It has taken Ayyappan* 10 whole years to chant hymns at a State government-administered temple in Madurai. This photographer-turned-priest, who was appointed by Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department, is the first among the 205 men, who underwent a course providing a ‘junior priest certificate’ ( Archaka training) in 2007, when the DMK was in power.
It may be pertinent to recall that in 1971 the then DMK government, under Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, had amended the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious Endowments Act to abolish the concept of hereditary appointments of archakas in temples.
The course enabled them to be appointed as priests in temples administered by the department. “We were told that around 240 priests would be placed in important temples after successful completion of the course. However, just procuring the certificate was a tiresome ordeal. A total of 206 people passed and we formed associations to fight for our certification. None of us received calls regarding posting,” he said.
The priest, who belongs to Mukkulathor community, says he was always interested in divinity and has been performing pujas since childhood. Eventually, between 2000 and 2006, Ayyappan took up photography as his profession. “I have worked in many famous photo studios in Madurai. I would do black and white prints and take charge of manual printing. Eventually, I heard about the course that HR&CE department was offering and decided to pursue my true calling,” he says.
Though he did not get a posting in the department-administered temples, he decided to continue working at private sanctums in Madurai. In February 2017, he saw an advertisement looking for a priest at a local temple. “I sent my application and was called for an interview in August. Out of the four people who applied, I got the job. I have been working here since February 26 and nobody has discriminated against me,” he says.
Ayyappan currently serves a two-year probation period and falls under the basic pay grade of ₹2,800. He hopes there will be a day when his 200-odd peers also get placements.
Sources in the department said the 240 persons were trained based on an order from the government. “They were provided training in agamas (rules guiding conduct of puas). Not all priests in temples are Brahmins and not all of them are agama experts. In many cases, priests only do arathi and archanai . There are specialist priests for other activities in temples, including alankaram (decking of idols) and special pujas. Appointment of priests is done by individual temples, and the department does not have any control over that,” an official explained.
A retired official said if people like Ayyappan were to be employed by HR&CE-controlled temples, the government must bring a change in the policy. “It only directed us to conduct the course, which we did. Like in engineering colleges, we do not have any placement cell. We were not told to place them,” he explained.
*Name changed on request
