Sri Krishnaswamy Iyengar hailed from a humble Brahmin family of Kausika Gothra belonging to Sama Veda sakha at Manalur near Aduthurai in Tanjavur district. The family migrated to a near by village called Tirubuvanam on the banks of Veera cholan river, looking for greener pastures. The village is situated near the famous town of Kumbakonam, one of the 108 Divyadesas in which the Lord is in reclining posture, which is, called Udyoga sayana that is neither lying down nor sitting! As if to respond to the call of his devotee without delay! He was aptly called Aparyaptamrthan, along with his consort Komalavalli daughter of Hemarishi. Other important kshetras are  Oppiliappan koil, Tirucherai, and Nachiyar koil. Sri Krishnaswamy Iyengar served the Sri Kothanda Ramaswamy temple at Tirubuvanam maintained by the local business community.

They had a Sourashtra Baktha Jana Sabha that was responsible for the up keep of the temple. The family took refuge in the choultry and Sri Krishnaswamy iyengar served as a temple cook. He and his wife Smt Vanjulavalli had three sons and two daughters to support! They were Srinivasaraghavan, Veeraraghavan, Ramaswamy,Kanakavalli and Pankajavalli. These very names indicate his devotion to Sri Rama!

 The eldest son named Srinivasaraghavan (1891-1952) was very intelligent and had flair for business! He joined a local business outfit manufacturing and selling silk sarees.He joined them as an accounts clerk. During that period the entire community was engaged in silk cloth weaving and marketing. Many business families thrived during the period and to this day, in this tinsel town that is famous for silk sarees.

Early mornings used to present a colourful picture, both men and women folk engaged in tending the silk and gold threads. Village women selling green vegetables beckoning the households to buy them! Few goats carelessly grazing oblivious of their surroundings. It gives a picture as though the long arms of time have never touched this village and disturbed its tranquility!   The village was also a very famous Siva Kshetra and the temple of Sri Kamphahareswara and Dharmasamvardhini Ammbal is well known for its Chola period architectural splendour!

Srinivasaraghava Iyengar was a very pious and devote person and his fervor for truth and devotion to Sri Rama earned him a lot of good will among the village folks. His towering personality with a prominent vaishnavite insignia on his forehead and his ever- affable smile, added a saintly aurora to him, and he was compassionate to all. They looked up to him for wise counsel. As days passed he grew in stature. His in born business acumen was the driving force behind him and this prompted him to start a business of silk cloth weaving and marketing in partnership with another weaver who was also the village chieftan namely Nattanmai Ramaswamy Iyer. In those days Brahmin families were not known to enter the business arena. But Srinivasaraghava Iyengar was an exception. He also became adept in conversing in the local tongue and soon emerged as an expert orator too! Their business quickly thrived and grew leaps and bounds!

He came to operate as a master weaver of nearly one hundred looms. The duo was well known in the village and was good friends too! Later Sri Ramaswamy Iyer wanted to concentrate on money lending business a micro finance venture and Sri Srinivasaraghava Iyengar parted ways and started his own business of silk cloth weaving and marketing along with his two brothers.

Though they had parted ways they were friends as always. The business flourished and they opened two branches in Chettinad in Keezacheevalpatti and Valayapatti too. All the brothers and sisters got married and were well settled. Sri Srinivasaraghava Iyengar was married to Jambakalakshmi ammal from Mannarkudi. They had a daughter and a son. Sri Veeraraghava Iyengar was married to Komalavalli and they had three sons and four daughters. Sri Ramaswamy Iyengar was married to Jayalakshmi ammal and had three sons and two daughters. As the family grew in size, the need to chalk out their own path to progress was felt, and brothers split the business into three business units and continued their business.

Sri Srinivasaraghava Iyengar’s business establishment was popularly known as “Peria iyengar kadai” He was very successful businessman of his times. The shop cum house, used to present a busy picture right from the morning till night. Activities like bleaching and dying of silk threads and unwinding of gold threads would go on  in the hindquarter of the house. He used to sit on the mat made of reeds, a traditional way to decorate the interiors of such shops those days! Weavers, workmen, customers and visitors used to stream in and out and transact their business. A personal touch exuded his demeanor. His products reached far away places of the country.

