Acharyar Manavala Mamunigal Sarrumurai 2023 - thirukkudai kainkaryam

Acharyar Manavala Mamunigal Sarrumurai 2023 - thirukkudai kainkaryam

ஆசார்யர்  ஸ்வாமி மணவாள மாமுனிகள் சாற்றுமுறை 2023

திருக்குடைகள் அணிவகுப்பு !  ~  குடை கைங்கர்யம்

 

This is a religious post only !  - those of us used to watching Tamil comedy, have heard and laughed heartily hearing Vadivelu singing ‘I m sing in the rain!”.  For those of us used to ‘rain, rain, go away! – come again another day rhymes’ – this is  new.

 

I'm singin' in the rain, just singin' in the rain

What a glorious feeling I'm happy again

I'm laughing at clouds so dark above

The sun's in my heart and I'm ready for love

Let the stormy clouds chase everyone from the place

Come on with the rain, I've a smile on my face

I'll walk down the lane with a happy refrain

And singin' just singin' in the rain

 

"Singin' in the Rain" is a song with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown. Doris Eaton Travis introduced the song on Broadway in The Hollywood Music Box Revue in 1929. It was then widely popularized by Cliff Edwards and the Brox Sisters in The Hollywood Revue of 1929.  

The film of the same name, Singin' in the Rain (1952), was  a musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds.  It was a  lighthearted depiction of Hollywood in the late 1920s, with the three stars portraying performers caught up in the transition from silent films to "talkies".  Gene Kelly’s absolutely iconic dance sequence in “Singin’ in the Rain” was a joyous celebration of love and happiness, not even the rain can bring him down. The umbrella was an iconic piece throughout the film   

The cover for the people is known by various names.  A baldachin,   is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy,  but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over high altars in cathedrals, where such a structure is more correctly called a ciborium when it is sufficiently architectural in form. Baldachins are often supported on columns, especially when they are disconnected from an enclosing wall 

To combat the effects of global warming, scientists have devised an innovative plan that involves shielding Earth from the sun's rays using a spaceborne "umbrella" tethered to a captured asteroid. This theoretical concept, proposed by István Szapudi, an astronomer at the University of Hawaii Institute of Astronomy, seeks to mitigate the impending catastrophe of climate change by reducing the amount of sunlight reaching our planet's surface.  

Back home, there was some controversy  sparked over Chennai Mayor's act of holding an umbrella for Tamil Nadu's minister.  The opposition parties strongly condemned the act.  In  June this year,  in an embarrassing incident for Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was trolled on social media platforms for snatching an umbrella from a woman officer in Paris. The video of the incident went viral on the internet. The incident took place when PM Sharif had arrived in Paris to attend the summit on New Global Financial Pact in Paris, France.  

An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term umbrella is traditionally used when protecting oneself from rain.   The largest hand-portable umbrellas are golf umbrellas.   

The long-touted effects of climate change have made themselves more than evident in recent years with everything from heat waves to floods getting more and more common. Only if we could hold up an “umbrella” that can shield and can reduce the amount of sunlight hitting the planet.  Shading the Earth from a fraction of the Sun’s light could be a “simple” approach to reducing global temperatures. This idea is referred to as a solar shield and has been proposed in the past.   

In every purappadu – there are so many attractions – Emperuman – arulicheyal goshti, sripadhamthangigal, Archakas (battacharyas) and many many kainkaryabarargal – one among them doing a tough kainkaryam are the bearers of Thirukudai (the white decorative parasol – umbrellas) for Emperuman.  Ever wondered how difficult it is ? .. ………… please ponder.   

I have been posting in detail every year the grand occasion “Aippasi Thirumoolam’  hailing the birth of our Supreme ‘non-pareil’ Acarya Swami Manavala Mamunigal’.  On His Sarrumurai day in the morning Mamunigal has  grand purappadu with Sri Parthasarathi Perumal having  20 kudais.  The kudais  ~ white kudais (parasols) look great and are great attraction of Thondai mandalam Thirukachi, Thiruvallikkeni, Thiruevvul and many other divyadesams – in these places there will be no purappadu in divyadesams for Emperuman without kudai (for us Adisesha is the divine kudai for Emperuman)..   

I have never tried holding  this but have  always observed from close quarters wondering how difficult it is – ‘thirukudai kainkaryam’ – lifting the thirukudai is a massive effort – the weight is at the top as one controls and manages its weight (more so with wind blowing ferociously) as one walks closer to Emperuman covering Him !!  During purappadu, they carry the thirukudai on madi (the thick cloth tightly worn around the waist) – and in vahana purappadu – thirukudaigal are placed on the sideboard of the vahanam and is held by Battacharyas.  Holding them is an art and is challenging too – it is tough but graciously done by Thirukovil Battacharyargal.    

This morning (Aippaisi Thirumoolam) at Thiruvallikkeni  Swami Mamanvala Mamunigal had purappadu with Sri Parthasarathi Emperuman – there were 10 sets, yes, 20 white beautiful umbrellas celebrating the grand occasion.  

 

Here are some photos of Acharyar Manavala Mamunigal thiruvavathara vaibhava uthsavam 2023, more specially photos of those who carried the divine umbrellas (sorry if I had missed out some of the kudai kainkaryabarargal)   

 
adiyen Srinivasa dhasan
Mamandur Veeravalli Srinivasan Sampathkumar
16^th Nov 2023.