Kapali. 

Surprisingly, he was also very close to the previous jeer of the Ahobila Mutt who he met when he was just 20 years old. “The Jeer spent 1.5 hours with me at the Anantha Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiru Ananthapuram, something that I could never have visualized to happen in my life. He looked at me as his own son.”

No Marriage, Assigned for larger devotional cause

Even as a young teenager he had decided that family life  was not for him for he was destined for larger things in life. Though his parents tried to convince him on that path, an invisible voice had impressed upon him that a devotional way of life was the way forward for him. ”From Dakshina Murthy at Marudeeswarar Koil, I received a message that I was not destined for family life and that I had been assigned for a larger devotional cause.”

Biggest Influence - Tiruppan Azhvaar's  True Devotion

He has been a voracious reader all his life with a large collection of over 50000 books.  The life of Thiruppaan Azhvaar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2009/03/thirupaanazhvaar.html), who sang 10 verses of praise on the Lord of Srirangam, had the biggest influence on him and taught him what real devotion was and how one should engage with God. 

Into Corporate Life in Singapore and the Middle East

For over a decade after the completion of his Masters, he pursued a full fledged corporate life with a long stint in Singapore in a MNC in shipping and logistics business. Subsequently, he moved into a US based Software group and completed his corporate work as an employee with a Dubai based real estate and property developer. Very early in his life, he learned to cook under amma’s training and has managed his own food almost all his life.

Corporate job to Management Consultancy

He had not touched 40 when he decided that he had had enough with a full time job in a corporate and became a Management Consultant just under 15years ago. His appa had passed away a few years earlier and he wanted to spend time with his amma with whom he had been very close from his childhood "She had taught me all the traditional values and initiated me into a devotional way of life."

His wide ranging experience in multiple sectors meant that consultant projects came his way. Over the many years, he has been a Consultant to the World Bank for their overseas projects in South America and South Africa. In recent years, he has given up almost everything and is currently in the final phase of his projects with World Bank. In the period of his consultancy with the World Bank, he has written feasibility reports, tender reports and been involved in tender evaluation. He has also provided advice on development of Investment Zones, Gated Community and Agri Zones. “While it was an enjoyable experience, my mind has almost completely moved away from the Corporate life into devotional service.”

Sanyasam into his 40s

With the passing away of his amma in the middle of the previous decade, he decided to take to Sansayam with the blessings of Thirumalai Tirupathi Jeer, an interesting one for an Advaita. Following his Sanyasam six years ago, he was asked to refer to himself as Brahmananda Avadhootha Swami. To this day, he follows every aacharam including Trikala Sandhyavandanam. The Tirumala Tirupathi Jeer while blessing him on his taking to Sanyasam asked him to perform Kainkaryam.

Kainkaryam at Kapali Temple

In the last decade or so, he has been a great influence on the devotees of Kapali, a service initiated into him by Seshadri Swamigal at Tiruvannamalai. He has presented over 1000 of them with Rudraksha Maalai sourced exclusively from Nepal. He did not want them to just wear the Maalai and also wanted them to chant the Shiva Nama. This led him to publishing books in praise of the Lord that he has handed to all these devotees. As part of his devotional service and creating a calming influence in the devotees, he has also handed out Shiva Lingams sourced from Narmada to devotees. In addition, he has also presented Saligramams and conches in big numbers to devotees at Kapali.

For a large part of his life, he has been blessed with a Kainkaryam during the first kaala pooja at Kasi Viswanathar temple. At the Vaitheeswaran Koil, he was instrumental in revival of some of the utsavams a couple of decades ago, at a time when they had come to a halt.A trip to Gaya during the Pandemic got him closer to God for he was all alone with the deity in that phase.

Panguni 2022 - Senkol and Thee Pantham at Kapali 

He dedicates the crystallizing of his Brahmanandam at 50 almost entirely to Kapaleeswarar and Karpagambal. The last 7 years of every evening at Kapali, he says, has been the best period of his life particularly this year when in the space of a month he had the blessings to be assigned with two sacred kainkaryams “During the Panguni Utsavam, I carried the Senkol and from the fifth day of the utsavam, the Thee Pandham. During the entire 28 day Vasantha Utsavam, I carried the Thee Pandham. It was a memorable devotional experience.”

While he has been devotional right from his childhood, Ramkumar is in a completely different frame of mind. For the hundreds of devotees at the Kapaleeswarar temple, Ramkumar provides positive vibration every evening at the Artha Jaama Pooja.

Sanyasam, he says, is a state of mind “Contentment, No desires, control of the mind, no importance to external appearances, simplicity in attire, calming down of the mind, mixing with devotees, spreading positive dharmic messages and praying for the well being of all are integral part of this phase.” 

He says that God has assigned him on this “He provides the pen and the ink. I am only a tool”.

