Those who have read by blog on my parents (1) may remember that we were all born in a one-room house next to a ‘jeeva samadhi’ of Aaladi, a cousin of our great-great grandfather. There are 100s or perhaps 1000s of ‘jeeva samadhis’ all over India/Tamil Nadu. I found a website ‘jeevasamadhi.com’ which may be useful for those who have not heard about this concept (2). From what I understand, a cousin of a great-great grandfather, Aaladi decided on this way to end his body as his soul had attained God. He was buried alive in ‘Aaladi Sami Madam’. Madam is the Tamil word for Math used in Sanskrit/Hindi and Sami is God in Tamil. I learn that Aaladi bought a small land and established this Madam. He had planted tress of banana, coconut, peeple (Arasa maram) and neem (veppa maram) and built a Vinayakar (Ganesa) temple. This Madam was used by several ‘vaidhyas’ (Doctors), josyas (astrologerss) and physical/yoga trainers. He had collected a lot of leaflets with Tamil writings containing ancient wisdom. Until 1939, when my great grandfather, Nallathambi Mudaliar, was still alive, prayers were conducted on full moon days regularly. Several Sadhus (holy men) visited the Madam regularly. Meals were served for the needy periodically. Lot of people would come to the Madam to get some tirtham (holy water) and viboothi (ash powder) which would cure them of many illness.
As I had mentioned, when I was born, we were very poor. After 1939, this practice of regular prayers and feeding were stopped. The vinayagar temple was there, and I do remember seeing a small room with a ‘peedam’ with a Sivalingam and an oil-lamp always lit. We had a terrace on this small room (may be about 40 square feet?) where we used to climb up and play. There were no stairs and we climbed the wall. Occasionally, this terrace was used to dry various items. In front of this room was a hall with a tin-roof. This was the place used for people to gather during prayers. We used it for playing when it was free. Our father built row-houses in 1970 behind this peedam and ensured that this was left untouched. At this time, the peedam was raised and the Vinayakar and some Naga (snake) statues were installed along with the Lingam and a kumbhabhishekam was done.
The picture above shows ‘annabhishekam’ of the Lingam which is on a ‘peedam’. Taken on 25 October 2026
We moved out of the ‘aaladi sami madam’ around 1980 and started living in bigger houses. At that time, my elder brother Thambidhurai was going through all the old boxes and found out old handwritten notebooks. He was the eldest in the family and took care of his role seriously. He learned about what our forefathers did through the Madam and started all the activities again. In 2001, Aaladi Sami Madam started functioning as it used to almost six decades earlier. He arranged prayers regularly and food for feeding the needy on new moon day and recently on every Thursday as well. During some period, lunch was arranged for the old people who had no other support. In our family, it was common for everyone to pray for everything from relief from a common cold to success in exams/interviews. I had done this after writing the IIT entrance exam for MSc and we had ‘paalabhishekam’ (bathing with milk) for the Vinayakar in our temple (3). All the Madam activities were supported by everyone in the family and several friends. Several volunteers worked and ensured that the activities continue as of today. My elder brother Thambidhurai was leading all these activities.
In 1990s, the row houses were divided between our father and uncle (younger brother of our father). Thambidhurai took care of doing everything properly. Our family got three of the row houses that existed behind the Madam and our uncle got five of the row houses. Since leaving the Madam in 1980s, our family decided not to use that place for our own use. The three small houses and Madam together were used for all the activities. Some years later, Thambidhurai brought our ‘veettu saami’ (seelaikari) back in our house. I left Madurai in 1982 to join IIT Madras for my M.Sc. in Chemistry. Hence, I had not played any role in these activities other than joining the family on important occasions. Thambidhurai was not only the leader in our family, he became the leader in our neighbourhood, which included our extended family, community, and everyone who met him.
Lunch distribution on a Thursday, 15 October 2026
As I had mentioned in the blog on my parents, my father changed his given name ‘Aaladi’ to ‘Elangannan’ (Baby Krishna or Balakrishnan, which is more commonly used). My father started as a very poor young man who had lost his father just as he was in pre-University. He worked tirelessly and ensured that our family grew, and he helped a lot of people as well. He did not have the interest and time to start the activities of the Aaladi Sami Madam which were stopped when his grandfather passed away. Thambidhurai did that and he kept his facebook profile name as ‘Aaladi Thambidhurai’.
