When Agathiyar instructed me to have his statue done and install him at Sri Raghavendra's Mritiga Brindavanam in Ipoh, I searched for someone who could help me make and bring the statue from India. Agathiyar had stipulated several requirements and specifications in the Nadi that I had to heed and follow. If Agathiyar had not stated the 'schedule of compliance' I could pick one from the shelf although not all dealers stock the statue of Agathiyar. I asked friends who had dealings with India, friends sitting on temple committees and whoever that I thought could help, but to no avail.
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| The Artist's perception and conceptual CGI drawing of Sri Raghavendra's Mritiga Brindavanam in Ipoh |
Then an idea struck me. When I was visiting relatives of my wife during the last Deepavali celebrations, they brought out silk sarees and exhibited them to us. They had purchased them on-line, having gone through the on-line catalogs. The manufacturer in Rajasthan had them delivered to their doorstep by courier and in good condition. He threw a few surprises too - free bangles. It arrived in good condition by courier. They were very satisfied.
So I surfed the net for manufacturers of bronze statues in Swamimalai. I received only three sources. I included Kumbakonam too. There appeared seven sources. I e-mailed each and every one of them. I kept looking in my mailbox to see if they had responded. Instead, I received a call from someone from Swamimalai. He said he shall do it for me. And so Varadaraj of the Bronze Creative was commissioned to create Agathiyar for me.
The statue of Agathiyar had to be a replica of that in Agasthiyampalli in Vedaranyam. Varadaraj had to make a journey to to see for himself the granite statue of Agathiyar at this temple. He started work on Agathiyar and delivered Agathiyar in time for the Jayanthi celebrations at my home.
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| Agathiyar as in Agasthiyampalli snapped by Varadaraj. Later he worked on the wax model based on these photos. |
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| The Delivery Order of Agathiyar's statue |
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| Agathiyar arrives beautifully packaged in this crate. |
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| Agathiyar arrives on our shores |
But Agathiyar has changed his mind and chose to stay at my home for reasons only known to him. The Mritaga Brindavanam has been completed and the kumbhabhisegam done recently, minus Agathiyar. I was told someone had taken up the task of having Agathiyar's idol installed at the Brindavan. Today (29.8.2013) I discovered it was one of my friends from Facebook who had this privilege.
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| Agathiyar's statue delivered to T Shanti Sathia on 29.8.2013 |
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| Agathiyar who is going to be installed in Sri Raghavendra's Mritiga Brindavanam in Ipoh |
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| Sundara Arumugam who is spearheading this movement is seen conducting rituals and supervising the works |
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| Boomi Puja being conducted at the site of the Brindavanam |
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| Invitation to the Prathistabana Maha Kumbajala Abhishegam of Sri Raghavendra's Mritiga Brindavanam in Ipoh |
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| Sri Raghavendra Swamigal sitting majestically at the Brindavanam |
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| Sri Raghavendra Swamigal |
When Jnana Jyothiamma asked Varadaraj what prompted him to make this Shiva statue, he answered, "I wanted to make something else .. Shiva asked me to do this!"