Madabhooshi Varadarajan

A Welcome Addition to the Madhava Perumal Temple's Prabhandham Ghosti

Divya Prabhandham has remained close to his heart all his life

In his 75th year, he received the Gopalopayanam award from Trithandi Jeer for his contribution to Vaishnavism

There has been some good news for the Madhava Perumal temple of late. While on one hand there is a young Commerce Post Grad joining in as a priest(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/04/madhava-perumal-temple-next-gen-bhattar.html), on the other there has been a welcome addition of a 75 year old Prabhandham member. 

During the Pandemic, Dr. Madabhooshi Varadarajan a revered Prabhandham Scholar hailing from the Ananthan Pillai clan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/08/ananthazhvaar-kirangur.html) moved from Thiruvallikeni to Nattu Veerachi Street in Mylapore, just next to the ancient Madhava Perumal temple. With the reopening of the temple after wave 2 and the resumption of utsavams, he has become an integral part of the Prabhandham Ghosti at the temple and was seen through the Brahmotsavam this year in Chitrai.

Varadarajan’s father performed several decades of Madapalli service at the Govindarajan Perumal temple in Tirupathi and was particularly known for making quality dosais, 

After completing his SSLC at the Hindu High School, Thiruvallikeni, he moved to Tirupathi where he resided for almost five decades including as the Tamil Professor at the Venkateswara University for 15years. He has presented Kalakshepams on nine Granthas and also written a commentary on Aditya Hridayam in four languages. He has thus far written 76 books. 

Great Liking for the Divya Prabhandham

As a young boy, he learned the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham from his grandfather. Later on in life, he anchored a three year Project studying Azhvaars’ Hymns in the 108 Divya Desams. For this, he travelled the length and breadth of the country and presented 400 pages on the recital of the sacred verses in the Divya Desams. He found that only in one third of these temples the sacred verses were recited every day.

For over two decades, he was the PA to the Vice Chancellor, a phase when he managed to be closely associated with the Divya Prabhandham and the spreading of its glory.

His special attachment towards Nalayira Divya Prabhandham led to him being engaged as a Director of a two-year UGC Research Project titled Upanishadic Thoughts in Tiruvoimozhi classifying 616 Upanishadic Quotations employed by Nampillai.

Continuing his liking for the sacred verses of the Azhvaars, his Doctorate too was a thesis analyzing and dissecting from different angles the Panneer Aayira Padi, a 12000 word commentary on Tiruvoimozhi. He published 10 volumes of Paneeraayira Padi comprising of 2200pages

Three decades ago, he led the first national seminar on Nalayira Divya Prabhandham.

Gopalopayanam award

Earlier this year, Varadarajan, who holds a double MA (Political Science and Tamil) was anointed with the Gopalopayanam award by Trithandi Chinnna Jeer Swamy for his contribution to spreading the Vaishnavite philosophy among the masses over several decades. 

He will turn 75 soon but his commitment to the sacred verses of the Azhvaars has not diminished one bit over the last decade. While in Thiruvallikeni, he was a regular at the Prabhandham Ghosti. The move to Mylapore makes him a great addition to the small Prabhandham team at the Madhava Perumal team. He has also initiated his son, an IT staffer, into the Divya Prabhandham as well into Kalakshepams to help continue the tradition into the next gen.

Kapali Temple Kolathur College

Temple activist TR Ramesh fights for Kapali Devotees’ cause

Mylapore resident and President of the Temple Worshippers Society, TR Ramesh has been taking up many devotee friendly causes relating to the Kapaleeswarar temple. Last year, he stalled the demolition of the buildings on Kumara Gurunathan Street adjacent to the temple where the authorities had sketched a multi storied complex. It is the street where many of the service personnel of the temple have resided over the last century or so.

Over the last nine months he has been fighting tooth and nail on the transfer of Kapali temple funds to the new arts college planned by the TN Government in Kolathur.

Challenges the announcement in the assembly

In October last year, soon after the announcement in the state assembly of the setting up of the college, Ramesh filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court challenging the legality. Referring to the TN HR & CE act he says that only the Trustees of the temple who alone have full authority over the assets and properties of the temple and are in control of the administration thereof. “While the surplus funds from out of the offerings made to the Kapali temple could be used for the purpose of setting up an educational institution, such a proposal must come from the trustees to the Commissioner. The Commissioner or the HR & CE Department of their own accord do not have the authority to set up an educational institution."

Kapali Temple - Where are the Trustees?

The Kapali temple has not had a board of trustees for a long time and no attempt has been made over the last decade to appoint a trustee. 

Over three Centuries ago, when the Kapaleeswarar temple was being built in its current location, the Thuluva Velalar community had a significant role to play in its development. 82 year old AC Kandaswamy, a Civil Engineer, is now the President of the Poonamalee Uyir Thuluva Vellalar Marabinar Sangam that was officially registered in 1946 once the HR & CE took over the temple. He recounts the role of his forefathers in the development and improvement of the temple over the last few centuries “Mylai Naattu Muthaiappa Mudhaliar donated lands for the temple 380 years ago. Several members of the community made large donations in the form of jewels and house properties for the maintenance of the temple and the Service Personnel.” 