 His customers as well as his associates were treated with courtesy and often enjoyed his hospitality of being served hot lunch or dinner on plantain leaf by his untiring wife! The guests were often found to remark that they felt like visiting a relative! Even the workers and the farm hands looked up to his wife in the same way. She was always reassuring to them. Oft repeated remark was that one never left hungry, visiting Periamma (grandmother), what ever be the time of the day!

He was so industrious, that he introduced many new methodologies in dying silk! He went to Orissa forests to buy areca nut to be used as pigments! He risked his life to tread the dreaded forests of Berhampur during those days when buffalo driven carriages were used to transport goods to the nearest railway yards. He had to spend nearly six months in those inhospitable terrains to procure his raw material. People back home had almost given up hope of seeing him alive. Something unheard of those days! He explored new business avenues by supplying cloth for the parachutes used by the armed forces. He also created a brand for “Kooraipudavai” or the saree that is used to this day during the marriage ceremonies of Hindu Brahmin families.

 He got his daughter Smt Jayalakshmi married to Sri Narasimhachary son of Tandalam Sri Aravamudha Iyengar of Big street, Kumbakonam. Sri Narasimhachary was the eldest of his three sons and one daughter of Sri Aravamudha Iyengar and Smt Namagiri ammal couple. Later Sri Narasimhachary got his daughter  Smt Komalavalli married to Sri Srinivasaraghava Iyengar’s son Sri Kannan.

Srinivasaraghava Iyengar’s devotion to Sri Rama is well known and he organized Srimad Ramayana discourses and he himself used to recite Valmiki Ramayana and arranged a renowned scholars like Villiambur Swamy, Gaddam Sri Vardachariyar swamy to translate the verses and expound them the local folks. He was also appointed as Mudradhikari of Kanchi Kamakoti peetam for propagating the spiritual values and bakthi among people. Many people of the village used to throng to his house to hear these religious discourses. He used to get up early in the morning when the whole village was still asleep and would go to the river Veerachozan a mile away to take his morning bath and also bring water in a brass vessel reciting Vedic hymns to bathe the presiding deity at home during his morning pooja! He was a connoisseur of Karnatic music and had a melodious voice and used to sing songs in praise of Lord Rama. People used to hear him singing in a captivated mood! His grand children at home were so fond of him; that they would readily shed their anger and accept food, for a melodious song on Rama from him! Later his youngest brother too took to singing in praise of the Lord!

Till his advanced age he had never failed to perform his religious routines. His ardent bakthi and adherence to truth won the hearts of his village folks and endeared them.  Many pious men and saints used to visit his house and stay there on their way to pilgrimage. Notable among them were Maha swamigal Sri Chandrasekarendra Sarasvati of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti peetam, and Annadhana Sivan who was famous religious personality who conducted Annadhanam in a grand scale for about thousand people in those days! And many pontiffs of Sri Ahobila mutt.

During his last days, his failing health restrained him from much of movement, but even then he did not swerve from Ramayana recitation. He passed away in the night after recitation and discourse of Ramayana, it was a special day! The chapter describing the episode wherein Sri Hanuman finds Sita and hands over the insignia (a jewel) that Sri Rama wanted to be given to Sita to reassure her that she will be rescued vanquishing the asura. As a mark of the occasion boiled lentil seeds had been prepared as offering to the Lord, apart from the usual grated coconut with sugar. Attendance was more than usual; almost the whole village had turned out. A large number of children too had shown up to taste the offerings that were distributed among the devotees. He was in a very happy mood and that day’s discourse went off with much fan fare! But after he retired and around midnight he complained of discomfiture and suddenly passed away, the villagers simply could not reconcile to this fact! And the whole village bid him adieu with tears in their eyes and singing “Ragupathi Raghava Rajaram” till his mortal remains were consigned to flames! And even to this day the people of the village fondly remember him and recall their happy days with him.

A personality who did Tirubuvanam proud!

Uppili Veeraraghavan was the eldest son of Sri Veeraraghava Iyengar and Komalavalli who hailed from Manalur. Veeraraghava Iyengar came and settled along with his brothers Srinivasa raghavan and Ramaswamy, their parents and his two sisters in Tirubuvanam .

