My childhood days are still fresh in my memory. The first lesson I learnt from my father, a staunch Vaishnavite, was that the Supreme Brahman alone is our Saviour, and that we should pray to Him daily. And that’s exactly what I did and am doing till now, as the advice is deeply etched in my mind.
This was in 1933, when I was just five years old. Our family was living in the house of the head priest of a landmark temple in Sowcarpet area in the then Madras, the famous Bairagi Mutt Temple. My childhood, from 1933 to 1945, was spent in that area, and mostly in that temple. While our living environment was far from congenial, the spiritual environment was simply superb.
The temple was just a two-minute walk away. The head priest’s son and heir, Pitchaa, was of my age and he was my best friend. In his company, I used to spend a lot of time in the temple. Easy access to the sanctums and the chance to look at the Lord from such close quarters for long hours slowly transformed me from a playful kid to a devotee of God. And without my knowing it too. The presiding deity of Bairagi Mutt Temple, Tiruvengadamudaiyan, is a lookalike of the deity of Tirupati’s temple.
Not just that, all temple rites, rituals, poojas and utsavams are conducted according to the Tirupati temple’s schedule.The seven-feet high moolavar in the sanctum is imposing and majestic. This 500-year-old temple was reportedly built by a Bairagi devotee from Lahore (now in Pakistan), funded with gold coins from the Muslim woman. A unique feature of this temple: It does not have the conventional dwajasthambam (flagstaff). A deepasthambam is there instead.
The second rarity is that the Goddess (Thaayaar) has a separate female Garuda vaahanam for Her use. The mukha mandapam (frontage) is designed like a chariot. The temple complex also includes a North Indian style Ram Mandir. The exquisite white marble idols of Ram, Sita and Lakshman are beautiful. Behind them are black marble idols of Vishnu, and His three consorts, Sridevi, Bhoodevi and Neeladevi, in sitting positions, each holding a child in her arms. Rare indeed!
Thanks to the large North Indian community in the locality, the area would be reverberating with cheer and colour when Holi was celebrated in Ram Mandir. I enjoyed this festival a lot. At the age of 90, I am thankful to my departed dad for his advice. I am also grateful to that omnipotent and omnipresent occupant of the temple, for blessing me and making me what I am today. The temple is indeed my gurukulam and alma mater.