Even after the HR & CE took over, three members of the Thuluva Vellala community were appointed as trustees and this went on till 1976. And then all of a sudden, no members were appointed from the community. 

'Temporary' Fit Person continues for a Decade!!!

Ramesh has questioned the continued presence of the Fit Person. He has repeatedly told this writer over the last many years that the appointment of a fit person is only a stop gap measure and it is only upon the board of trustees that the decision-making authority in the temple is born. All matters relating to the administration of the religious institution "shall be decided at the meetings of the Board of Trustees.”

At the Kapali temple, P Vijayakumar Reddy has remained as the 'Fit Person' for a decade!!!

 "The duties of trustees, as being discharged by the fit person allow the latter to undertake the day-to-day administration and running of the temple but he cannot be seen to have any right to alienate the property or the offerings at the temple or take any major policy decision pertaining to the temple" Ramesh said.

A fit person temporarily discharges the duties of administration and the transfer of funds would be a much larger policy decision that a fit person ought not to take. The mere fact that a fit person may have continued for years and even a decade in the absence of government endeavor to install the rightful administration by the appointment of trustees, will not confer any greater right on a fit person than a mere caretaker discharging the administrative duties in the absence of the real administrator. 

Ramesh said that the application to start a college by a temple should come from the Trustees of the temple. In the case of the Kolathur college, the announcement was made in the assembly and the Commissioner acted on that announcement “As per the HR & CE act, the Government or the HR & CE (Commissioner) do not have the rights to start the college on their own on behalf of a temple.” 

Get back the Hereditary Trustees

Acknowledging the points raised by Ramesh, the Judges in their remarked pointed out that these substantial issues raised had to be addressed and assessed. They also directed that educational institutions on the basis of Section 36 of the Act should not be instituted till trustees are first put in place 

In April this year, Ramesh pointed to the Court that despite their direction to appoint hereditary trustees from the Poonamallee Thuluva Velalar Community, the Kapali temple has failed to do so.

Kapali funded college without a Religious Instruction

Another fundamental point Ramesh has raised is the non inclusion of a course in Hindu religion as a prominent subject He had told this writer last year that a course pertaining to Hindu religious instruction would be mandatorily required as a part of the main stream curriculum of the educational institution and not as an incidental subject.

The court in their direction said that the college offered BBA, B. Com and other similar courses without there being a regular course in religious instructions in Hindu religion. It will be a condition precedent that a stream of religious instructions in Hindu religion be introduced. If such a course is not introduced within a month of the college starting, the further functioning of the college cannot continue, the court had said. 

In a 1972 judgment, the Supreme Court had clarified on what constitutes Religious Instructions “Religious Instructions is that which is imparted for inculcating the tenets, rituals, the observations ceremonies and modes of worship.” 

Almost as to answer Ramesh, the institution hurriedly announced a 'six months certification course' in Saiva Siddhantha and Vaishnavism which he has vehemently objected to!!!

Outside of these procedural aspects, Ramesh has also pointed out that the Kapali temple did not have funds to buy the land as well as to run and maintain the college every year.

Ramesh is giving his best in trying to secure the devotees' funds for the purpose for which it was presented to the Lord of Mylapore. He quotes the 1876 privy council and is confident that truth will prevail in this case

"...Where the power is given to do a certain thing in a certain way, the thing must be done in that way or not at all and that other methods of performance are necessarily forbidden...."

TR RAMESH -  https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/02/tr-ramesh-temple-activist.html

KAPALI TEMPLE SURROUNDS DEMOLITION STALLED -  https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/07/kapali-temple-surrounds-large-scale.html

RK MUTT KAPALI TEMPLE REPOSSESSION - https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/01/ramakrishna-mutt-mylapore-kapali-temple.html

Vedantha Desikar Temple New Gen Prabhandham Members

The Vibrant Prabandham Ghosti at the Vedantha Desikar Temple in Mylapore has gained further momentum with the arrival of the new gen in good numbers

From L to R : Kosakan, Rathangan, Raghavanujan, Sreekar, Haarthan, Viduth and Shreeduth

It is the first week of June and devotees are trickling into the Vedantha Desikar Srinivasa Perumal temple (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/01/vedantha-desikar-srinivasa-perumal.html) just after 6am for the street procession in the morning. While the priests are giving the final touches to the alankaram, IT staffer Aravind arrives on a two wheeler with his 11 year old son Raghava Simhan all the way from T Nagar to be part of the Prabhandham Ghosti. A class VI student of PSBB T. Nagar, Raghava Simhan is focused on academics. But his appa is keen on his son to take the devotional path in life and has begun initiating into the sacred verses of the Vaishnavite Saint Poets. While he prepares every day for the periodic tests that are part of the school calendar, Raghava Simhan has already learned around 2000 verses from the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham. He provides almost equal attention to learning these verses as much as he does with his school lessons. For the Vaikasi Brahmotsavam at the Mylapore temple, he was up at 5am every morning to get himself ready for the procession. On most days he was back in the evening as well for the street procession.