During our school days, encouraged by our father all of us learned Hindi through the Dhakshin Bharath Hindi Prachar Sabha for which the classes were held in Gandhi Museum in Madurai. While I stopped with Madhyama, Thambidhurai completed up to Pravesika. He could read a novel in Hindi. He learned Sanskrit to some extent and he read extensively. Thambidhurai did a B. Com. at The Americal College, Madurai and M.B.A. from Madurai Kamaraj University. I had joined the last batch of P.U.C. at American College the same year he started his B.Com (1978) and continued for my B.Sc. in Chemistry there. After his M.B.A., he joined the Tamilnadu Industrial Investment Corporation in Tirunelveli as an officer. His job was to ensure that the loans are given for genuine industrial investment, and these are returned with interest. He experienced corruption by people above and below him and decided to quit shortly. After a brief stint with a private financial firm in Pollachi, he returned to Madurai to help his father and brothers in business. Padhali organization started on 17 October 1989 in a single room and grew focusing on various domains. Several of the employees of Padhali went on to start their own businesses/career elsewhere and succeeded in life.
In the middle 1990s, Padhali was established in the main road (Alagar Kovil Road) right in front of the Aaladi Sami Madam. Within a few years, Thambidhurai and our family started a ‘Thanneer pandal’ (a shelter that provides water, paanaakkam, kanji, …) during the Chithirai festival. Kallalagar is taken from Alagar Kovil to Vaigai river on the road with devotees carrying him by foot. The road from Tallakulam Perumal Kovil to the American College is where lakhs of people will gather and stay up all night before Kallalagar enters the river Vaigai, which is perhaps the most important occasion during the two-week long festival. Recently, a plan to build an elevated highway on this road was stopped listening to the sentiments of the locals. The bridge now starts near the American College.
Thambidhurai was born on 30 September 1960 and passed away on 26 September 2026. During his lifetime, he worked hard to ensure that our family rose and we could start all the activities of the Aaladi Sami Madam again. When we were young, everyone in this area would know Aaladi Sami Madam. Now, people who are aware of Jeevasamaadhi’s and Sithars know this place. Others could identify it as a place behind the famous Amma Mess in Tallakulam.
A recent photograph of Aaladi (Elangannan) Thambidhurai
Thambidhurai and I were close friends and siblings. He was elder to me by about 20 months and we grew up together. Though, I have not been living in Madurai since August 1982, we were continuously in touch. We could discuss about anything under the sun. He informed me about ‘Aseevakam’ (Ajivaka) and shared some of the writing by Makkhali Gosala, founder of Aseevakam. Gosala was a contemporary of Gautama Buddha and Mahavir Jain. I was quite impressed to find the rational thoughts expressed by Gosala. Aseevakam became one of the religion that disappeared. Recently, I informed him about the book on D D Kosambi written by Ram Ramasamy and he bought it and finished reading it and appreciated it much. This he did before I could get a copy and read it.
Our ‘kula theivam’ (God of our tribes?) is Sithar in Puliyuran, which is a small village about 8 km from Aruppukottai, which is about 60 km from Madurai, our home-town. When we were young, it used to take half-a-day to reach there as we take a town bus, inter-city bus and then another town bus and walk for long. Thambidhurai organized the ‘kumbhabhishekam’ for this temple in 2011. His passing away last month was unexpected for all of us, I think, including him. He had plans for Deepavali as he started an Amul outlet just a few months ago. However, as a mature person with a soul in peace, he used to say ‘I am ready to go anytime’. I had posted the news of his passing in Facebook and there were numerous comments. I will collect some of them below. We were lucky to have him as the eldest brother in the family. Let me give the Tamil translation of Gayatri Mantram done by Thambidhurai below (4):
அண்டம் படைத்து அறியாமைப் பேரிருள்
கண்டம் ஒழித்து வினைகள் அறுத்து
வணங்கத் தகுந்த ஒளியை அறிவை
வணங்கும் வேளை அறிவை ஒளியை
எம்முள் ஏற்றும் இறைவா வாழி
Vaali, a popular lyricist in Tamil movies described God as follows (5):
பல நூல் படித்து நீ அறியும் கல்வி
பொது நலம் நினைத்து நீ வழங்கும் செல்வம்
பிறர் உயர்வினிலே உனக்கிருக்கும் இன்பம்
இவை அனைத்திலுமே இருப்பது தான் தெய்வம்
Translation: The knowledge you acquire by reading many books, the wealth you give keeping public interest in mind, the happiness you feel in the growth of others, God exists in all these. Thambidhurai had all the three abundantly.
References:
- https://earunan.org/2024/01/23/my-parents-%e0%ae%8e%e0%ae%a9%e0%af%8d-%e0%ae%aa%e0%af%86%e0%ae%b1%e0%af%8d%e0%ae%b1%e0%af%8b%e0%ae%b0%e0%af%8d-en-petror/ (Accessed on 28 October 2026)
- http://jeevasamadhi.com/ (Accessed on 28 October 2026)
- https://earunan.org/2015/03/02/god-as-a-partner-in-crime-and-quid-pro-quo/ (Accessed on 28 October 2026).
