ஏரி காத்த ராமர் கோவில் உழவாரப்பணி

Usually whenever any Uzhavarappani team takes up  temple  cleaning work, the localites normally remain as mute spectators.  Once in a while, in certain towns or villages the people in the vicinity  may join .  But such help is always a rarity.   Therefore we were pleasantly surprised when a group of twenty students of the Sri Malolan College of Arts & Science, Madurantakam,  joined us in our cleaning operations.  We are sure, this could not have happened without the divine Blessings of Lord Rama Himself.

The local reporter for the Tamil newspaper Dinakaran, who happened to visit the temple made it a point to cover the event through his media under the title:  

ஏரி காத்த ராமர் கோயிலை சுத்தம் செய்த கல்லூரி மாணவர்கள்

மதுராந்தகம்,: மதுராந்தகம் ஏரி காத்த ராமர் கோயிலை கல்லூரி என்எஸ்எஸ் மாணவர்கள் சுத்தம் செய்தனர். 

மதுராந்தகம் நகரில் ஏரி காத்த ராமர் கோயில் உள்ளது. இது பிரசித்தி பெற்ற பழமையான கோயில். இப்பகுதியில் உள்ள ஸ்ரீ மாலோலன் கலை அறிவியல் கல்லூரி என்எஸ்எஸ் மாணவர்கள் மற்றும் சென்னையில் உள்ள அண்ணாமலையார் நற்பணி மன்றம் சார்பில் கோயிலை சுத்தப்படுத்தும் உழவாரப் பணி நேற்று நடந்தது. 

கோயில் வளாகத்தில் உள்ள மூலவர் சன்னதி, தாயார், ஆண்டாள், சக்கரத்தாழ்வார், தேசிகர், உடையார், லட்சுமி நரசிம்மன், கருடாழ்வார் சன்னதிகள் மற்றும் கோயில் கோபுரம், எதிரில் உள்ள ஆஞ்சநேயர் சன்னதி ஆகியவற்றை சுத்தம் செய்தனர். தண்ணீர் பீய்ச்சி அடித்து சோப்பு பவுடரால் சுத்தம் செய்தனர். இப்பணியில் 70 பேர் ஈடுபட்டனர். 

இந்நிகழ்ச்சியில் கல்லூரி செயலாளர் சந்தான கோபாலன், நற்பணி மன்ற நிர்வாகிகள் ராமச்சந்திரன், ராஜகோபால், கோயில் செயல் அலுவலர் வஜ்ரவேலு, வீரராகவன், நாட்டு நலப்பணி திட்டத்தை சேர்ந்த நாராயணன், ஐயப்பன், மற்றும் பத்ரிநாத் உள்பட பலர் கலந்து கொண்டனர். 

The above report in Dinakaran depicts in brief the nature of work carried out by the volunteers.

The authorities of Sri Malolan College deserve a special mention.  They readily provided a bus to transport our volunteers from Chengalpet railway station to the Madurantakam temple and also provided us a good breakfast and lunch at their college canteen, besides dropping our people back at Chengalpet after our work was over.   More importantly, they have assured to send their NSS team volunteers to join us whenever we take up any temple cleaning work in the Kanchi district.  

We are immensely grateful to them for providing us this opportunity and we returned with a sense of satisfaction that we have made a beginning to rope in the next generation to involve them in temple cleaning activities.

More photos of our உழவாரப்பணி can be seen at the following link:

Madurantakam Uzhavarappani

Mamandur Uzhavarappani

Our uzhavarappani activities planned at Chandramouleeswarar Temple,  Mamandur(near Ocheri) was successfully carried out last Sunday(28.10.2012).  Due to the remoteness of the area from Chennai, not many  could participate.  Only 35 of our volunteers turned up.  The first group reached Mamandur on the previous night and the second group landed on 28th morning by 8.00am.

In our earlier visit , we had noticed some wild growth of plants on the gopuram.  Therefore a few of us climbed up the wall to clear it.  They were taken aback to see the entire roofing of the temple covered with wild growth of weeds, plants and creepers, that was invisible from the ground level.

Nature's own roof-garden

This was something not anticipated by us.  Hence there was no alternative than to deploy everybody in clearing the temple's roofing as a top priority.  Most of these bushes were of thorny type and almost invariably all of us had to bear with thorn pricks in hands and feet.  Our guys also encountered a few snakes that slithered away on seeing us and a number of leeches while clearing this roof garden.  A few who were not used to life in rural areas had the opportunity of seeing the shed-skin of a snake for the first time in their lives.

Skin shedded by a snake

As the temple was not sufficiently cared for during the last 50years or so, the old pattern of brick roofing, though nearly two feet thick, has crumbled in the top layers and nature has taken over the rest.  No wonder, we encountered snakes, leeches and varieties of thorny bushes.  The following pictures will give an idea of the situation that we faced.

Local lads giving us a helping hand

Ashok & friends removing wild growth on the mottai gopuram at the entrance 

Spraying of weed-killer on the roofing

After clearing all the wild growth in the temple's roof, weed-killer solution was sprayed to inhibit further growth. It is possible that this might have got washed out in the subsequent rains on account of the cyclone Nilam.  Therefore we have decided to visit the place again after a month to review the situation.

Cleaning the temple praharam was comparatively an easier job.  We made use of our high pressure water gun.  However, we had to hire a generator as power cut was in force.  Besides, there was no water source available as the temple well had gone totally dry.  Just as the grown up lads joined us in clearing the roof garden,  the village kids not wanting to be outdone, came to our rescue.  They gleefully ferried water from their homes, atleast 500 yards away and filled up a big drum for our use.

For clearing the shrubbery adjoining the temple's compound wall, we had already arranged for an earth mover.  That was fully made use of to clear the thorny bushes outside.

Before leaving, we told the little kids of the village that we would upload their snaps in the internet, as a mark of our appreciation for all the help they rendered us.  And here it is.

This young generation of the Mamandur village did not simply watch us work.   They readily identified themselves with their village and their temple and joined us without any hesitation.  For us too, this was a different experience, since we are accustomed only  to curious onlookers and by-standers, whenever we go for any temple renovation work.  We are quite confident that Lord Chandramouleeswara will definitely bestow these kids with a  bright future.