In search of Tamil culture in North India

by Guest Thu May 24, 2018 12:51 pm

Visiting Sri Karthikeya Swamy Temple in Sector 30-B, Chandigarh, at 7pm on any Friday is like being teleported to Tamil Nadu. Watch women in traditional saris light prayer lamps, and catch men in dhoti, shirt, and angavastram. Those you see in formal wear have rushed from the office to seek Lord’s blessings.
This is one happy occasion and the UT Tamils from all social classes look forward to the Friday prayers. Chandigarh is home to more than 50,000 Tamils, who have kept their tradition alive so far away from the original home in South. They live in 12 enclaves in and around the Tricity, where they have built temporary temples.

New beginning
The UT Tamil Sangam was formed in 1968. However, it took until 1971 for its registration as Tamil Manram, a South Indian socio-cultural organisation. Its building, Bharathi Bhawan in Sector 30, is a popular assembly point for the local Tamil community. The office has four rooms, to which the Tamils plan to add a few more, besides a reception area, an auditorium, and a multi-purpose hall.
When he was local MP, former Union minister Pawan Kumar Bansal had sanctioned some money from his discretionary fund for the development of a computer laboratory at Bharathi Bhawan for poor children.

‘We are family’
When Chandigarh was coming up, it is said that the-then chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Kumaraswami Kamaraj, entered a big agreement with the UT government of those times. UT Tamil Sangam general secretary S P Rajasekaran said: “It was decided that the 3-Base Repair Depot (3-BRD) of the Air Force would be developed in Chandigarh instead of Tamil Nadu, and in lieu of that, 3,000 to 5,000 south Indians will be provided with jobs in the UT.” So, nearly 5,000 people from North Arcot (Tiruvannamalai and Vellore since 1989) district of Tamil Nadu shifted to Haryana and Punjab and joined various government departments.

Today, 52 years on, Tamils consider City Beautiful their actual home. To their credit, they laid most of the roads in Chandigarh. UT Tamil Sangam treasurer Siva Subramaniam said: “Even most of the maintenance and cleaning of the UT roads is done by the Tamils.” Rajasekaran was proud to recall how Tamil labourers played a key role in the construction of the Rock Garden.

From doctors (at the PGI) to engineers, architects, restaurant owners, Air Force officers, software developers, financial consultants, and the backbone of various departments in the UT Administration, Tamils in every role have fitted into Chandigarh.

Equality rules
Maharajan Rathinavel, a Tamil who worked at a private firm in Chandigarh from 2005 to 2007, returned to settle in the city in 2013. “Till date, I haven’t faced any discrimination here because of my skin colour or southern accent,” he said. And if you thought the Tamils relish only rasam and curd rice, well, here’s the clarification. Maharajan loves to gorge on dal makhani and kadhai paneer. “The best thing about Chandigarh,” he said, “is that it embraces anyone who wants to live here peacefully.” Rajasekaran said: “Chandigarh values education and sincerity, not the colour of your skin.”

Culturally yours
To Siva, “Sri Karthikeya Swamy Temple is the force that has helped the Tamils sustain their traditions so far away from Tamil Nadu”. Besides Tamil New Year and Pongal, the community also celebrates all north Indian festivals with equal enthusiasm.

The Tamil association helps Venkadalakshmi, a lecturer from the PGI’s nursing department, and her two children remain attached to their roots and culture. “When they are at the temple, they interact with other children in their mother tongue and participate in various cultural events, which teaches them values and builds relationships,” she said.
Need more trains

When the Tamil association celebrated Pongal on January 21, MP Kirron Kher was chief guest. The general secretary appealed to her to put in a word with the Centre for more trains between the city and Tamil Nadu. “We only have the Chandigarh-Madurai Junction Superfast Express. During Pongal, the local Tamils who cannot afford flight tickets are forced to jostle for train seats and then travel in discomfort,” said Rajasekaran.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/chennai-in-chandigarh/articleshow/62811805.cms

by Guest Thu May 24, 2018 4:36 pm

The temple complex reverentially named as "Malai Mandir" is a harmoniously blended Tamil Word "Malai" {Mountain/Hill) with the Hindi word "Mandir" {Temple}by the people of Delhi, with Sree Swaminatha Swami as the Presiding Deity, and has been attracting an increasing number of people of all classes of people from India and abroad year after year, and has become an important landmark of Delhi. This temple reflects the glory and grandeur of South Indian Temple Architecture at its best.

http://www.malaimandir.org.in/about_us.html

by Guest Thu May 24, 2018 4:39 pm

Sri Rangji Mandir is dedicated to Lord Sri Goda-Rangamannar. Goda or Andal as she is popularly known in South India was a famous 8th century Vaishnava saint who had composed "Tiruppuvai" which centers around her love for her beloved Lord Krishna and his leela bhoomi Vrindavan. She pines for him, fasts for him, sings songs in his praise and wants to attain him by marrying him. Lord Ranganatha who is none other than Krishna answers her prayers by becoming her bridegroom. In Sri Rangji Mandir, Lord Krishna is present as the bridegroom with a walking stick in his hand as is the custom in a traditional south Indian marriage. To his right is Andal and to his left Garuda, the vahana of Lord Krishna.

Andal had expressed three wishes in "NachiyarTirumozhi"(143 verses composed by her in praise of Lord Krishna). Her first wish was to spend her life at the feet of Lord Krishna in Vrindavan. Her second wish that Lord Krishna accept her as his bride came true when she married Lord Krishna and the third wish that Lord Ranganatha (Lord Krishna) be offered "Ksheeranna"(dessert made of rice and milk) in a hundred pots was fulfilled by the eleventh century vaishnava saint Sri Ramanujacharya. Her first wish which had not been fulfilled by any of the previous Vaishnava acharyas was fulfilled by Sri Rangadeshik Swamiji by constructing this temple where Sri Goda-Rangamannar reside as divya dampathi (divine couple).

SriRangji temple is one of the largest temple in the whole of North India. Its one of the very few temples in India, where regular festivals are celebrated and all the traditions and rituals are performed according to the prescribed Vedic norms. In SriRangji temple one would find a unique mixture of both south and north Indian traditions. In addition to celebrating all the festivals which are part of South Indian SriVaishnava temple tradition, several festivals which are part of the North tradition are also celebrated here. For example its only at SriRangji temple where devotees can enjoy the pleasure of playing holi with the Lord during SriBrahmotsav.

http://www.srirangjimandir.org

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In search of Tamil culture in North India

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