                            T Nagar PSBB's Raghava Simhan

Rama Priyan (Sreekar) is the youngest of the lot of a bunch of kids who were present at the Brahmotsavam earlier this month. He is all of 5 years and has just made his way into class 1 at Vidya Mandir this month. Between software development (Main Frame) at TCS and being part of the regular Prabhandham Ghosti round the year at the temple, his appa Sudarshan, a software engineer, has been making time to initiate Sreekar into the stotras of acharya Vedantha Desikar over the last many months. During Margazhi, Sudarshan has also been presenting upanyasams at the temple in the evenings.

                        5 year old Rama Priyan (Sreekar)

CA initiates son into the Sacred Verses

Sriram, a Chartered Accountant who runs his own audit firm in Venkatesa Agraharam, is well versed in the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham and has been a regular at the ten day annual Brahmotsavam and Desikar Utsavams. He too has been initiating his 8 year old son Haardhan into the ‘Mudhalayiram’ verses over the last year or so.  Haardhan has also been learning Desikar Stotras and has already completed a number of these as well.

                                  CA's son  Haardan

Vaideeka's son - All round learning

Contrasted with the above and away from the corporate world is Murali Krishnan who has been in Vaideeha activities for the last 15years. His son Raghavanujan, now 8, began his initiation very early when he was just about 4 years. He has already completed half of the verses from the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham as part of the class organised inside the Desikar Temple by Acharya Srihari. He has also learned over 10 stotras of Acharya Vedantha Desikar. In addition to the sacred verses of the Vaishnavite Saint Poets and Acharya, Raghavanujan, a class III student of PS Sr. Sec School, has also been initiated into Vedic learning.

                      Raghavanujan - also into Vedic Learning

Several decades ago, as seen in a story in January last year, Vedic recital was prominent at the Desikar temple. Over the last two decades, with the initiative of Prabhandham Acharya Srihari(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2015/11/srihari-parthasarathy-prabhandham.html), the recital of the sacred verses of the Saint Poets has gained dominance at the temple. And that has rubbed off on the parents who are passing on their knowledge to their sons. 

It has been refreshing to see the bunch of young kids being part of the vibrant Divya Prabhandham Ghosti during the street processions at the Vaikasi Brahmotsavam earlier this month From CAs to Engineers, From IT professionals to the traditional Vaideekas, fathers for whom the Vedantha Desikar temple has been an integral part of their lives over the last three decades are ensuring that their sons are initiated early on into the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham. And that augurs well for the Prabhandham Ghosti. While the Vedic recital is not anything like it was in the past, Prabhandham Ghosti is vibrant with the members gathering in good numbers at all the utsavams at the Desikar Temple. These young kids have been a welcome addition and their rendering of the Prabhandham is bringing a special devotional flavour to the utsavams.  

Kapali Temple Battery Cars Dumped in Kalyana Mandapam

Where are the battery operated cars - The Grand launch of March 2020 has fallen flat 

Two Golf Carts meant to ferry devotees to the temple have remained dumped in a Kalyana Mandapam in Venkatesa Agraharam

The High Profile Launch in March 2020

This section has featured many stories on the HR & CE model of ‘all income to them’ and ‘all expenses to the donor’ (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/12/nachiyar-koil-divya-desam.html). Mylapore’s Kapaleeswarar temple is a prime example. Despite being one of the six richest temples in TN, the Temple has always been seeking financial support of the donors.

In the second week of March 2020, just under a fortnight prior to the national lockdown, Kapali temple was abuzz. The top officials of Sundaram Finance were headed to the Eastern Raja Gopuram to present the two electric golf carts that they were donating to the temple that evening. It was a gala event with devotees in good numbers witnessing the two new vehicles being handed over to the temple. The donation of the two battery cars was big enough for the then HR & CE Minister Sevvoor S Ramachandran and Mylapore MLA R Nataraj too to be present on the occasion. The two vehicles had cost Rs. 12Lakhs.

This story comes in light of the announcement last week by the HR & CE Minister P Sekar Babu of allocating wheel chairs for temples across TN to serve the disabled and the elderly.

A launch ahead of Panguni Utsavam

The launch of the battery cars at the Kapali Temple was timed just ahead of the annual Panguni Utsavam where several thousands participate. It was expected that the two vehicles would be put to use at the utavam but with the national lockdown the utsavam was cancelled and actual operation of the vehicles had been delayed.

The six seater vehicle was to operate outside the temple on the four Mada Streets. The idea was for the two battery operated cars to pick up devotees from the Mada Streets and drop them at the Eastern Raja Gopuram, and to pick them back from the Raja Gopuram and drop them at appropriate points.

The temple JC Kaveri had said at that time that the two battery cars would run in the first half between 630am and 12.30pm and in the evening from 4pm to 9pm with the battery being charged between 12.30pm and 4pm when the temple is closed for darshan. 

The vehicles had come with warranty with support for all maintenance requirements. Both the vehicles had also been insured with third party insurance.