Uppili was his eldest son and his two brothers Ranganathan and Narayanan along with his sisters Vijayalakshmi, Bhooma, Jayalakshmi, and Radha were brought up by their parents in Tirubuvanam.  He studied at Tiruvidaimarudur Adheenam High School and later went to Kumbakonam Arts College to pursue his under graduation. He was a student of English Literature and went on to study his Masters in Presidency college Madras. During that period he stayed in Triplicane’s  Sydoji Lane considered to be a paradise for bachelors of that time! As crispy Dosas, and hot south Indian meals were served by the mess run by the famous Sydoji mess! Later years the young Uppili had to shoulder the burden of taking care of his entire family due to the parting of ways of his father with his brothers in his home town and not finding the lady luck smiling on his family business venture. Uppili sought to further his career in the field of education and went to Madurai. He joined Thyagaraja College of Arts and Science as an assistant professor in the Department of English.  His indomitable spirit supported his family and he was instrumental in ensuring provision of educational and life needs of all his brothers and two sisters Jayalakshmi and Radha. He single handedly took care of his family of six in those days and that too with his meager income in a metro!

He found his life partner in Srimathi Singaram daughter of K.T.Varadharaja Iyengar, who was equally large hearted and a pillar of support to him and she was more than a match in respect of her patience and life skills.

His magnanimity often brought about difficult times to his wife. Many of his relatives took shelter under him to educate their wards! He was equally forthcoming to his wife’s family who also found the same kind of care and affection flowing from him. He was a simpleton with a heart to accommodate everyone who looked up to him for help! He would never say no to anyone who sought his help.  In the meanwhile his own family grew in size and he had five sons and a daughter. They too demanded his attention and care. Despite his difficulties he never lamented about the burden of life that was too demanding on him. His innate nature to help people in need often resulted in more relatives staying in his house and pursuing their studies! This could not be even remotely imagined in today’s way of life!

All this never deterred him in his pursuit of Excellence in his chosen field “English Literature”, it was much more than passion for him. He steadily rose to the position of Professor of the Department and later to be its head! His fame spread across the domain of educational institutions and the University of Madurai soon invited him to be on the Academic Council as a member. He mentored many to obtain Doctorate in English Literature. He went on to become a member of Syndicate in the University of Madurai. He left Thyagarajar college and joined Sourashtra College as the founder Principal, and built that institution from the scratch!

He had many publications to his credit. He was an avid reader and a connoisseur of  Carnatic music and also has translated The great Tamil Savant's Tiruvachakam into Tamil!

During his times he saw the emergence of the college in its new campus at Pasumalai and his efforts to turn its campus into a green pasture from a barren land cannot be forgotten by any of the citizens of Madurai!   His career in the field of education in Madurai left an indelible mark of excellence and his humility that touched every individual who came in contact with him. All this he achieved despite his health being a drag on his spirit!  During his strenuous life he not only helped many to further their education, but also saw to it that his own family never lagged  behind, he educated all his children to be Post Graduates, and post doctoral fellow.

Though his ailments abated and life with its cruel hand took him away at a time when he would have loved to see his family doing well in all spheres, his memory lingers in everyone’s heart as an affable and a towering personality.

The Thandalam and Manalur Connection!

Urruppattur Nallan Chakravarthi clan forges the link!

Tradition connecting two different families hailing from different villages steeped in culture.

Manalur and Thandalam came together in a confluence of tradition through a marriage!

Thandalam Adi Kesava Perumal with His consorts!

Manalur Srinivasaraghava Iyengar gets his daughter in marriage to Thandalam Urruppatur Nallan Chakravarti  Narasimhachariyar thereby establishing this unique link between two generations of families of Iyengars living in different places of Tamil Nadu.

 The family linage called Urruppattur Tirumalai Nallan Chakravarthy  seems to be the Nallan Chakravarthy clan that has its origins in Karnataka as well as Tamil Nadu in Kancheepuram,  Tirumalai, that now belongs to Andhrapradesh!

