Ersatz Rama?

Down the Madurantakam way, there is a story about a British Collector from the late 18th century - or maybe the last years of the 19th century - time does not matter much in such moffusils. You can catch up on the details of the story later; suffice to say that after the Collector had a vision of Rama and Lakshmana guarding the lake from overflowing, the temple there came to be known as Eri katha Ramar (the Rama who protected the lake).

It is possible that the experience led to several such temples for Rama, espcially near large lakes that are prone to overflowing. One such is the lake at Thiruninravur. Quite a large lake, it caters to the needs of the farmers in the region. Maybe after hearing about the legend of Madurantakam, the folks at Thiruninravur thought they would also invoke the blessings of Lord Rama by building a temple to him near the lake.

Since then, this shrine has also taken on the title of Eri katha Ramar - only that it seems so forlon that it might actually neglect to even guard itself against the rise in river water!!

If you are still interested in the Madurantakam story, here are two sites that you can get it from: Link 1 and Link 2

Where holy stopped

That's the literal translation of Thiruninravur, about 30 km as the train runs from the Chennai Central station. The legend goes that, after a tiff with Vishnu, the Goddess Lakshmi left their celestial abode in a huff. As she stormed about, she spotted this land; with a large lake and forests around, it seemed to be a good place to rest. The rest grew longer, for she was entirely charmed by the beauty of the place. 

Vishnu, in the meantime, had charged Varuna, the God of the oceans, with bringing Lakshmi back. Finding her at this spot, Varuna desired that rather than take her away from this beautiful spot, it would be better for Vishnu to come over here. The Lord did, and Varuna worshipped them as a couple. Since Lakshmi had stopped here, the place took its name from her act. 

This temple has Vishnu as its main deity, in the form of Bhaktavatsala Perumal. The temple is reputed to be over a thousand years old; Thiruninravur seems to have been continuously inhabited for that long. However, it is today a sleepy moffusil town. Nice to visit, but stopping there? Some other time, maybe!

Umbrella

That's the theme for the month for the CDP bloggers. 

These umbrellas cannot be rolled up, however. At the Bhaktavatsala Perumal temple at Thiruninravur, the deity was being paraded through the streets around the temple as part of the bhramotsavam. The March sun is hot and it wouldn't do to have it strike the idol directly. So, along with the palanquin bearers are the umbrella carriers...

...to see more umbrellas from around the world, take a look here.

Leaping horse

A Ferrari it is not. This wooden horse is part of the finery of a chariot that takes the deity around the temple at Thiruninravur. Even at its most frenzied pace, it would take quite a bit of time to go around the track. 

On that day, this chariot was idle; the palanquin was being used for the procession. This one looked rather lonely, parked along the temple wall!

Peoplewatching

In March every year, the Sri Bhaktavatsala Perumal temple at Thriruninravur conducts its Brahmotsavam. It was coincidental that a bunch of us from the Chennai Photowalk landed up there that day. As we got into one of the roads near the temple, we realised we were just ahead of the palanquin carrying the deity in a ceremonial procession. 

The palanquin would pause on its journey, allowing folks from the nearby houses to come out and make their offerings to the deity. The priests also pause, a little distance away, waiting for the next move. 

For today's 'Theme Day' post; just a few days ago, I had gone ahead with another picture showing 'People Watching' just a few days ago.... so here is one of the 'Priests Watching'!

The theme today for the City Daily Photo group bunch is 'People Watching'. For more pictures of people watching around the world, head over to their Facebook page!