My grandfather was the tharkar of Meenakshi amman temple twice ( —-, —- ). When I was in 6th, Ayya was my best friend. After school every evening, I come downstair, Sit with him on the /Easy chair/ and talk about that day in school. He helps me navigate school emotions and life in general. Once such day I asked him how does he make difficult decisions. He said He goes to Meenakshi Amman temple and asks the devi to help him decide. If she gives a green signal he does it. If she doesn’t, then he never thinks about it again. As he grew older, he told me, though he didn’t visit the temple as frequently as he used to, he closes his eyes and sees Meenakshi. She tell him if things are right or not. It was his strong belief.
As a child, it was magic. Beyond comprehension, just as my Ayya. Now, as I unravel bits and pieces of him, I can see that both Meenakshi Amman and the temple have been a central part of his life for 30 years. This essay focuses on his networking through Meenakshi Amman Kovil.
- Meenakshi Temple Society, Houston: Mr. Sockalingam (Sam) Kannappan a board member of the Meenakshi Temple Society in Pearland,Houston had contacted ayya regarding the installation of a model of the Madurai Meenakshi Temple in the Houston Temple. There has been a constant flow of letters between both from May 1998 till December 1999, as given below, starting from the request for such a model to the successful installation of it. The contact could have also been established as both belonged to the same Nagarathar community. From his Tamil letters, it can be assumed that he might have some roots in Natarasankottai or might traditionally belong there. (Venum: Shri Kannudaiya nayagi thuni).
This article by one of the veterans of the temple summarises the efforts behind Indian immigrants in Texas to build this temple. The author mentions the constant connection between the Meenakshi temple in Houston and Madurai. https://menonthoughts.wordpress.com/2020/12/19/sri-meenakshi-temple-pearland-the-40-year-history/
There is one further collaboration after the installation of Dhakshinamoorthy statue in Houston temple. The procedure for abishekam as done here in Madurai, was requested. This shows the presence of knowledge transfer between the two temples.
- Contact temple to know if the model is still there
- Contact Sam kannappan or family – where was he from how did the connect happen?
- How was the model sent? does the model in aairam kaal mandapam done during the same time?