The story goes this way, Urrupattur Achan Pillai (823 – 924) also known as Varadhacharya  was born in Srivatsa gotram,and he was a disciple of Sri Natha Munigal , one day when Achan Pillai went to the river near Kanchi to take bath, he came across a body floating in the river with Vaishnava insignias on it. Achan Pillai observed this and felt that the mortal remains must be  properly consigned to flames and is a must for such a vaishnavite. He immediately retrieved the body and duly consigned it to flames reciting the Veda mantras! Soon the pundits and the religious heads in the town got the message and took exception to this act of Achan Pillai.

During the period he was to perform an annual ceremony for his ancestors and he duly approached the Brahmin priests in the town to come to his house and conduct the same. To his dismay they refused to do it. He was heartbroken and prayed to Sri Ranaganatha, the presiding deity of  Srirangam, Sri Varadaraja the presiding deity of Kancheepuram and Sri Venkatesa the presiding deity of Tiruvenkatam, soon all appeared before him and agreed to conduct the stalled ceremony, accordingly completed the same. He was overwhelmed with devotion and could not even express his gratitude to them formally! The news reached the pundits who were taken aback but refused to budge from their position.  

Suddenly the priests at the Varadaraja temple heard the voice from the sanctum sanctorum which went as follows. “Oorukkellam pollan emakku nallan Achan” meaning that he may be antagonist to the villagers but he is very dear to Me!

Once the King Thondaman who was ruling the region of Tamil Nadu including Tirumala under its jurisdiction was frequently tormented by an Asura called Simhada, the King was annoyed and prayed to the Lord Venkateswara fervently to save the people from the sufferings! The Lord appeared before the King and lent his Sankha and Chakra and ordained the King to vanquish the enemy with them, the King did as he was told and after the victory, He kept the sankha and chakra in his palace and worshipped them as the representation of the Lord on the Hills! During this period the Lord in the temple was without his Sankha and Chakra.  During subsequent generations there were differences of opinion as to the deity  was actually Lord Siva and not Vishnu. It gradually came to the fore and the followers of Lord Siva felt that the temple and deity are actually not Vishnu but of Siva only. During that period Sri Ramanuja who was at Tirumala gave a suggestion that all the insignias of Vishnu the Sankha and Chakra as well as Trishul be kept inside the sanctum and the doors closed at night, and anything that is accepted by the Lord and adorned in the morning by Himself will be the final proof of identity! To this everyone agreed and the procedure was followed with all precautions. Next morning when the doors were opened, every one observed that the deity was adorned with Sankha and Chakra. Though all agreed that the deity to be Vishnu initially, soon there was a dispute once again on the issue.  During this period there was a powerful King a devotee of Lord Siva was ruling the Kalahasti region and King Yadavasa was ruling the Tirumala region. The devotees of Lord Siva approached the King of Kalahasti to come to their rescue and restore the status of Tirumala as a Siva temple. To this the King readily agreed and came with his army to Tirumala and accosted the King Yadavasa, since he was not so powerful as the King of Kalahasti, he pleaded inablility to protect the temple. At that time Sri Varadacharya approached the King of Kalahasti and extensively quoted from scriptures as to the antiquity of Vishnu temple and vouched that the deity is indeed is Lord Vishnu and not Siva. To this the King after deep thinking posed a challenge to all those who support and oppose the views. He ordered a red hot iron horse to be brought and asked each group to assign an able person to mount it and come around the temple! This challenge rattled the Siva devotees and none of them came forward to accept the challenge. But Sri Varadacharya readily accepted the challenge and went to Swami Pushkarini  and took bath and praying to the Lord Vishnu with Vedic hymns! And mounted that horse and started going around as though it was in flush and blood!

All were amazed at this feat  including the King and accepted the verdict that the deity was indeed Vishnu, immediately they heard the voice of the divine through the Archaka that the title“ chakravarty”  is hereby being conferred on Sri Varadacharya! From that day he came to be known as Tirumalai Nallan Chakravarty!

There is also another view that it was not Sri Varadacharya who had earned both these titles but his subsequent descendents as per the chronology of available records. But their names were similar due to the tradition that is being followed in the Brahmin families of descendents.

Thandalam may be one of the villages where the descendents had settled during subsequent period and came to be mentioned along with the name!

A Jewel in the crown of Manalur

Veeravalli Ramanujacharyar was born in 1866 in a small village known as Manalur near Aduthurai in Tanjavoor District. Though he lost his father at the very early age and was brought up by his mother, his zeal in mastering the languages, grammar, literature etc.was evident from his school days, with the help of Dharmapura Aadeenam and other philanthropists he completed his school education. 

