Growing up in a religious Tamil household, I have visited Thiruvanamalai frequently. It is our go-to pilgrimage destination as our familial roots extend to this holy place. My father (Er. Ramesh Kumar) is a fervent devotee of Lord Shiva. From my earliest memories, I remember him undertaking the arduous Girivalam on all the full moon days. His sincerity and faith have etched a deep imprint on me.
After completing my bachelor’s degree in Architecture, I applied for my master’s degree in Australia, and parallelly I was helping my father in his construction business
At that time, I visited the Arunagirinadhar temple with my dad. I was curious to see construction activities taking place in full swing. The vision of establishing a cultural hub with a Murugan temple and auditorium astonished me. What a fantastic initiative!
By God’s grace, I was blessed with an opportunity to design and develop a 3-D model for the entire site along the lines of the Trust’s ideals. A simple brief was given to me
1. A temple dedicated to Murugan
2. A temple dedicated to Arunagirinadhar
3. An auditorium
4. Circulation, including pedestrian pathways and car parking facilities.
Er. Saradhi from Tiruvannamalai assisted me with Site layout drawings, upon which I started developing the model. I was timid in the beginning because of its grand scale. My father and uncle passionately narrated tales about the devout saint-poet during my design process. With their input, I developed two options with walkthroughs and presented them to the Trust. I tried to narrate the life of Arunagirinadhar through the design. To achieve that, I have incorporated murals on the auditorium walls depicting the life journey of Arunagirinadhar and portrayed Arunagirinadhar as a parrot flying in the garden. It was a challenging task for me to render in two weeks, and I worked day and night to complete it.
It reminds me of a quote by Confucius “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Despite its challenges, I never felt strained.
On 24th June 2021, on the auspicious day of Aani Mulam, the design walkthrough video was posted on YouTube by the Trust; people from all walks of life appreciated it. I am providing the link below for people who didn’t witness it (https://youtu.be/Qk2AxqQfPos)
I want to conclude by reiterating the great words from Thiruppugazh-Pakkaraivichitramani, sung by Arunagirinadhar in the holy place of Vayalur.
செய்ப்பதியும் வைத்துயர்தி ருப்புகழ்வி ருப்பமொடுசெப்பெனஎ னக்கருள்கை ...... மறவேனே
It says, by accepting the request of Lord Muruga, Arunagirinadhar wholeheartedly sings Thirupugazh with relish. Similarly, I accepted the work from the trust members as Lord Muruga’s order and completed it with great enjoyment. Personally, it was an amazing experience to work on this spiritual project. I am incredibly grateful to the Trust for my involvement.