The then MD of the company TT Srinivasaraghavan(TTS) had hoped for the vehicles to serve devotees, particularly the elderly and the physically challenged to access the centuries old Kapaleeswarar temple. “We trust and hope that the vehicles will be put to good use for the benefit of the public at large”, he had said that evening while presenting the keys of the two cars to the temple JC.

Wave 1 led to closure of the temple for a long time. Wave 2 in the summer of 2021 too led to a rather prolonged restrictions for devotees. Despite the high profile launch, these two unexpected events had delayed the operation of the vehicles.

However, with the reopening of the temple late last year, one had expected that these would serve the elderly. But the two vehicles have not been anywhere in sight around the temple except at the PS School ground during the night of Maha Sivarathri this year when a mega night long event was organised by the temple. The Panguni Utsavam this year witnessed huge crowd (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/03/kapali-devotee-aparna-panguni-utsavam.html) with devotees staying back through the night for the Rishabha Vahanam. Following the big annual utsavam in Panguni, devotees have been thronging the temple in large numbers

Dumped in  a Kalyana Mandapam

But the two vehicles have remained dumped at the temple’s Kalyana Mandapam at Venkatesa Agraharam. The temple authorities have said that when they tried to operate the golf carts, many visitors wanted to use the service for their shopping. The authorities also said that beggars who are seen in good numbers outside the temple began boarding the vehicle for a drop to the temple entrance which made it difficult for other passengers to sit.

Many devotees that this writer had spoken to shortly after the launch had raised apprehension on the operational challenges of running this service around the Mada Streets unlike in Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple where it is operated within the temple complex ferrying devotees from the Perumal sannidhi to the Thaayar Sannidhi. The benefits of the battery cars were clearly seen in Srirangam but in Mylapore the temple authorities have failed to capitalize on the large corporate donation and the launch that took place amidst media glare has fallen flat with the two vehicles remaining unused. Like with most other things, with passage of time, devotees too have forgotten that this facility was made available by the corporate for their benefit.

Yet another instance of how HR & CE has misused (in this case unused) the services of responsible donors.

K Barathan Railways BCCI Umpire

He quit Sanmar Group after just one season to rejoin Railways and went on to play Ranji Cricket for a decade

In 1992, he started the season with a century and 11wickets playing on one leg but failed to rise to the next level

“He was very helpful and backed me completely in my first year in Ranji” – Karnataka Coach Yere Gowd who made his Ranji debut under Barathan’s captaincy

Between 1979 and 82, two spinners, M Santosh Kumar (IOB Santosh) and S Madhavan (RBI Leggie) quit their respective jobs in the Railways to join Banks in Madras letting go of opportunities to play Ranji Trophy in the Central Zone. In 1985, another spinner who could hold his own as a batsman joined the Railways but his quitting the very next year seemed to lead him in the footsteps of his predecessors. A year later, after a good season with Jolly Rovers, he was forced to rejoin the Railways. His appa, who retired as a station master in Mambalam, felt that a Government job would offer long term security. As luck would have it, the Railways reached the final of the Ranji Trophy in his very first year and he went on to play for a decade, something his senior spinners from Madras had missed. Here’s the story.

Another YSCA Guru product

K Barathan joined the Guru team (YSCA Gurumurthy) at the Somasundaram ground as a 6 year old. As with most boys in the group, he too would wake up early at 5am to be among the first at the ground to get extra batting that was on offer for the first comers. He started off as a wicket keeper to the outswingers of Gurumurthy. After Guru finished his spell, Barathan turned his arm over with his off spinners “While I always saw myself as a batsman, it was my teammates who motivated me into bowling as they liked my action” says Barathan looking back on those early years in the 1970s at the Somasundaram ground.

For almost two decades, a lot of his cricketing time including chats with friends was at the Somasundaram ground.

Grand Prix- The Turning Point

He played for TFUCC and UFCC T Nagar, both Guru managed teams in the TNCA league but the turning point in his cricket career came in 1984 when he moved to Grand Prix in the first division. Encouraged by Mukund and provided enough opportunities by captain PS Raman, Barathan had an outstanding season topping 600 runs in the league. By this time, he had captained the Pachaiappas college team for a couple of years.

"I had offers pouring in from Indian Bank, IOB and SPIC but my appa’s experience in the decades preceding in the Indian Railways turned the decision towards the Central Government job."

A century under Bharath Reddy's watchful eyes

That year, he hit a career best 170 against Jolly Rovers, watched by Bharath Reddy, who roped him in the next season. While Barathan had another great season, (un)fortunately his century against the Railways for Jolly Rovers turned his life around. Narasimhan, who later went on to become the GM at the Railways, saw him score that century and immediately asked for Barathan to return to the Railways or pay a huge compensation as per the exit clause.

“Coming from a middle class, we did not have money to pay up. In any case, my appa was keen on a Govt job for he thought it was better than the then uncertainty for cricketers in a private firm” says Barathan on his decision to quit Sanmar Group after a year.

