The small village of Erukkattoor, on the banks of Pandavayaru at Kamalapuram, on the road to Mannargudi from Tiruvarur, is the birth place of many stalwarts such as A. Rangaswamy Iyengar, founder of The Hindu , N. Gopalaswamy Iyengar, Central Minister for Railways in Independent India’s first cabinet, G. Parthasarathy, diplomat and first vice chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, and K. Bhashyam Iyengar (Arya), freedom fighter and renowned artist. The one thread that connects these luminaries is that they all hail from this small village.
This village, about 10 km from Tiruvarur, in its heyday, had about 20 households belonging to several communities primarily engaged in agriculture. But as their next generation sought out education and other avenues of employment, they moved out to cities in India and even abroad. Slowly the village started shrinking in size and by 1960s, it had been abandoned. Though many families could proudly refer to their lineage, few had visited the village.
Consecration planned
All that was left in the village was a dilapidated temple of Sri Srinivasa Perumal. A few elders, who had made a pilgrimage to their village, decided to revive the village temple and its environs.
The renovation of the temple is under way and it is hoped that the consecration will take place some time in February, 2013.
The committee of village elders, now handling this task, operates from Erukkattoor Srinivasa Perumal Kainkarya Sabha, ‘Sriranga,’ New No. 70, Old No. 95, Kamaraj Avenue School Road, Adyar, Chennai – 600 020.
The members seek information about those whose ancestry can be traced to this village with the hope that at least the village family tree will be formatted and preserved for future generations, if not for the reconstruction of the village. Details may be sent to erukkattoorsrinivasaperumal @gmail.com
Donations are sought for conducting nithya pujas and periodical utsavams.
