From: ganapath@plains.NoDak.edu (Prabhukumar Ganapathy)
Subject: Re: A day in mArghazhi [mArghazhi is a tamil month]
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 02:52:02 GMT
Organization: North Dakota Higher Education Computing Network

In article <1992Dec27.162658.28896@news.acns.nwu.edu> rags@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Raghavan Jayaraman) writes:
>
>"nama pArvadhi padaye"
>
>One wouldn't hear the usual echo "hara maha dEva". Instead "pAAvi!
>ArambituvittAr" ["the harassment has started!!!"] This is a typical 6AM
>morning mArghazhi day in Trichy for those souls living within few km of
>Rockfort  [MalaikOttai]. Imagine P.U.Sinappa's voice being  amplified to
>1000 watts and blasted thro' the speakers strategically located atop 250
>feet   high Rockfort., to cover each and every house hold in the entire area. 
>
>Now U would get the feeling of 'morning sevai' offered by 'Asthana vidwan'
>of Rockfort temple to their beloved patrons to mark the auspicious
>mArghazhi. The vidwan would start the 'ganapathi' slogam in 'ettu kattai'
>voice without any 'Bhavam'. Ofcourse there would be lots of 'pAAvam'. What
>an irony here. Lord 'Ganapathi' ran atop the hill to escape from chasing
>'Vibeedanan'. Now! he has to escape this ordeal. We the representatives  of
>Youth club, once seriously suggested to 'Devastanam trustees' to tether
>'Lord Ganesh' for they might be in trouble  if they lose him. After similar
>treatments to Ganapathi's brother, he would turn his 'arul surakkum' eyes
>i.e., voice to Siva and Vishnu. One thing which made me curious and made me
>determined to question Lord Vishnu when I reach heaven is " How could he
>sleep so comfortably all the time [especially 6-7 AM ] in Srirangam
>ignoring  such clarion calls from the mArghazhi beacon?".
>
>I and my brother used all possible means to nullify this morning alarm.
>Even this became an important agenda among youths of Rockfort. But all our
>efforts were stultified  by "mothers' association". Do I need to elaborate
>that we strongly felt this 'morning sevai' to be a desperate attempt by
>moms to wake up their  wards. Discussion with our dad brought one brilliant
>idea -i.e to serve that vidwan with 'pongal' made by our mom ; The result
>was we had to swear  that our mom made the best pongal in the whole
>'America'[ofcourse I am  hypnotized about the equivalence of World and
>'America'].
>
>Are U    hearing some one coughing? Yes! U'r correct. Our Vidwan
>intermittently would entertain his audience with coughing, snuffing,
>spitting. This became so famous that some cough-drop companies came forward
>to sponsor the programme- much to our wrath. I hope some one informs the
>devastanam that his idea has been  used in 'Naked  Gun'. 
>
>The only good outcome of getting forcibily at such an auspicious time for
>sleeping, is to get to see the street 'colorfull'. All the men  who enjoyed
>the colorfull 'rangoli' in the morning, unanimously hated them while they
>rushed to the office, when they wore unwittingly the shoes made out of
>cow-dung. [ cow-dung was used as a flower vase- a tradition followed
>during mArghazhi].
>
>Coming back to business:- Did we suceed in our effort? Partially to reduce
>the sound level. But his voice  permeated  with a vengence within days. The
>result we started going for  a work out in a place far beyond the clutches
>of his 'majestic' voice. My mom still looks at me suspiciously when I
>continue this trend and go out for a early morning work out in Besant
>Nagar, Madras  now-a-days.
>
>Much to our chagrin, there would be an 'evening broadcast' too.  But we
>had such heavens like 'Holy cross' and 'SVS' to escape this. Now U may ask
>what's wrong in going to bed early in the night? Sir/Madam!  Why do U vex
>me? By the night fall, another kind of concert would become i.e concert by
>all the stray dogs for whom the Rockfort is a sanctuary [atleat when the
>corporation men come to catch them]. I always wondered:- "How come their
>voice is so loud without an amplifier?" -Do U know the answer?  
>
>Now yearning for those good ole days, lemme echo
>
>"hara maha deva".
>
>-----------
>raghavan 


	Hi 


	I liked the fun in your article. I thought
	it is my duty to defend my one-time neighbour.
	I don't think the oodhuvaar's voice was that
	bad. It was ok. Atleast to me. In fact there
	are about 3 of them. (atleast I know three
	persons). One of them was my neighbour and
	he was the person responsible for the morning
	and evening sessions on the hill. Of course
	it was from the noothukkaal mandapam. Other
	person will sing (yes according to me this
	person has very good voice) songs during
	puja time and during purappaadu. There was
	the third guy who will go on a giri pridhakshanam
	on all days. (he used to walk bothe upper and
	lower circles). This will be in the night. I think
	he worked for some government office. He used to
	give "NYaanappaal" as prasadhaadms during those
	rounds.

	Now I liked your article but you were real harsh
	(atleast to add more humour to your article)
	on those oodhuvaars who were real devotees of the
	lord.

	Now you have said only one of his GHOSAM's. Of course
	that was a common GHOSAM which you can here in
	every temple. Let me add the more LOCAL ONE

	chiraappaLLI mEviya sivanE pORRI
	paraaytthrai mEviya parnaE pORRI.


	(refers to thaayumaanava swami (maathurboodheswarar)
	and the sivan at THIRUPPARRAITHURAI.)


	Good old (but not very old) feelings.


	PK

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