Features in the Ranji Final

While he had been in the TN Ranji squad in the year he played for Jolly Rovers, his move to the Railways meant he featured in the Ranji final in his very first year. He had made a good early start to that season with half centuries in successive matches including picking up three wickets and scoring a fifty on debut. While he bowled a marathon spell in the final, the match itself was largely a forgettable one for the Railways.

One of his closest friends in the Railways was Ranjit Khanwilkar “We played together in my debut year for Railways. He would wake up at 4am, walk for an hour and was a voracious reader.  He was awesome talent. I had hoped to play together with him for a long time but unfortunately he passed soon after I met him at the YSCA match in the 1st week of June at the RKM ground.”

He also began his coaching stint in those early years coaching the Railway cricketers at the Somasundaram ground. "I always liked coaching as it gave one the opportunity to produce future cricketers."

His Best Season 

After a few quiet years, Barathan came into his own and was at his best in the 92-93 season. He counts his 11 wickets and 107 against Rajasthan in chilly conditions in Jaipur as the best match in his life especially as the performance came on the back of a big injury. He had injured himself a day ahead of this Ranji match in practice when a yorker in the nets left his left ankle swollen. 

He looks back at the contribution of his teammate on the eve of the match “Yashpal (Sharma) who played for a year as a guest was keen on me playing the season opener. My roommate Srikant Karge applied ice through the night without sleeping even for a minute to help me get fit. In the morning at 6am, he woke me up to ‘test walk’. I wore Durga Prasad’s size 12 shoe on one foot and my own size in the other.”

Batting on one leg 

“While I was happy about some additional rest after we won the toss and batted on the first morning, the top order was knocked over quickly before lunch. And that meant I was in earlier than I had expected. I batted on almost one foot through that entire innings and without a runner to score that century.”

Barathan followed his batting performance with a 7 wicket haul that forced Rajasthan to follow on. He was back again on the field to capture four more wickets for a match haul of 11 wickets. “I was lifted by all the players at the end of the match. Yashpal (Sharma) was particularly pleased with my determination.”

After that performance, he was on a high and felt he could be in line for a national call up. Word spread that it was between him and Gyanendra Pandey but he was not to make it. He says that it was the closest he thought he came to going up the cricketing ladder.

Current Karnataka coach Yere Goud, who played well over a 100 first class matches made his debut for the Railways under Barathan’s captaincy. The two shared an unbroken century partnership in that match. “He was my captain when I made my debut for Railways against MP at Gwalior. He could hold his own either as a pure batsman or as an off spinner. He had great skills in both departments with natural flair and was outstanding fielder in close in and outfield. He was always helpful and backed me completely.”

UR Radhakrishnan (UR) who joined the Railways after starting out at SVPB Udumalpet played together with Barathan in the few years that he was there “He was a fantastic all round cricketer and an asset to the team. He could bat and bowl and field anywhere.” 

Right at the end of his Ranji career, he picked up six wickets to help the Railways to a win in the knock out match.

Returns to Ranji Cricket as an Umpire

A decade after hanging up his boots, Barathan returned to Ranji cricket as an umpire. When he was in the last year of eligibility the Railways did not recommend him. Barathan recalls the great gesture from his teammate that helped become an umpire "I had reached my cut off year and the Railways did not recommend my name. Arvind Kapoor sacrificed his place and handed a NOC for me to take the exam. It was his great gesture that allowed me to become a BCCI umpire.”

Over the next decade he went on to officiate in the IPL. Among the highlights was officiating in Sachin’s last match, one that he considers a most memorable experience. Another big moment for him was WI legend Viv Richards, then consultant with DDR, coming up to him and asking for permission to inspect the pitch ahead of an IPL match.

His decision, albeit a forced one, to join the Railways a second time in 1987 led him to play close to 50 first class matches. He was also the first one from Madras to captain the Indian Railways in Ranji Trophy cricket, an achievement he is quite proud of. His experience in first class cricket also made way for an entry into Umpiring, one that he enjoyed for a decade. The new age extension up to 65 has given him a new lease of life especially when he is going to retire from the Railways after 35years.

Barathan is now looking forward to another go in Umpiring. One hopes that like his second stint in the Railways, this one too will be successful one.

Kapali Temple Mathalam Vidwan Balasubramaniam

From Kannapuram to Kapaleeswarar

Father and Son have served at the Mylapore temple presenting Mathalam for over five decades 

Asthana Mathalam Vidwan J Balasubramaniam has been serving at the six kaalam pooja at the Kapaleeswarar Temple for over two decades following in the footsteps of his appa Jayachandran who was at the Saint Poets praised Mylapore Temple for three decades from the late 1960s.  Balasubramaniam spent his entire childhood listening to the Thevaram verses of the Othuvars at the Kapali temple. 

