TIRUCHENDURAI VILLAGE
- By Thiru. Sethuraman
A small hamlet in supine T shape - consisting of two streets - 'Mela Theru'
running south from the railway line to north, and Keela Theru, a street
west to east along the Tiruchi-Karur road running parallel to the river
Cauvery! This is known as Tiruchendurai Agraharam.
Apart from these two streets, there is a Vellalar Street on the western, and
eastern sides - as also on the southern side across the railway lines.
Tiruchendrai is a part of JIYAPURAM and the other hamlets in Jiyapuram are
Ammangudi, Andanallur, and Kadiyakurichi. There is a railroad station in
the name of Jiyapuram, which serves apart from the abovementioned hamlets,
Chinna Karuppur, Peria Karuppur, and Kulumani.
- By Thiru. Sethuraman
A small hamlet in supine T shape - consisting of two streets - 'Mela Theru'
running south from the railway line to north, and Keela Theru, a street
west to east along the Tiruchi-Karur road running parallel to the river
Cauvery! This is known as Tiruchendurai Agraharam.
Apart from these two streets, there is a Vellalar Street on the western, and
eastern sides - as also on the southern side across the railway lines.
Tiruchendrai is a part of JIYAPURAM and the other hamlets in Jiyapuram are
Ammangudi, Andanallur, and Kadiyakurichi. There is a railroad station in
the name of Jiyapuram, which serves apart from the abovementioned hamlets,
Chinna Karuppur, Peria Karuppur, and Kulumani.
> (a) (f) (b)
=====================================/---/
============= =========== (c) ========
'
^v^ (e)
========================================(d)
(g)
(a) The railway line
(b) Jiyapuram railway station
(c) Venugopalaswamy Temple, Tiruchendurai
(d) Tiruchi - Karur Road running parallel to Cauvery
(e) Chandrasekaraswami Temple, Tiruchendurai
(f) Elampuliamman Temple across railway line
(g) River Cauvery
For a small village Tiruchendurai has a big and two smaller temples - the
Chandrasekaraswami temple on the banks of the Cauvery is a very big one
surrounded by prakaras (corridors) and mandapams (halls)
In addition to the three temples mentioned above, there is also a very
small Pillaiyar temple on the Karur Road itself, just in front of the Siva
Temple. Nearby Ammangudi has a small temple centrally located inthe
village, and Andanallur has a fairly big temple Vada Theerthanathaswami
Koil on the banks of the Cauvery River.
The name Jeeyarpuram - a Jeeyar (proponent of Vaishanavism) was said to
have resided here - and more important every March of the year Sri
Ranganathaswamy visits this village travelling from Srirangam, through the
forests located between rivers Kollidam and Cauvery, and ultimately
crossing river Cauvery at Jiyapuram to the Mandapam there. Our Grandfather
T.V. Srinivasa Iyer having served the Srirangam Temple as Cashier in the 20s
the Temple authorities allow the Idol Procession to stop infront of the
Srirangam House a little longer, so the residents could have a clear and
closer darshan. Mukkur the popular exponent of religious stories, in his
book "Kurai Ondrumillai" (There is NO problem) mentions about the visit of
Ranganathaswamy to the village, and also says the special prasadam on this
occasion is ''steamed greens".. (keerai masiyal) and curd rice.
and according to the inscriptions in the Siva Temple, the Tiruchendrai
village was known as 'Esana Chathurvedi Mangalam' in the days
gone by. The inscriptions mention gifts for the continuous burning of oil
lights (thiruvilakku) by a Chola Princess in the 10th century AD.
There are a dozen houses in the Mela Theru, and about 18 houses in the
southern corridor and six in the northern corridor of Keela Theru.
--Tiruchendurai as early as 1935 promoted temple entry by allowing a primary
school of the District Board to be run, inside the prakaram of the Siva
Temple. There was no caste restriction in the admission of students in this
school. The main building of the school was located at the northern end of
Mela Theru just along the Karur Road.
Onthe southern side and across the railway line, a small canal, branching
off from the river Cauvery, runs mainly for irrigational purposes -- You
cannot separate Tiruchendurai and Jiyapuram - it had the first ever St.
