On a hot Wednesday afternoon, the descendants of Thasai Kumaraswamy Bhaktha are at service at Sri Kapaleeswarar Temple.
They are cleaning the silver Adikaara Nandi vahana and getting it in shape for the procession at 5.45am on Thursday morning.
Descendent P. Murali, who runs a handicrafts shop in Mylapore, told Mylapore Times that his grandfather was a staunch devotee of Sri Kapaleeswarar and that he sold three houses ( including those where Raasi Silks and Giri Trading are located today) on Sannidhi Street opposite the temple to build the silver Adikaara Nandi vahana in 1917 at a cost of Rs. 40,000.
Chandru Bhaktha, another descendent, said that it was so auspicious that his father was born on the day of the Adikaara Nandi procession in Panguni of 1917.
Every year, on the eve of the procession, the family members jointly recite Thiruvasagam inside the temple and then present prasadam to the devotees.
For 106 years, this family that has been maintaining the Adikaara Nandi vahana.
In recognition of their contribution, the first deeparadhanai on the third morning of the utsavam is shown to them.
– Story, photo by S Prabhu