His forefathers hailed from Thiru Kannapuram, a Divya Desam praised with a 100 verses by Thiru Mangai Azhvaar and were Thavil Vidwans at this historical temple. For several decades, his grandfather Srinivasan presented the Thavil at the Sowri Raja Perumal Sannidhi. The ustavams had been grand and his grandfather enjoyed the presentations early morning through the month of Margazhi in addition to playing during the round the year utsavams. It was a serene atmosphere around the temple and vibrant through the year. He was given accommodation and reasonable amount of Paddy as remuneration for his services. Into the 1960s, life turned financially challenging with the exodus of original inhabitants and a slowdown in the utsavams. 

Jayachandran learned mridangam at the Dharmapuram Atheenam for a few years and then moved to the music college in Madras in the mid 1960s to further his proficiency in Thavil. While the situation had turned sour at Thiru Kannapuram and the future prospects looked bleak, he was keen to head back to the Divya Desam to continue the services at the temple after completion of his course at the music college.

To Kapali Temple in 1968

However, a pleasant surprise awaited him. In 1968, Kapali Temple’s Nagaswaram vidwan of the time Balu asked him to join his troupe at the temple as they were looking for a Thavil artiste. Instead of taking the train back to Thiru Kannapuram, Jayachandran entered the Kapali temple to present Thavil every day of the year for a dozen years at a monthly salary of Rs. 75.

In 1980, he received the official appointment for ‘Mathalam Sevai’ from the temple and performed at the temple for another two decades.

Balasubramaniam had grown up at the Kapaleeswarar temple from the time he was a crawling child. “The presentation of the Othuvars was a big early influence on me and it played an important role in me becoming devotionally attached to the Lord. From very early on, it had been my devotional dream to present in front of the Swami and Ambal at Mylapore.”

He learned Mridangam from Thanjavur Natarajan, former Principal of the Music College in Madras. End of the previous century, he finally managed to get that opportunity. For close to 25years, he has been presenting Mathalam service during the Deepaaradhanai each day of the year in addition to playing during the Utsavams.

Rejects a Lucrative offer

A dozen years ago, he received an offer from the music college but by then he had become deeply attached to Kapaleeswarar. He does not regret the rejection “I would have earned double the salary today had I joined the Music College in 2010 but from my childhood I had been fed on Kapali’s food. If money was the only thing in life, I would have moved out but the message from Ambal and Swami was clear to believe in them and continue my service at this temple. I had no two thoughts about it and firmly had faith in the divine couple that they would take care of me.”

In these dozen years, since that offer, he has also received project based offers to perform but he has rejected each one of them “I could have earned a lot outside as there is high demand but I understood early on that God writes our accounts – I have always heard him ask me as to what I am doing for him each day. Even if I fail one kaalam in my service, he gives me an alert that my mind is deviating from devotional service towards monetary benefits.”

“Almost all the service personnel at the Kapali temple are on rotational murai performing 15days service where as I have got an exclusive 30 days in a month opportunity. The positive vibration inside the sannidhis and the peace of mind has to be experienced to be understood.”

Devotional Service during the Pandemic

The biggest of donors did not have the opportunity to have darshan during the Pandemic where as he was blessed to be presenting before the Lord. “That’s the kind of devotion he has come to relate to with Kapali and Ambal”

As a young child, his appa initiated into ‘devotion without expectation’ and through the last two decades he has tried his best to follow his appa’s message on service to the Lord. His devotion to Kapali has meant that he has had to skip the weddings of even close relatives. 

On the eve of Pournami this Vaikasi, he was invited to Tiruttani but his mind has been devotionally bonded to Kapali and he did not make the trip.

Sometime in life, he wants to experience Sowri Raja Perumal at Thiru Kannapuram where his forefather had played the Thavil for several decades. That is still a far way off for he has atleast another dozen years of service at the Kapali temple. For the moment, his mind is all on Kapaleeswarar and Karpagambal.

Sriram Krishnamurthy High Performance Cricket coach New Zealand

Making a mark in the Kiwi land

At Wellington, Sriram played a key role in developing Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra transforming them into international cricketers and now at Northern Districts, he is working with the Who's Who of NZ cricket

While the TNCA have not explored his services over the last decade, he is back in Madras this month for a short stint with Madurai Panthers in the TNPL- a strong performance could help him get noticed here

At the start of the previous decade, Sriram Krishnamurthy, who had played for Grand Slam (India Cements) in the TNCA league, was trying to explore a career in cricket coaching. After his degree, he worked at a BPO but could not take his mind away from cricket. He did not make much headway as a player but believed he had the ability to translate his cricket knowledge into making other players understand themselves better and to convert that understanding into performance on the field. While he did not get any opportunities in TN/TNCA, he found surprising interest coming in from Australia. For a couple of years, he coached teams at the state level in Victoria and South Australia. However, it had not been a full time -through the year - contractual engagement and visa restrictions  meant he had to return to India for 3-4 months in each of those two years. When he was touching 30, his appa (who passed away in 2020) was keen for him to freeze on a career and settle down in life.

It was then that Sriram explored the possibility of coaching in nearby New Zealand, where the easier visa conditions meant he could coach through the year for multiple seasons.  A mate at Cricket Victoria (Australia) put him on to Dave Gillespie, President, Taita Distrct CC, an eight decades old club in Wellington.

