Even as Governor R. N. Ravi and the dikshitar community have denied the reports of child marriages at the Chidambaram Thillai Natarajar temple, a video of a child marriage held at the temple precincts has been doing the rounds in the media and social media, sparking debates. Against this...
The Chidambaram Thillai Natarajar or sabhanayakar temple, though one of the five ancient pancha bhoota (five primordial elements) temples of Saivism in Tamil Nadu, is no stranger to controversies. The government of Tamil Nadu or the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE), which...
The recent High Court judgement on HR & CE rules will roll the clock back on DMK's policy on archaka appointment in temples, says archaka activist V Ranganathan. In 2020, the HR & CE department came up with new rules for appointing archakas including odhuvars and priests in temples...
Food habits have long been a subject of much discussion in Tamil Nadu. The environment and local produce have determined food habits. The food that some communities eat is used to denigrate them. Some advocate a cuisine that suits one’s body type. Some advocate vegetarianism. Organizations like...
Realizing the value of thousand year Tamil Jain idols lying abandoned on a paddy land, a Ramanathapuram village came together to protect them. Sculptures of Rishabhanatha, the first Tirthankara, and Mahavira, the last and 24th Tirthankara, of Jainism were lying abandoned on a paddy land in Mel...
On May 15, Pope Francis canonized Blessed Devasahayam Pillai (1712 – 1752) from Tamil Nadu as saint at a grand event that started with the singing of the Mother Tamil song (Thamizh Thai Vaazhthu) in Vatican. Saint Devasahayam Pillai is the first lay Indian to be canonized as saint. Manoj...
Pattina Pravesam ritual is the practice of carrying a revered saint, usually the head of a monastery or mutt, in a palanquin as a mark of respect to the guru by his or her followers. Typically, after a pooja to the guru is done, the guru is carried on a palanquin around the mutt, across the...
The terrible disaster of 11 people including three boys dying of electrocution in the Kalimedu accident joins the long list of religious events that kill scores in India annually. The apparent cause of the pre-dawn carnage is a tall cut-out of serial lights tied to the carriage that came into...
Sallekhana: For the unaware, fasting to death may seem painful but it is one of the sacred tenets of Jainism. A tall, lean man with a visible rib cage lies on the bed with his left leg slightly folded towards his right leg. The elderly man is surrounded by Jain nuns who offer prayers, holding...
At a time Hindu-Muslim divisions are peaking, Saeed Naqvi’s play The Muslim Vanishes imagines what India would be like, as the name suggests.
