The Triplicane Cultural Academy, a 62-year-old not-for-profit body held a music-lecture series Divya Desa Darshanam. Noted research-scholar Dr. Sudha Seshayyan spoke about a few of the 108 Vaishnavite temples while Carnatic vocalist Vasundhara Rajagopal rendered pasurams and kritis, taking the description forward, musically.
In the fifth part of the series, Sudha Seshayyan focused on six holy places – Uthamar koil near Srirangam (aka Thirukarambanur), Thiruputkuzhi near Kanchipuram, Vadamadurai, which is Mathura, Thiruvaheendrapuram near Cuddalore, Thiruvanvandur in Kerala, and Sirivaramangai aka Vanamamalai near Nanguneri in southern Tamil Nadu. Sudha described the legends associated with each of the places as mentioned in Tamil literature. For instance, Thiruputkuzhi, she said, was where Lord Rama performed the last rites of Jatayu, and where, it is believed, childless couples pray for progeny. .
The lecture-music might add a new dimension to the classical-devotional milieu that Chennai is known for.
“Just as every musician wishes to perform at grand venues, just as every cricketer loves to play on renowned pitches, every Vaishnavite has this deep desire to offer prayers at all the 108 earthly abodes of Lord Vishnu, where the Lord’s presence has been glorified in the hundreds of hymns composed by great devotees of yore, such as the Azhwars,” said N. Parthasarathy, secretary, Triplicane Cultural Academy. “But in this fast-paced world, rarely anyone is able to make this pilgrimage. However, listening to the Divya Desa Darshanam isai-urai is a humble alternative,” he added.