Exploring cricket coaching in the UK

That English Summer in 2015, Sriram went back to the UK for a 6 week stint with Derbyshire in the T20 blast. 7 years prior, in 2008, he had played for Cornwell Cricket Club, a minor county in the UK following which he had done his Masters in HRD (Human Resource Development) from the Lancaster University in Manchester. It was during his stint in Manchester that he got initiated into Coaching. His Masters degree had a paper on Knowledge Management and Sriram wanted to explore if this concept could be implemented in the sports field. In 2010,  on the invitation of The English and Wales Cricket Board, Sriram was involved in a High Performance Coaching related work ahead of the 2010-11 Ashes where he conducted Coaching Workshop for coaches including lecture sessions for those coaches who were to be  handling the English team in the Ashes that summer that year. 

While England was one of the options for him to explore in 2015, the visa restrictions there that were similar to the ones in Australia meant he could not fulfil his appa's wish of 'settling down'.

Moves to Wellington, New Zealand

And thus in August 2015, he moved to Wellington to coach the U19 team. While there was still half a mind to coach in his home land in Chennai about which he had always been passionate about, opportunities were not forthcoming.  With a new family in the offing, he was keen to be full time in one country. 

For those with exceptional talent, there was an option to get through into NZ with a 'Talent Visa'. Dave (Gillespie) felt that Sriram was well qualified for this visa given his credentials at that time. 

Identified by the Kiwi Board as one of the key coaches

Having started out as a U19 coach at Cricket Wellington in 2015, by 2020 he had become the batting coach of the Wellington Firebirds, one of the six first class teams in the country. During the period, he was identified by NZ cricket as one of the dozen coaches to take forward NZ cricket. And with that identity came big opportunities for Sriram. He was part of three tours with NZ A as well as a prestigious tour with the U19 team at the World Cup. When Bangladesh toured NZ, he was appointed as the coach of the NZ XI that played a tour match  ahead of the international series.

Develops Conway, Ravindra and Blundell

At Wellington, Sriram had begun to work with Conway, Blundell and teenager Ravindra. It was he who insisted on Ravindra’s selection for the U19 world cup when he was just 16years old.  Sriram is credited with developing them from state cricketers to now playing for the Black Caps.

Each of these have given Sriram a wide ranging and varied experience.

Sriram is grateful with the way Wellington treated him in that phase “When I landed in New Zealand in 2015, full time coaching roles were very limited. While Cricket Wellington offered me a contract, it was not enough to lead a comfortable life, financially. They pointed me to Taita CC as an additional engagement that served me well and kept me going in those initial years."

"Kiwis are a very helpful lot and kind in nature. Dave (Gillespie) immediately got my wife a job soon after her arrival in New Zealand. And that made a big difference to our lives.”

His close association with Graeme Aldrich

When Sriram got an opportunity to attend the annual high performance workshop in the winter of 2016, he had a chance meeting with Northern Districts' great Graeme Aldrich. Sriram immediately hit it off with Graeme, one of the most well respected first class cricketers in NZ and one with the record for the highest number of wickets for Northern Districts. 

The two of them did level 3 coaching and went to the U19 world together – Graeme as the bowling coach and Sriram coaching the batters.

Moves to Northern Districts

After five years in Wellington, Sriram moved to Northern Districts in 2020 to work alongside Graeme. In the last couple of years, he has handled the likes of Kane, Southee, Boult, Sodhi, Wagner, De Grandhomme  and Santner at Northern Districts. It has been one of his most enjoyable experiences to work with the greats of Kiwi cricket. 

What has amazed him has been their openness to learn and the mindset to absorb new and interesting cricketing aspects. 

As he looks back at the 7 years in NZ, he is delighted at the way the board has taken care of him and is keen to show his loyalty to them for the trust they have placed in him during this period.

It has also been a great experience for him in these 7 years - first to be working with state players and helping them make their way into the national team and now to be working so closely with top international players and the Who's Who of Kiwi cricket. Right from the start, his differentiated model has been to understand the personality behind the cricketer, be relatable to them by speaking their language and engaging in long conversations with each of them to help them gain confidence in their inherent strengths. 

At the TNPL this month

Well over a decade ago, he had played alongside KB Arun Karthik in the city league in Chennai. His old mate reached out to him in 2018 to explore coaching the Madurai team in the TNPL. Sriram is currently in the city for his second stint in the TNPL coaching Damodaran backed Madurai Panthers. Seven players in the team are currently involved in the 1st division league final taking place today. Over the last fortnight, he has had individual sessions with cricketers in the TNPL team trying to help them build on their strengths. It will be interesting to see if he can make a big impact on the T20 players and their performances in the TNPL. If he does, it is likely he will catch the eye of the powers that be in this part of the country.

While he is currently well settled in the Kiwi Land, his heart has always been in Madras and he continues to hope that someday in his life he would return to Chepauk to coach cricketers in his home town.