SOWCARPET

  Yesterday eveving I thought of suddenly going to Sowcarpet to visit Bairagi Mutt.  I was under the impression that it is in Mint Street.  So I went direct to Mint Street.  After crossing Audiappan Naicken Street and Hindu Theological School I found Branch of National Insurance Co.  where I worked for 9 months from November 1983 to August 1984.  I could recollect those golden days of my bachelor life and my colleagues in National like E M Krishnamoorthy, Daniel, Murali.  I used to earn around 1300 rupees which was a premium salary in those days.  Further down Mint St I found a temple which I thought was Bairagi Mutt. On entering the temple I found it to be a Ramar temple by name Sumaithangi Ramar temple.  The bhattacharya of the temple explained that it is more than a 100 year old temple.  The word Sumaithangi in Tamil means one who bears the load.  Perhaps  the workers who used to load their goods in the various godown in Georgetown in those days prayed to this God for relieving from their worries which the lord must have done as a Sumaithangi and hence the name for the temple.  The bhattacharya further guided me that the Bairagi mutt is in General Muthiah mudali street.  Hence I took a reverse turn and reached Bairagi Mutt in 5 minutes.

  The Bairagi Mutt has been in existence for almost 300 years.  In the early 1800s a Pakistani Saint from Lahore came and stayed in the mutt.  One day Lord Venkateswara came in  his dream and ordered him to renovate the mutt and build a temple for him.He collected money from well meaning persons and built a venkatesa perumal temple within  the premises.  The  idol resembles Lord Balaji of Tirupathi.  I also went to Kumara kottam murugan temple on NSC Bose Road before returning home