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Articles: Arts and Culture | Chitrakutam craves for attention
- Mr. Prabhakar Banagani Venkata
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On their request, officials from the archaeology department visited the place and took photographs a few years back, but did not return. In the years of yore, Chitrakootam used to host the 10-day Chitrakoototsavam for Lord Ranganadha. 'We have read that the mandapam was once surrounded by a beautiful garden and a pond,' says Jagannadha Charyulu, chief priest at the Sri Ranganadha Swamy temple. Chitrakootam was mainly intended to be the venue for Vasanthotsvam, but it has been 60 years since the ten-day festival last took place.
Descendants of Venkatachalam panthulu managed to organise the festival for three days for some years but they had to give it up after a while because of various reasons.
Y. Chalapathi Rao, one of the descendants of the Yaragudipati family, has now expressed his desire to continue the three-day festival.
Chitrakootam was used as temporary guest house for Vaishnava religious heads. It was here that the decision was taken for the construction of the Rajagopuram at Ranganadha Swamy shrine.
In 1845, a Vaishnava seer, Vanamalai Jiyangar, directed Venkatachalam Panthulu to build it. The 96-feet high, majestic Rajagopuram was then constructed and gained the name of Uttara Srirangam (Sri Rangam of North) for the temple. Deities were protected in the Rajagopuram when the temple got inundated during the furious seasonal floods in the Pennar river.
Although the Rajagopuram was renovated a few years back, no one thought about the Chitrakootam, though it is an older structure in dire need of a facelift.
Panthulu also built a wooden mandapam named Punyakoti Vimanam for conducting the Dolotsavam for Lord Ranganadha at Chitrakootam. 'It requires at least 30 people to carry the Vahanam,' says K. Sriram, a temple priest.
Sri Rama Baktha mandali has been performing daily rituals besides a three-day annual festival during Ramanavami. Mandali members and locals are keen on the revival of the Vasanthotsvam in the hope that this would lead to a renovation of the place.
For some unknown reason, the endowment department, whose office is located in Chitrakootam colony, has ignored the structure. 'We have enough on our hands,' was how an official reacted when asked about the neglect.
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