Wooden Chariot built by Nagarathaar community from Tamil Nadu for Rama Navami Celebrations at Ayodhya
- Sri Kasi Nattukkottai Nagara Satram Managing Society built the wooden chariot at a cost of Rs. 40 lakhs
- The ritual held by Nagarathar between 1882 and 1942, to continue from now on
Chennai, March 19, 2020: The wooden chariot built in
Tamil Nadu is all set to go around the streets of Ayodhya on April 2nd
to mark the birth of Lord Shri Ram. The effort to get the chariot redone was
undertaken by the Nagarathaar community through the Sri Kasi Nattukkottai Nagara
Satram Managing Society.
The artistically made wooden chariot stands tall at 18.5 feet and 9 feet
wide, with 8 pillars and has intricate works of 210 idols. The wooden chariot
is the workmanship of the Tamil Nadu award-winning sculptor AR.K.
Ekambara Aasari, whose team took a record 66 days to complete the work.
The sculpted idols reflect the idols at the temples in similarity. The
10 avatars of Vishnu, the beautiful look of Hanuman, the grace of Kannan and
scenes from Ramayana are beautifully captured in the sculpture form.
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(L-R) Shri. V.N.CT. Valliappan, Director, Kamala Theatre; Former Hon’ble
Supreme Court Judge Dr. A.R. Lakshmanan: Shri Pazha Ramasamy, President, Sri Kasi Nattukkottai Nagara Satram
Managing Society
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The nagarathaar community have been engaged in this ritual for 60 years
between 1882 to 1942, which had to be ended post the second world war. The
chariot that had been damaged has hitherto been rebuilt after 77 years by the
community.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Pazha Ramasamy, a Sr. Advocate and President
of the Society said “Nagarathaar are known for their honesty, moral virtues and
standards. They are also known for their religious virtues and
philanthropy. The ritual at Ayodhya was earlier done by the Chathirathaar
family from Devakottai, and through the society we have now rejuvenated
to continue the ritual after many years.”
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| Wooden chariot |
Sri Kasi Nattukottai Nagara Satram Managing Society is all set to
celebrate the ram navami at Ayodhya on April 1st and 2nd.
Hon’ble Justice Dr. M Chockalingam, Shri.
V.N.CT. Valliappan, Director, Kamala Theatre, Educationist Shri. Kuzha
Karuppiah will be special invitees for the celebration.
The Nagarathaar community have their roots in 96 small towns and big
towns like Karaikudi and Devakottai, in Sivagangai and Pudukottai districts.
The
community has a strength of around 1.5 lakhs people, and they run around 140
educational institutions across Tamil Nadu. They have also built over 1000
temples across the country, besides the 100s of temples in Myanmar, Sri Lanka,
Singapore and Malaysia.
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