Johns Ambulance Brigade in the 40s thanks to the initiative of Nagarajan and
Radhakrishnan brothers and on the former's return from Burma.. the SJAB was
active during festivals in and around and played a major role in Vaikunda
Ekadasi festival in Srirangam, the Maha Makham festival (which comes once in
12 years) at Kumbakonam.. The Railway branch of the SJAB came into being
two years after the Jiyapuram one was born.
It had a Rural Dispensary, opposite the jiyapuram railway station, and also
the Jiyapuram Cooperative Stores started by residents of Tiruchendurai and
Ammangudi villages for the benefit of the community and for a continuous
supply of provisions, kerosene etc. to the community.
Tiruchendurai village came into eminence when one of its residents became
a Judge of the Madras High Court -- Justice T.V. Seshagiri Iyer in the
1920s. Other legal luminary was T.V. Muthukrishna Iyer, a well known
advocate of Madras, a keen freemason, and who later became the Grandmaster
of the southern lodges. TVM's sons T.M.S. Mani was the first ever I.C.S.
Officer from the village, Col. M.Seethapathy participated in the second
world war in the Army Medical Corps, and T.M.Seshagiri was the first civil
engineer from the village.. The first IAS officer is also from this
village, Tiruchendurai Vaidyanatha Venkataraman who is also an exponent of
Tirumoolar's verses.
It is also a fact that though all above persons have 'Tiruchendurai' in
their names, none of them stayed at the village, but in Madras.
The Rural Dispensary served the entire community of Jiyapuram, and
Dr.K.R.Seshadri's devotion to service will long be remembered by the
communities in and around Jiyapuram. His son S. Gopalan continued this
devotion, and was in charge of a Clinic in nearby Pettaivaithalai, while
another son S. Sundaram is still practising in the village.. Gopalan passed
away a few years ago and his wife Santha and son Mukundan, both doctors,
still serve the community from Pettaivaithalai.
In nearby Ammangudi resided Mr. M.S. Doraiswamy Iyer, then known as 'Poison
King' who is said to have cured many a snakebite victim on receipt of a
telegram, or oral news, by special prayers.
The elementary school teachers, Sivarama Iyer, Sundaresan, D.V.Sarma
and Narayanaswamy Iyengar, were responsible for the proper education,
discipline, and upbringing of many village lads and if today Tiruchendurai's
flag is flying high all over the world, it is due to the basic educational
and cultural guidance given by these almost unknown sages.
Yes, there is a boy or girl abroad in almost all the continents of the
world, from houses of this tiny village. Not many of them visit the
village, but no one has forgotten the life they had at this village..
the yesteryear dreamgirl of India, Hema Malini, was born in Ammangudi
village when her parents shifted to that village due to the fear war
hostilities at Madras.
Thiru. Sethuraman is the grandson of Thiru T.V. Srinivasa Iyer -nephew of Radhamama, and cousin of Thiru. T.V. Ganesan.
For a small village Tiruchendurai has a big and two smaller temples - the
Chandrasekaraswami temple on the banks of the Cauvery is a very big one
surrounded by prakaras (corridors) and mandapams (halls)
In addition to the three temples mentioned above, there is also a very
small Pillaiyar temple on the Karur Road itself, just in front of the Siva
Temple. Nearby Ammangudi has a small temple centrally located inthe
village, and Andanallur has a fairly big temple Vada Theerthanathaswami
Koil on the banks of the Cauvery River.
The name Jeeyarpuram - a Jeeyar (proponent of Vaishanavism) was said to
have resided here - and more important every March of the year Sri
Ranganathaswamy visits this village travelling from Srirangam, through the
forests located between rivers Kollidam and Cauvery, and ultimately
crossing river Cauvery at Jiyapuram to the Mandapam there. Our Grandfather
T.V. Srinivasa Iyer having served the Srirangam Temple as Cashier in the 20s
the Temple authorities allow the Idol Procession to stop infront of the
Srirangam House a little longer, so the residents could have a clear and
closer darshan. Mukkur the popular exponent of religious stories, in his
book "Kurai Ondrumillai" (There is NO problem) mentions about the visit of
Ranganathaswamy to the village, and also says the special prasadam on this
occasion is ''steamed greens".. (keerai masiyal) and curd rice.
and according to the inscriptions in the Siva Temple, the Tiruchendrai
village was known as 'Esana Chathurvedi Mangalam' in the days
gone by. The inscriptions mention gifts for the continuous burning of oil
lights (thiruvilakku) by a Chola Princess in the 10th century AD.