He learnt Sanskrit from his maternal uncle Sri U.V.Veeraraghavacharyar who was also his mentor. Sri Ramanujam later went to Kasi to pursue  higher learning in Sanskrit, there the principal of that college famous Dr.Tibault who translated Sri Bhashyam into English conferred the Pundit title on him and he stayed at Tirupanandal mutt and pursued his studies,  but due to his mothers bidding he had to discontinue  his studies and come back to his home town.

His extraordinary skill in learning languages prompted Sri Mahamahopadhyaya U.V.Swaminatha Iyer to solicit his services in assisting him in his literary pursuits. He also asked Sri Ramanujam to join the local school as a Tamil teacher and also continue assisting him. Then he joined the Kumbakonam Arts college as a lecturer. It was  there he took up the task of translating the epic Mahabharatha into Tamil. Initially it appeared to be a Herculean task but he accepted it with all humility and reverence for Sri U.V.Swaminatha Iyer. It was much time consuming that he found doing it in his part time was difficult, so he quit the job and dedicated himself wholly to this job. He took the help of nearly eight Sanskrit scholars including the Professor of Sanskrit  Sri Srinivasachariyar at Kumbakonam college. After twenty five years in 1932, he completed the task much to the amazement of all scholars surmounting all odds.   The Hindu the newspaper praised him saying that the author has left the tamil public and lovers of scholarship everywhere very much in his debt! Sri U V Swaminatha Iyer in his autobiography praised Sri M V Ramanujacharyar for his immense contribution towards his works, Sri Ramanujacharyar served Madras University academic council for 21 years as its member and contributed to its eminence. The Samskrta Academy Chennai conferred upon him the title “Basha Bharatadurandara”, then the  Imperial Government of India conferred on him the coveted Mahamahopadyaya title on him! Dr.Anne Beasant in her New India praised the contribution of Sri Ramanujacharyar as a monumental work that will help those who do not know Sanskrit or English to understand the great epic in its pristine glory! 

Manalur our forgotten home town

We belong to the family of Srinivasaraghava Iyengar, son of Sri Krishnaswamy Iyengar hailing from a village called Manalur near Aduthurai of Kumbakonam taluk in South India. We had migrated to a nearby village namely Tirubuvanam during our great grand father days.

Sri Krishnaswamy Iyengar sought better prospects for his family in the new village; he joined the local temple of Sri Kodandarama as an official cook. He had three sons and two daughters to support. His eldest son Sri Srinivasaraghavan, ably assisted his father in his pursuits and also studied at the Tiruvavaduthurai Aadhinam High School at Tiruvidaimarudur and became proficient in scriptures too at his early years! He was quite industrious and was adept in accounting and had a keen business sense. He joined as an accountant in one of the textile shops selling silk sarees and rose to the position of its partner in later years.

Time passed quickly and subsequent generations lost touch with their native village and adopted Tirubuvanam as their native. Even the family deity was not known to them. The Sri Rama at Kodandarama temple and Sri Uppiliappan at Thirunageswarm were thought to be the only deities that the family worshiped for generations. But by sheer coincidence, we, the fourth generation descendants set out to inquire about the Manalur prefix that continued in our correspondence about ancestral place. Our efforts redoubled when we had to consult an astrologer who said that our native is not the present Tirubuvanam and also our family deity to be Sakthi or her incarnation as Kali. When we enquired we came to know that there is indeed a small village called Manalur near Tirubuvanam and there is a temple dedicated to Sri Kalikambal.

We set out to explore our ancestral village immediately. It was an agrarian village with very few huts and a few well built houses. 

The temple of Sri Sapthaloka Nayaki as the Kalikambal was known in the village was a humble structure with a thatched shed in the front and a dilapidated wall surrounding it! It had a huge Vanni tree nearby under its shade a few figurines were found presumably of the Saptha Matas, and also of the guardian deity Madurai Veeran. We inquired the villagers about the temple who vouched for the temple’s antiquity and said that a priest would arrive during Sundays in the morning to perform pooja at the temple. We were thrilled and decided to revisit the place on a Sunday.

