The month
of Purattasi was more about Lord Srinivasa, devotees visiting temples,
sanikkizhamai purappadu of Sri Azhagiya Singar at Thiruvallikkeni and .. .. the
golu festival of Navarathiri.
Sure you visited many homes, saw
tastefully decorated, concept arranged bommai golus and Temples with
Thayar/Amman purappadu and decorations – more of the people richly adorning
themselves with matching dress, ornaments and more !!
..
.. in between – in Temples, after worshipping
God – what do you observe ?
In the broad corridors of the Red Building of Hindu High
School, Triplicane, (perhaps in the school you studied too) the walk of the attender would attract the
attention of students inside the class room – before it even sounds, some would
ready to fly away…. It was the sweet
sound of school bell – #not physically a
bell# – but that of a metal hammered with a wooden object, creating
enough sound audible to the locality.
Such bells are missing now in schools perhaps !
One may not readily
remember – ‘John Richard Dedicoat’ who invented pencil-sharpening machine,
bicycle bell, and some other bicycle related items. Apprenticed to
James Watt, he went on to become a bicycle manufacturer and made and sold the
"Pegasus" bicycle. But Alexander Graham Bell ! a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and
engineer who patented the first practical telephone, is well known right from
school days. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Telegraph Company
(AT&T) in 1885. Bell's father, grandfather, and brother had all been
associated with work on elocution and speech, and both his mother and wife were
deaf; profoundly influencing Bell's life's work.
Temple bells are part of rituals ~and are sacred.
At the holy Thirumala, as is in all Temples, the
bells toll every day during temple rituals. Devotees would observe the two huge bells
[Gaanda mani] within the precincts of the temple, upon coming out of the
sanctum sanctorum of Thiruvengadam Udaiyan.
It is believed that
the twin bells in the Temple were installed in 1417 by a king of Vijayanagar
empire. The bells reverberate during
the pre-dawn rituals like Thomala Seva, Archana, Koluvu and more importantly
during the time when the priests offer ‘Thiruamudhu’ [neivethyam – offering of
food]. As the history of the temple
goes, the ornate Mukha Mandapam also called as ‘Mani Mandapam’ where the
two-bells are installed to a huge beam was built in the year 1417 by
Vijayanagar king Amathya Mallana. The kings were said to have built a chain of
Mani Mandapams between the Tirumala temple and the Chandragiri fort with such
an engineering symmetry that they served as ‘relay stations’ to carry the
sound-waves from the bells from one place to another. It is believed that the Vijayanagara kings,
while on their sojourn in the Chandragiri fort, located around 12 km from
Tirupati down the hill, used to take their food only after the bells were
tolled.
Nearer home is the place that predates British rule by several
centuries; it was occupied by the Portuguese in 1523, which lasted until 1749, later falling into the hands of the British East India
Company. It is “Mylapore” [Thiru Mayilai], a cultural hub; one of the oldest residential
parts of the city, also known as VEdapuri and Mayurapuri ~ Thirumayilai has the avathara sthalam of Sri
Peyalwar at Arundale Street – nearer is Sri Madhava Perumal thirukovil.
One would be
surprised to find so many temples in small lanes and bylanes of
Thirumayilapuri. As one crosses, the
Hamilton Bridge, is the famous ‘Sri
Mylai Madhava Perumal Thirukovil’ and
behind this is ‘ Mundagakanni Amman temple’.
At Madhava Perumal temple, the Presiding deity is in a sitting posture
hailed as Sri Madhavar and His consort is Amirthavalli. The Uthsavar idol is extremely beautiful.
Atop - in between the Sri Ramar sannathi & the
thiruvaimozhi/ alankara mandapam is this
bell, which more than a century old. Here are
photos of the interior of the temple, the
location and the bell. With a
beautiful Thirumankappu – it reads 1922 – Dhunmathi varusha masi masam
adiyen Srinivasa dhasan
Mamandur Veeravalli Srinivasan Sampathkumar
20.10.2026
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