There are a dozen houses in the Mela Theru, and about 18 houses in the
southern corridor and six in the northern corridor of Keela Theru.
--Tiruchendurai as early as 1935 promoted temple entry by allowing a primary
school of the District Board to be run, inside the prakaram of the Siva
Temple. There was no caste restriction in the admission of students in this
school. The main building of the school was located at the northern end of
Mela Theru just along the Karur Road.
Onthe southern side and across the railway line, a small canal, branching
off from the river Cauvery, runs mainly for irrigational purposes -- You
cannot separate Tiruchendurai and Jiyapuram - it had the first ever St.
Johns Ambulance Brigade in the 40s thanks to the initiative of Nagarajan and
Radhakrishnan brothers and on the former's return from Burma.. the SJAB was
active during festivals in and around and played a major role in Vaikunda
Ekadasi festival in Srirangam, the Maha Makham festival (which comes once in
12 years) at Kumbakonam.. The Railway branch of the SJAB came into being
two years after the Jiyapuram one was born.
It had a Rural Dispensary, opposite the jiyapuram railway station, and also
the Jiyapuram Cooperative Stores started by residents of Tiruchendurai and
Ammangudi villages for the benefit of the community and for a continuous
supply of provisions, kerosene etc. to the community.
Tiruchendurai village came into eminence when one of its residents became
a Judge of the Madras High Court -- Justice T.V. Seshagiri Iyer in the
1920s. Other legal luminary was T.V. Muthukrishna Iyer, a well known
advocate of Madras, a keen freemason, and who later became the Grandmaster
of the southern lodges. TVM's sons T.M.S. Mani was the first ever I.C.S.
Officer from the village, Col. M.Seethapathy participated in the second
world war in the Army Medical Corps, and T.M.Seshagiri was the first civil
engineer from the village.. The first IAS officer is also from this
village, Tiruchendurai Vaidyanatha Venkataraman who is also an exponent of
Tirumoolar's verses.
It is also a fact that though all above persons have 'Tiruchendurai' in
their names, none of them stayed at the village, but in Madras.
The Rural Dispensary served the entire community of Jiyapuram, and
Dr.K.R.Seshadri's devotion to service will long be remembered by the
communities in and around Jiyapuram. His son S. Gopalan continued this
devotion, and was in charge of a Clinic in nearby Pettaivaithalai, while
another son S. Sundaram is still practising in the village.. Gopalan passed
away a few years ago and his wife Santha and son Mukundan, both doctors,
still serve the community from Pettaivaithalai.
In nearby Ammangudi resided Mr. M.S. Doraiswamy Iyer, then known as 'Poison
King' who is said to have cured many a snakebite victim on receipt of a
telegram, or oral news, by special prayers.
The elementary school teachers, Sivarama Iyer, Sundaresan, D.V.Sarma
and Narayanaswamy Iyengar, were responsible for the proper education,
discipline, and upbringing of many village lads and if today Tiruchendurai's
flag is flying high all over the world, it is due to the basic educational
and cultural guidance given by these almost unknown sages.
Yes, there is a boy or girl abroad in almost all the continents of the
world, from houses of this tiny village. Not many of them visit the
village, but no one has forgotten the life they had at this village..
the yesteryear dreamgirl of India, Hema Malini, was born in Ammangudi
village when her parents shifted to that village due to the fear war
hostilities at Madras.
Thiru. Sethuraman is the grandson of Thiru T.V. Srinivasa Iyer -nephew of Radhamama, and cousin of Thiru. T.V. Ganesan.
