TIRUCHY/ RAMANATHAPURAM: On the second day of his three-day visit to Tamil Nadu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple in Tiruchy and Ramanathaswamy temple in Ramanathapuram on Saturday.
Ahead of Modi’s visit to Ranganathaswamy temple in the morning, all the ‘gopurams’ were closed for public, and security was stepped up. Modi arrived at the Tiruchy International Airport, where he was received by Law Minister S Regupathy and other officials. Being his usual self, Modi stood on the left side of the moving car with the door half open waving to people. Around 11.15 am, he reached Srirangam temple, where he spent an hour and 40 minutes. It may be noted that Modi is the first PM to visit the shrine while being in office.
He was accorded a traditional reception with ‘Poorna Kumba’ respect by the temple. After ‘darshan’, Modi sat at the Kamba Ramayana Arangangam where Tamil scholars and musicians recited verses from the text. It is believed that the original Kamba Ramayanam was first recited by poet Kambar at this place. The temple elephant, Andal, stole the whole show when it played a mouth organ instrument, taught by its trainer Rajesh.
In the afternoon, Modi arrived at Pekkarumbu area in Rameswaram by MI 17 helicopter, and proceeded to Ramanathaswamy temple by road. He first took a dip in ‘agni theertham’ sea and went to the temple by battery car. He also took bath in all 22 ‘theerthams’ (wells) inside the temple and collected ‘holy water’ from them. Adorned in saffron, Modi walked around the ‘praharams’ after ‘dharshan’.
Modi also took part in ‘Ramayan Path’ and ‘Bhajan Sandhya’ at the temple. Several scholars from various parts of the nation recited Ramayana in different languages on a single stage, which Modi listened to for over an hour. He then proceeded to Ramakrishna Mutt in Rameswaram where he would stay at night.
On Sunday, Modi will visit the Kothandaramar temple and Arichal Munai in Dhanushkodi. In view of his visit, three-tier security has been arranged in Rameswaram. Over 3,400 police personnel have been deputed for duty. Traffic arrangements and prohibitions have been put in place. Tourists who arrived at Rameswaram faced hardships as public transport was stopped around noon.