 During our next visit we found the temple priest and he was so glad that we belonged to this village and narrated an episode wherein it was found that on the occasion of three lost generations visiting the temple, it would become vibrant and would be consecrated. He added two families had visited and ours to be the third! We felt immensely happy at the prospect of the temple being rebuilt.

We visited the temple a couple of times thereafter and during the subsequent visit we found that efforts were on to consecrate the temple by the villagers.

Soon the event took place, and the temple had a nice hall with concrete roofing in the front and separate shrines for Sri Madurai Veeran, the guardian deity, as well as for Sri Hanuman in the front entrance facing the temple tree the Vanni.

The surrounding area of the tree were also spruced up with a platform and canopies for the deities housed there. A huge brass bell donated by the descendants of another Iyengar family that hailed from Manalur, adorned the outer wall. The flooring has been paved and a new shed to feed the yatris was also in place. We rejoiced the occasion and vowed to perform an elaborate pooja to the deity and to participate in the temple functions frequently.

Recently we performed an abisheka, the holy bathing of the deity, and recited Sama Veda in front of the deity. It was a thrilling experience that was steeped in devotion.   

The Village called Tirubuvanam

The village with idyllic surroundings on the banks of the river Veera chozan, a tributary of the river Cauvery in Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu in Southern India is called Tirubuvanam. Originally according to the legend it was here that a Chola king got rid of his sins of having killed a Brahmin and was relentlessly being chased by a brahma rakshas! (A demon), the king felt relieved when he reached the abode of Lord Siva here who is called Kamphahareswar, the one who removed the tremble! The king was supposed to have looked back from here hence the village came to be known as Tirumbu vanam! The village has four streets lined with houses and two temples of prominence, one dedicated to Siva known as Kampahareswara temple and the other dedicated to Lord Rama known as Kodandaramar temple.

The imposing Siva Temple is of Chola period, thronged by people of the neighborhood is famous. It is also an abode of Lord Siva’s incarnation as a bird, as well as mythological animal form rolled into one! Called Sarabeswara!


It is a weaver’s village dominated by folks whose dialect is popularly known as “Sourashtra”. Though the majority of the village population belonged to this community others too shared the livelihood. Other places where the people belonging to this community have settled are Kumbakonam and Madurai. Just like any other typical village of India and its deep-rooted cultural ethos, it has well laid out streets predominantly occupied by people of same occupation. For instance the Agraharam was known as Sannadhi Street people living there were engaged in Temple ritual and its maintenance reside.



The temple is the center of activity with its retinue of smaller temples for lesser deities and the temple tank with its own small temples housing Lord Muruga and Vinayaga on its bund surrounded by huge many trees of reverence such as Peepal, Neem etc.

The Economy



The village is predominantly weaver’s heaven! The Sannadhi Street is lined with a number of shops selling silk sarees and has come to command their own brand loyalty namely “Tirubuvanam Pattu”. You will not miss the captivating sight of multi coloured silk and gleaming gold threads spread across with village folks attending on them and preparing them for weaving into sarees. These sarees that capture the imagination of our women in rapturous designs! The designs of yester years are simply legendary. For instance a design called Vanasingaram that depicts a scene in a forest is so intricate with detail of trees their leaves, the birds and monkeys perched on trees and the wild animals roaming in leisure and the flora that surrounds them!


Yet another design called “Rudraksha” resembles the adornment of Lord Siva and lends a graceful addition to the saree! The sheer imagination of these weavers has brought sculptural marvels of the temple to life by capturing some of the sculptures as a design; an example of this is the design that depicts the bull and an elephant in one figurine! A Kooraipudavai is a specially coloured (Arakku) with diamond border designed saree is a “must buy” of any bridegroom for his bride! The shops here cater to the requirements of the entire state and favorite of people of Chetti Nadu because the sarees called Kandangis are made to order for them here.

These innovations coupled with their craftsmanship have carved a niche for these sarees in the country and abroad! Every house sports a few looms and the entire family is engaged in weaving and other related activities. Commerce in this little village is tailor made to the people. There is one Bazar Street fondly called as “Kadaitheru” where you would find all that you need in a dwelling! A Post office, doctor’s clinic, a hotel with a pet name “Iyer club”, provision stores, vegetable shop, medical shop manned by a self styled physician! Few saree shops, a bank, a saloon, paan betel leaves and cigarette shop and last but not the least the Mutt that doubles up as a bus stop!




