HISTORY
HISTORY
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The Kumbabishegam of Urulikal Sri Aadhi Ganapathy Temple is to be held on May 1, 2025.
A serene cute little temple in the Anamalai Hills, surrounded by lush green tea plantation, established some 80 + years ago.
This Pillaiyar (Ganapathy, Ganesha, Vinayagar) temple is located in the Urulikal estate owned by Tata Coffee Ltd.
It was established in the 1930's by Shri. K. Naryanaswamy Iyer who was working as the Head Clerk in the Estate Office. He was from Kuttalam (Rajagopalapuram) near Kumbakonam, Tanjore District.
In those days, there was no temple in the tea estates of Anamalai Hills. Coming as he did, from the Tanjore district, which is dotted with temples everywhere, more so from Kumbakonam, which is called a temple town, he felt out of place to be living in an area where there was not even a single temple. Hence, he decided to build a small temple for the first and foremost god of the Hindus, the ubiquitous Pillaiyar.
He got sanction from the estate management (which was those days James Finlay Group of the British) for a small piece of land measuring approximately 35' x 25' in the Upper (First) Division of the Urulikal Estate. Here he built this small (9' x 9') Pillaiyar temple. The temple was built with natural undressed granite stone walls covered on top with tin sheet roof. The structure remains the same to date. Inside this Garbagruha there were three Pillaiyar Idols, one main with ancillary ones on either side of the Moolavar. The Pillaiyar's Vaahanam (vehicle), Mooshikam, was in front of the Moolavar and Nagaraja was on the left extreme of the Moolavar. There was a pavement of approximately 12' x 12' in front of the temple where devotees could congregate and have dharshan. The temple was surrounded on all sides by tea bushes.
A few months (maybe a year or two) after the temple was consecrated and regular daily/weekly poojas were conducted, Shri. Narayanaswamy Iyer was transferred to the adjoining Selaliparai estate. Fortunately, his youngest brother Shri. K. Thiagarajan (more popularly known to all in the Anamalai/Valparai Hills as K.T. Rajan or Rajan Iyer) had in the meanwhile joined the Urulikal estate. Hence, he could continue with the poojas.
A few years later, the middle brother, Shri. V. Ramamoorthy, also joined the workforce of the Urulikal estate and started living there. Both, Shri. K. Thiagarajan and Shri. V. Ramamoorthy retired from the services of the estate in the year 1971. Hence, the Narayanaswamy/Ramamoorthy/Thiagarajan Iyer clan could conduct poojas for a period of over 35 years since the establishment of the original temple.
During the later half of the above period, there was one Estate Office peon named Shri. Palanisamy, who was living in the estate quarters very close to this temple. He was assisting Shri. Thiagarajan Iyer and Shri. Ramamoorthy Iyer conducts weekly poojas and lights the temple daily. Post these people's retirement, Shri. Palanisamy continued with the temple-related pooja/lighting work until 2004 when he passed away. From then, his son P. Ganesan who was also an employee with the estate office continued the offerings until 2011.
The local people have been conducting poojas and prayers all along and the Pillaiyar has been showering his grace on them and their families...
In the year 2011, the children of the above Trio decided to renovate/rebuild the temple. Accordingly, the Balalayam was performed on 28th October 2011 and the reconstruction work started in right earnest. The new Temple was designed in the traditional South Indian style with Garbhagruham, Vimanam, Kalasam and surrounding Mandapam. With the Divine Blessings of the Pillaiyar and the support of the Family, close friends and the Urulikal Estate Management and employees, the construction work progressed at a brisk pace resulting in the Kumbhabishekam of the new temple being performed on 25th April 2012. The Kumbhabishekam was a grand affair and a very memorable one - about a hundred members of the extended family of the Iyer Trio and approximately a thousand members of the local public participating in the function and witnessing the grand spectacle of the Abhishekam and Pooja, of course, partaking of the bountiful Blessings of Shri Aadhi Ganapathy.
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