When boys don the role of deities
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Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Arohara echoes as Thirupparankundram unites thousands in worship
Madurai: Thousands of devotees witnessed the consecration (Kumbabishekam) of the Arulmigu Subramaniaswamy Temple at Thirupparankundram, one of the six abodes (Arupadai Veedu) of Lord Murugan, on Monday morning. The rituals began at 5 am, with sacred kalasams taken in procession from the yagasalai to the temple vimanas. By 5.31 am, priests poured sanctified water on nine golden kalasams — seven on the 125-ft Rajagopuram, and one each on the Vallabha Ganapathi and Govardhanambigai Ambal vimanas — marking the formal culmination of the consecration. Theertham was then sprayed on devotees using drones and mounted sprayers. More than 200 Shivaacharyars conducted the rituals, which commenced on July 10 and continued for five days. A total of 75 yaga kundams were set up at the Valli Devasena Mandapam, with Vedic chants and Tamil hymns, including Thevaram, Thiruppugazh, and Kandar Anuboothi, recited by over 85 odhuvars, including women, during the concluding rituals on Sunday. Twenty-seven LED screens were placed around the temple for live telecast. Drinking water booths, ambulances, fire service vehicles, and medical camps were stationed in the vicinity for the devotees. The Rajagopuram was refurbished at a cost of ₹70 lakh funded by donors, while the total renovation cost was estimated at ₹2.44 crore. As part of the works, seven new golden kalasams were installed on the Rajagopuram and one each on the Ambal and Vinayakar sannidhis. The towers were painted in panchavarnam (five traditional colours) and treated with kalkam, a mixture of 55 herbal ingredients. On Sunday night, the idols of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar from the Meenakshi Amman Temple were brought in procession and received at the 16-pillar mandapam in Thirupparankundram early Monday. Meenakshi Temple was closed for darshan on Monday as the presiding deities were away. Shops and businesses surrounding the temple marked the occasion with electric decorations. A new LED-lit 'Vel' (spear) was installed atop the gopuram, and laser lighting illuminated the temple towers during the celebrations. The event was held amid tight security and elaborate arrangements. Around 3,000 police personnel were deployed under the supervision of City Police Commissioner J Loganathan. Traffic diversions were enforced across Thirupparankundram Taluk to manage the crowd. Speaking to reporters, HR&CE minister P K Sekar Babu said the consecration was conducted in line with Tamil Agamic traditions and reflected the Dravidian model's commitment to temple revival and heritage preservation. "Under the leadership of chief minister M K Stalin, kumbabishekam has been performed at 3,347 temples across Tamil Nadu so far, including 124 Murugan temples since this government took office," he said. He urged devotees to be patient and make use of the ongoing 48-day mandala abhishekam period for darshan. "The spiritual merit extends far beyond today's event. We ask devotees to avoid unnecessary rush and plan visits accordingly," he said. He also emphasized that the event transcended politics and religion, sending a message of unity. "Thirupparankundram is a model of harmony where people of all castes and faiths coexist peacefully," he added. Commercial taxes minister P Moorthy, Thirupparankundram MLA Rajan Chellappa, state BJP president Nainar Nagenthiran, Madurai collector K J Praveen Kumar, and Madurai Corporation commissioner Chithra Vijayan also participated. MSID:: 122442068 413 |
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- New Indian Express
Madurai Murugan temple consecration to be held on July 14
MADURAI: The Kumbabishekam (consecration) ceremony of the Thiruparankundram Subramaniya Swamy temple, one of the six abodes of Lord Murugan, will be held in the early hours of Monday. Elaborate arrangements have been made by the police and Madurai City Corporation to manage the large turnout of devotees. The rituals will begin at 3 am, with the main Kumbabishekam ceremony scheduled between 5:25 am and 6:10 am. The Maha Deepa Aradhana will be held by 8 am, followed by a grand procession in the evening. Ahead of the festival, the procession deity from Madurai Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple was brought to the 16 Kal Mandapam at Thiruparankundram on Sunday evening. Over `2 crore has been spent on restoration and arrangements. To facilitate viewing, 26 LED screens have been installed around the temple premises, and 10 drones have been deployed to sprinkle holy water on devotees. Heavy security and crowd control measures are in place to ensure smooth conduct of the event.
The Hindu
6 days ago
- The Hindu
A Chennai activist's fight for accessibility and inclusion
Forty-nine-year-old Meenakshi Balasubramanian, a senior associate at the Centre for Inclusive Policy, has long been a strong voice advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities in Tamil Nadu and across the country. But activism was not part of her original plan; coming from a commerce background, her journey from accounting to advocacy was entirely serendipitous, she says. A person with a mobility impairment, Ms. Meenakshi, now based in Chennai, completed her schooling and college in Thoothukudi. 'When my family moved to Thoothukudi, we realised that finding a school for me would be difficult. One school refused to enrol me; they said classes were on the first floor and that other children would mock me. That was my first experience of rejection due to my disability. Until then, I never saw myself as different, and neither did my family or those around me,' she says. Years later, Ms. Meenakshi also recalls being denied entry into public spaces like temples. 'Some temples refused me entry because I was wearing calipers, shoes and using crutches. I realised it should not be this way. Everyone should have access to public spaces. When that happened, I wanted to go to the press, but I did not know my rights or the law,' she recalls. Ms. Meenakshi soon moved to Chennai with her family and the city was both overwhelming and inaccessible. Job opportunities involved long and difficult commute. She then began working a home-based accounting job, but her heart was not in it. In a twist of fate, she got employed at Vidya Sagar, an NGO that works for the welfare of disabled people, and became a part of its disability legislation unit. Advocacy 'I am someone who fights for everything but I did not join the organisation hoping to fight. It was like any other job for me. But soon, I was part of different conversations about disability — the policies, the laws. Then, I realised this is where I belong and I have not turned back since.' Ms. Meenakshi, who identifies as an advocate for disabled persons, is part of a team that has been filing PILs after PILs, against the railways and various other agencies, seeking better accessibility in public spaces. Their work was instrumental in getting the civil aviation rules amended to ensure accessibility to persons with disabilities. The idea was to question the 'charity approach' at the ground level and look at these issues through a human rights lens, she asserts. 'After the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, there was momentum in India to amend existing laws. But, we felt the old law was not enough to align with the UNCRPD, so we pushed for a new one,' Ms. Meenakshi says. She was actively involved in the civil society campaign pertaining to this, as well as consultations including with the Planning Commission, on key disability issues. Ms. Meenakshi, however, adds that since the adoption of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, little has changed. From the terms used to describe disabled people — like divyaang and differently-abled, which are ableist and not inclusive — to issues of accessibility, both the country, as well as Tamil Nadu, has a long way to go, she says. 'There is no clear government vision for persons with disabilities; whatever progress we have seen is due to persistent advocacy from the community. Inclusion is not built into the system,' she says, adding that Tamil Nadu's Department of Welfare of Differently Abled Persons should ideally act as a think tank and advisor across all departments, besides its current functions, to ensure that the government's policies are inclusive.
