Raghuvaran-An Obituary

The first Raghuvaran movie that I saw was Visu's family drama "Samsaram adhu Minsaram." The eldest son of a middle class joint-family who was forever calculating the family budget was a wonderful role. Then I saw "Shiva" the Nagarjuna starrer where he portrayed the role of Bhavani the dreaded don. Over the years eith the advent of cable television I saw many of his movies like "Puriyadha Pudhir," "Anjali,"Love Today."

A native of Kollenkode in Palakkad, Kerala; he acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi movies. Starting his career as a hero in "Ezhuavathu Manithan"(The Seventh Man), he found fame and success by portraying complex psychological characters and villains. Roles like the ones he portrayed in "Poovizhi Vasalilae" and "Puriyadha Pudhir" are etched forever in the collectice psuche of the Tamil film-lover.

His marriage to Rohini ended in divorce, they have a son named Sai. Raghuvaran battled depression, alcoholism and drugs. In recent years he played the role of the father and elder brother with great flair in movies like "Mugavari," "Run," "Kannukul Nilavu." His comic talent was never used with perhaps the exception of "Run," where he played the role of Madhavan's brother in law.

Raghuvaran has inspired Prakashraj a lot, movies like "En swasa katrae" and "Daya" were the two got plum roles have excellent confrontation scenes between the two.

Raghuvaran brought in his style of method acting, tall and striking with his lean mean looks he redefined the archetypal villain with the bulging muscles, bald head, and roaring laughter. In "Puriyadha Pudhir" he harassed Rekha (hi screen wife) with his menacing looks and his dialogue"I know, I know." Manic suspicion and jealousy reached new heights with his portrayal of the emotionally disturbed husband in "Puriyadha Pudhir."

In "Anjali" one of India's most underrated movies he played a loving father and husband who hides the birth of a mentally challenged child to his wife and family. The love, anguish, and sorrow that he portrayed in the movie is so realistic that you forget where reality ends and cinema begins.

Mark Antony in "Baasha" was a super duper role where he got equal screen time and powerful lines with Rajnikant. The usual villain roles in movies like "Kaadhalan" and "Ratchagan" also happened.

His death came as a big shock, the reason cited was complications due to diabetes and coronary problems.

Throughout his life he ended up a loner and a stranger, in interviews he would say how much he still loved his wife and how close he was to his son Sai. Questions remain unanswered and his personal life is no business of mine. I wonder if he and Rohini would have tried to save their marriage and been together perhaps Raghuvaran would not have met such an early death.

Destiny struck its cruel blow and Raghuvaran is no more.

Rest in Peace.

The Vellore Diaries-2

Then we returned to Vellore town and went to the the Vellore Fort. The fort is home to the famous Jalagandeeswarar Temple. The temple is pretty old but well maintained and had a number devotees visiting it that day. The consort of the presiding deity is Goddess Akhilandeshwari.

There was a Shivalinga to which one could perform an abhishekham by paying Rs 10. There was also a wishing well in which one could drop coins and make a wish. Somehow I did not go near the well and decided to convey my wishes to Lord Shiva through my prayers. I got a book about the temple's history and a Navagraha yantra.

I took some snaps of the temple. Then we proceeded to the outer walls of the fort and sat for some time at the top of the hill and got a magnificent view of the town from the top of the hill.

Then we went to Saravana Bhavan and had lunch. At the restaurant a group of school students from some international school, some Bangalore school(bus registration number:) had KA on it) created absolute mayhem and the poor waiters had a tough time managing them. Madhu joked and Said that Srini would make a perfect teacher and manage the students brilliantly! Srini gave a glare and continued to eat in silence.

Ratnagiri Murugan Temple


Then we visited the Ratnagiri Murugan Temple. Ratnagiri is around forty minutes by bus from Vellore en route to Arcot. The temple on a hillock is beautiful and the sculptures and paintings are an art lover's dream come true. We climbed hundred plus steps to reach the top of the temple. Both Srini and me felt tired but Madhu kept climbing without any signs of fatigue and beat both of us to reach the summit first. The temple is clean and well maintained; a factor that was common to all the temples that I visited in Vellore.