People of the village generally lead a relaxed life and the hectic pace that you find in a metropolis is conspicuously absent. Early in the mornings you would wake up to the sound of brass bell of the milk vendor who comes by his bicycle, he stops at the doorstep of every household and delivers milk from his can.

It is a spectacle to watch, the members of the household waiting for him to turn up before their house and collect the milk, some times surrounded by their children. He always has a word or two with his customers and exchanges pleasantries, if you are guest or a member who had been long away from the village, he is sure to recognize it immediately and make a friendly inquiry.


Majority of the villagers go to the river to take bath and fetch water for cooking even though municipal water is supplied in the taps located at street ends. Herds of people loudly talking about the goings on in the village wend their way to the river and quietly return home after bath!



Next on the Scene are a vegetable vendor and butter and butter- milk vendor. These ladies from the nearby villages are quite old and popular among the populace! They bring vegetables that are grown in the villages nearby such as greens, sundaikai, manathakkalikai, avaraikai (Bean), vazaipoo and vazhaikai(plantain flower and fruit- unripe), podalai(snake gourd), murungai(drumstick),karisalanganni, paavkkai(bitter gourd) etc. They make sure that they spend at least five minutes at house of their regular customers. They are good at bargaining with the ladies at home who would always want that extra few grams of butter and additional ladle of butter- milk for free! They also collect dresses of children who have outgrown their clothes and barter their products.


At around noon, it is time for the postman to ring the cycle bell in his own innovative way, so that everyone would immediately recognize that it is he, who is on his rounds. He is like the character in the R K Narayan’s novel and is part of every household and shares their joys and sorrows too! Even those who do not get any letters by post would wait to talk to him and share their thoughts! For those senior citizens he doubles up as a utility bill collector! Most of these village folks patronize the Iyer Club for his hot Iddli Sambar and Degree coffee! It is a morning routine to get it from the hotel and after breakfast the job at the loom occupies their time. Cooking invariably starts in the afternoon and the men folk retire for their lunch at late noon. You cannot miss noticing the used plantain leaves left in front of the house after the lunch has been partaken! A lot of roaming goats feast on them, which is a regular feature. After the sumptuous meal the men and the women folk munch the fresh betel leaves with a host of paraphernalia such as tobacco, calcium etc. and later retire for a Mexican siesta!


Every forecourt of the houses, both in the morning and in the evening is sprinkled with cow dung and swept clean and an artistic Kolam a pattern that is drawn with rice flour, in the front of them that are captivating.


Late afternoon it is time again at the looms and women prepare themselves for the evening! You would find the women and their girl children sitting on the raised platform called Thinnai in front of their house and grooming their hair. Awhile later they are ready fully dressed up to visit the temples.


As the night descends the village falls quiet of the entire din and noise and the voices of the villagers stretching themselves on the wooden cot brought to the forecourt are clearly audible in the stillness of the night. The conversations some times continue into the long hours of night, since that is the time they could get to calmly analyze their mundane issues on hand! A bull-laden cart breaks some times their silence with a shrill bell ringing. It is the edible oil vendor who arrives at the scene. If you happen to be a night bird you would not miss the sudden activity on the streets that witness a brief spell of traffic and accompanied noise! It is the cinemagoers that are returning from the night show discussing the interesting episodes of the movie.


The social life at the village


The society is a close knitted one. Amity among the villagers is a foregone conclusion. Happy and sorrow occasions are shared by all. For any occasion the whole village is invited, marriages are celebrated over a few days to the accompaniment of feasts! Similarly bereavements are solemn occasions when the whole village gathers to share the sorrow and offer succor to the family in bereavement. Festivals like Pongal, Deepavali, Karthigai are celebrated with gaiety. Navarathri is yet another festival that is famous. Few families here organize the dolls on wooden steps called Kolupadi and various dolls of gods and goddesses are kept on them. Every day pooja is offered for nine days and special puddings of boiled beans and pulses known as sundal are prepared and offered to the deities and then distributed among the visitors to these spectacles. You would be surprised to know that during these days they attract hundreds of visitors who are received and honoured with Tamboolam and offered sundal by the women folk at the house. Temples also organize these kolus on a grand scale and attract many visitors, even from nearby villages. The temple festivals are an important part of the villager’s life and there is no dearth of these festivals here. The two prominent temples the Siva and Rama temple celebrate these festivities every year with pomp and show. The lord Siva is carried on palanquins in the mornings and during the night various celestial vehicles are used.

