Ootupurai, the traditional feeding house in Kanniyakumari temples

Tamil composer and instrumentalist Papanasam Sivan offers a poignant glimpse into his aboriginal beingness successful Thiruvananthapuram successful his memoirs, recalling the hard years aft his father’s death. During this period, helium worked astatine the Ootupurai, the accepted feeding location wherever Brahmins were served escaped meals.

“My mother, who was sixty, suffered from a terrible tummy ache. The nutrient served astatine the Ootupurai did not suit her. I felt that nary enactment was beneath my dignity, truthful I took up the occupation of a navigator there, earning 10 rupees a period to provender her,” helium writes in Yenathu Ninaivu Kadal (My Ocean of Memories).

Sivan describes however the agelong and strenuous days began with filling ample tanks with h2o for cooking, followed by grating much than a 100 coconuts, and yet serving meals to the visitors. Only aft completing these demanding chores would helium let himself the pleasance of listening to Harikatha.

Ootupurais were erstwhile a acquainted instauration crossed confederate Travancore and Kanniyakumari territory which remained portion of Kerala until 1957. In galore ways, Ootupurais were the predecessors of the present-day Annadhana (food donation) strategy present followed successful large Tamil Nadu temples overseen by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department.

Many temples successful the portion maintained dedicated feeding houses for Brahmins, a strategy extensively documented by historiographer K.K. Pillai. Yet, the signifier was not confined to a azygous community: the Kanjipurais offered elemental gruel to the mediocre crossed caste lines, reflecting a parallel contented of foundation and care. Pilgrims from North India were besides regularly fixed rice. Although the British medication ordered the discontinuation of the Ootupurai system successful 1922, it survived successful respective temples agelong aft the decree.

“It continued good into the 1970s astatine the Padmanabhaswamy Temple successful Thiruvananthapuram. Non-Brahmins too, were capable to person atom and different provisions. Lord Curzon whitethorn person mocked the system, but the past Travancore king, Moolam Thirunal, firmly defended this age-old institution,” notes historiographer M.G. Sashibooshan.

Historian K.K. Pillai, writer of The Suchindram Temple, adds that the Ottupurai at the Suchindram temple was established successful 1772. There, escaped nutrient was offered to Brahmins doubly a time passim the year—a testament to the temple’s enduring committedness to hospitality and spiritual duty. According to him, Bala Marthanda Varma, the shaper of modern Travancore, evidently aimed astatine continuing the glorious contented of the past Chera kings. “This benignant of foundation has ever been 1 of the titles of the Chera monarchs to fame, opening from the days of Perumchottrudayan of the Sangam age,” helium says.

The strategy was truthful fashionable that erstwhile Col. Munro, the Resident Dewan, ordered the presumption of large temples and their properties successful 1812, feeding successful the Ootupurais was not discontinued. On the contrary, grounds shows that nether his vigilant supervision, the medication of this charitable enactment was regularised, and wastage and corruption cautiously checked. It was ordered that nary one, whether a autochthonal of Suchindram oregon an outsider, was to beryllium fed for much than 3 days astatine a stretch. Temple records amusement a important summation successful beneficiaries: successful 1842, a full of 86,728 Brahmins were served food.

In Thiruvattaru Adikesava Perumal temple, astir 600 kg of atom was cooked connected a regular ground and the biggest ootupurai successful Kanniyakumari district, that served hundreds of Brahmins, remains intact successful the temple.

The strategy was partially discontinued successful 1911 arsenic a measurement of retrenchment. “Therefore, the Gosayis, a people of North Indian pilgrims, were fixed a fixed quantity of atom per head, and a constricted fig of different bona fide pilgrims were fed by the temple authorities. It was successful August 1922, with the organisation of a abstracted Devasam Department, that the Ootupura was wholly closed,” writes Pillai.

However, what continued to payment the mediocre and temple employees was the immense quantity of nutrient (kattichoru) offered as neivedyam. Nearly 90 per cent of the cooked atom was sold to the mediocre astatine a nominal price. Employees who received the nutrient often sold the surplus to others, earning further income. “On average, good implicit 600 persons subsist upon this nutrient alone. Thus, this has proved to beryllium an unostentatious but nevertheless important instauration of nationalist charity,” Pillai notes.

A.K. Perumal, writer of Then Kumariyin Kathai (The communicative of Kanniyakumari), says the strategy of distributing kattichoru to employees was prevalent successful astir each temples successful the Kanniyakumari district. “Red earthy atom was cooked successful temples. Employees were fixed kattichoru depending connected their relation successful the temple. Sweet pongal would beryllium fixed connected Saturdays and festival days. Every temple had a ample postulation of copper vessels for cooking and granite tanks for keeping buttermilk. The quantity of kattichoru increased during festival days,” helium says.

Mr. Perumal notes that arsenic Kanniyakumari temples continued Kerala’s ritual traditions adjacent aft the region’s merger with Tamil Nadu, the strategy of serving kattichoru also continued and proved a boon to temple employees. But, it excessively was discontinued successful 1966.