We got the darshan of Lord Muruga and then sat on the marble steps enjoying the cool breeze and got some excellent snapshots of the view from the temple. While returning we chose to use the road, then Madhu said lets climb on the rocks and take some pictures. Both Srini and me got really worried when Madhu climbed on to the rocks, then she proceeded downhill searching for a shortcut to reach the road below. We tried to stop her, but as adventurous as ever Madhu completed the trip, found that the path had been barricaded and returned to the top.

We climbed down and had tender coconuts. Then we purchased prasadam-Panchamritham and Ladoos.

By 18:00 hours we were at Srini's place. En route we also visited a small Ayappa and Anjaneyar temple.

We were really tired after all the traveling. We had dinner at a restaurant and it was time to bid adieu to Madhu. It had been more than a year since we had met and it was a wonderful experience to meet her after such a long time. I gave her a birthday gift and was really happy when I too got a birthday present- a beautiful pen stand from her.

I returned to Srini's place and got an early morning bus to Chennai the next day.

So the Vellore Diaries officially end here , these lines describe one of the happiest days of my life. I really thank Madhu and Srini for being such caring friends and making my trip such a pleasant and memorable experience.

Hopefully I will be making one trip to Vellore in May and visit Sholingar and Amriti.

So till then.... Until we meet again.

THE VELLORE DIARIES-March 7-9, 2008.

It was a trip that had been postponed nearly thrice because of work, so finally when I boarded the bus to go to Vellore I was elated. I got an Ultra-Deluxe bus that was going to Hosur. The seats were comfortable and the fare was Rs 80. The bus left Koyambedu bus terminus at 16:50 hours and went via Poonamallee, Sri Perumbudur, Wallajah, Arcot to finally reach Vellore at 19:20 hours.

I met Madhu at the bus stand, from there we took an auto to Madhu's friend's house, his name is Srini. A real nice chap, friendly and helpful. I stayed at his place for two nights.

March 8, 2008

I got up at around 6:45 in the morning, and took a bath in the icy cold water. Srini and I finished breakfast and took a bus to the old Vellore bus stand. Enroute Madhu too joined us. On reaching the bus stand, we took another bus to Sripuram. The bus reached Sripuram in about 30 minutes.

The Sripuram Golden Temple




The temple is run by the Shakti Amma Trust. More than two tons of gold, four tons of copper and the hard work of artisans and sculptors for six years at a huge cost enabled in the completion of this architectural marvel. Security measures are very strict and no cameras or mobile phones are allowed within the temple. One has to pass through a metal detector test, a body search and a scan before entering the temple.

We walked through a corridor, a long winding one set in manicured lawns with music being played on stereos, to reach the main sanctum which was set apart from the corridor by a moat. The presiding deity is Goddess Lakshmi Narayani.


Somehow it struck me odd that I did not experience any sense of divinity in the temple. The temple is well maintained and is managed in a professional manner. To get the darshan by going close to the idol one has to buy a special darshan ticket. A sense of familiarity or The Tirupathi Effect as I call it struck me when the temple staff asked us to move quickly.

As we walked out through another corridor we noticed many counters with the staff manning them soliciting donations for various welfare activities. Then we were surprised to find glass windowed shops selling stuff ranging from temple souvenirs to sarees and T-shirts.
Somehow all the gold and marble and the brilliant architecture left me disillusioned.

Is it possible to find divinity where so much wealth and extravagance exists? More than a temple the place looked like a huge film studio.

Whatever may be the answers to one's questions on faith and spirituality the place is definitely worth visiting.


(To be continued)

India make history at the Gabba and win the CB tri-series by defeating Australia.

Detailed report shall follow.

CHAK DIYA INDIA

Three Cheers for Dhoni's Devils.

HI ThIS IS A TEST POST.