The Vishnu temple has Garuda the Celestial bird and Hanuman as special vehicles.

Apart from the common ones of birds and animals like parrot, swan, elephant, serpent, ram, peacock, bandicoot, bull etc there are specific vehicles that are peculiar to the Siva Temple such as Bootha vahanam the demon and demo ness! The Purushamirugam half man and half horse! Gandharva and Gandharvi. These festivals begin with flag hoisting at the temple that takes place at the flag post found in the front of the sanctum sanctorum and every day a parivara devata (attendant god) is taken on procession before the main deity proceeds forth. Of the ten-day festivities the chariot festival marks an important occasion wherein the deity is taken in procession around the village streets. You could notice the dedication piety with which the villagers celebrate these festivals as they meticulously sweep the road and sprinkle cow dung mixture and adorn the floor with intricate patterns drawn with rice flour both in the morning and evenings. The festivities culminate with the ceremonial bath given to the deities on the penultimate day of the ten-day affair at the river. Apart from these temple festivals other smaller temples for guardian deities such as Mariamman, kaliamman are also celebrated and they include interesting items like fire walking, drawing of the chariot by strings tied to the needles that pierce the skin of those who drag them!


During the Kaliamman festival the motif of Badra kali is worn by a devotee and is escorted around the streets of the village. He(she) sits in front of the house that offers prayers, in a chair that is brought out from the house for this purpose! He is given a soda or a soft drink occasionally to drink! After which camphor is lit And he offers holy ashes to the devotees. Invariably every village has two Kalis namely Pacchai kali and Pavazha kali the green and red coloured deities.


Apart from these festivals there are a number of other celebrations that are peculiar to the village namely Narasimha Natakam, the drama of Narasimha Avatara or incarnation of Vishnu enacted by village folks! The drama starts around ten at night and goes on and gets over by early morning. These dramas are enacted after meticulous preparation of many days and are accompanied by songs that are appropriate for the scene composed by the villagers. Tiruthondar natakam is yet another drama that is staged. Uriadi and Sarukkumaram festivals too add colour to the kaleidoscopic life of the village. In between all these, there will be religious discourses on ramayana and Maha bharata by scholars that will attract the pious ones!


Witnessing these one is left wonder struck at the fullness of throbbing life at the village in contrast to the fast paced life bereft of any of the activities that rejuvenate our lives! It is a sordid fact that these are gradually being encroached by relentless urban lifestyle and are withering away!

How to get there?

This is about 5 Kms from Kumbakonam town in Tanjore District and can be reached by train or by bus. Frequent train and bus services are available from Chennai and other important cities and towns of Tamil Nadu. Other places of interest nearby are:


Kumbakonam famous for Aravamudhan (reclining Vishnu),Ramar, Chakrapani(the holy discuss at the hands of Vishnu) temples and Kumbeswar (Siva) temple.

Tirunageswaram famous for Naganatha swamy, and Rahu one of the nine planet Gods!

Uppiliappan Koil famous temple for Lord Venkateswara.

Nachiyar Koil famous for granite Garuda upon which lord is taken around the village during the festival!

Navagraha sthalas the temples of all the nine planets!

Tirumeyachchur the temple of Goddess Lalitha Tripurasundari where Lalitha sahasranamam was first recited.

Pattiswaram the temple of Vishnu Durga.

Darasuram Shiva temple famous for its sculptures.

Garbharakhambika temple known for its efficacy in granting the boon of expecting mothers!

Therazhandur the famous temple of Lord Vishnu appears as a cowherd boy where Goddess Parvati in the form of a cow stands next to Him!


There are a number of small and big towns spiritually famous such as Govindapuram, Tiruvidaimarudur, Veppattur, Tirukadaiyur etc.near this place, making it really an interesting destination to visit.