- Thambidhurai had written a lot in his youth. This was never published anywhere and I had read his handwritten version and I remembered it by heart. Some of his poems were published in a book along with poems of three other students of The American College. Others were Yuvan Chandrasekhar, Ravi Srinivas and Sundar. I did have a copy of this book titled ‘nodigalin uraippu’ நொடிகளின் உறைப்பு. We used to produce a hand written children’s magazine titled ‘kuyil’ periodically. We had a flag for our manram.
- This stanza appears in a song ‘itho enthan theivam munnalae’ written for the movie ‘Babu’ featuring Sivaji Ganesan and Sowcar Janaki. Sridevi comes as a young girl who is fed by Sivaji singing this song.
My post in Facebook on 12 October 2026:
My elder brother Aladi Thambidhurai passed away on 26 September 2026 around 3:20 PM. We had the 16th day function yesterday at his home in Madurai. When I invited an elderly relative to come for yesterday’s function, he told me: Your brother was like a father to the extended family and many others. He guided everyone and took charge of the family. I said ‘that is absolutely true’. As the eldest in the family, he took care of every responsibility which helped me and many others focus on our work. In general, I have heard from people that a man proves his worth by building a house and conducting a wedding. He did many of both and took charge of the Kumbhabhishekam of our kula theivam temple in Puliyuran. I wish he stayed on for many more years with us.
Some comments below with the names of the persons:
Sethuraman (A classmate in BCom and a friend for life) Arunan he conducted, arranged two kumbhabisekam at panaiyur itself…2005 and 2017..and many more spiritual work which you know..we miss a guide in that domain 🙏
Manohar (A classmate of mine in BSc) Very high quality person with wide knowledge in all areas. He can talk to any age or category person in their frequency as a good understanding friend. Miss him much🙏
Megha Prakash (Worked for Office of Communication at IISc and Current Science) Oh! This is sad news. Such a lovely soul. I was just talking to my mother about our Madurai trip to your house and how he took me around to the Meenakshi Amman telling stories, and showing me the Goddess. I am deeply saddened to hear this news Prof. Elangannan Arunan. This year seems to be taking away beloved ones. We were in touch and he had been guiding me on my book project. My heartfelt condolences to the family.
Ananthavel (A junior at BSc and a Ph.D. from IISc) True Arunan . I met him 35 yrs ago before i met you. He is truly a father figure.
Karthikeyan Ramagopal (A friend from Madurai, settled in USA) Yes true words, lost a friend, philosopher and guide. Remembering my last meeting at his residence one year ago
Sundararajan (A former employee in Padhali, currently managing several colleges) Annan is great soul sir, I lost my advisor, guide, well-wisher, spiritual guru sir. தலைவர் தலைவர் தான் sir😭😭😭
Mani Ramasamy: I attended Tiruvasagam recitation in your temple back to your shop. He is very sincere in his spiritual activities.
Parthiban Jayaraman: Thalaivar this is how we call him. Indeed the right phrase. I joined with him as an employee and became a family member and induced me to go for my own. A great man.
The following are expressed in Tamil:
Chinnasamy Rajendran, former IRS:
புகழஞ்சலி.
ஆலமரங்கள் வீழ்வதில்லை.
கிளை விட்டு,
விழுது விட்டு,
வேர்பிடித்து,
நிழல் பரப்பி நிற்கும்..
அவர்கள் விதைத்த விழுமியங்கள் வீறு கொண்டு முளைத்து பயன்தரும்.
குல முன்னோர்கள் வாழ்வாங்கு வாழ்ந்தவர்கள்..
திருவருள் பெற்று
குல தெய்வமாக, தோன்றாத் துணையாக நின்று
வழி நடத்திச் செல்வார்கள்… 🙏
மலர், சி. இரா குடும்பத்தினர்
Siddhu:
இங்கே பேசிக்கொண்டிருப்பவர்களிலேயே இளம் வயதுடையவன் நானாகத்தான் இருப்பேன். ஆனால், அவருடைய தாக்கம் என்பது வயது வித்தியாசமின்றி அனைவரிடத்திலும் இருக்கும். இனி அவரைப் போல எங்களை மகிழ்விக்கவும், திட்டவும், சிறு பிள்ளையைப் போல எங்களிடம் கோபித்துக்கொள்ளவும் அவருக்கு நிகர் அவரே!
2010 முதல் 2026 வரை — தம்பி அப்பாவுடன் கழித்த பொன்னான நாட்கள்! ❤️
நிறையப் பேசியிருக்கிறோம்… அருகிலிருந்து பார்த்திருக்கிறோம்… இனி அவை யாவும் நினைவுகளில் மட்டுமே இருக்கும். நேரில் அனுபவிக்க முடியாத தருணங்களாக அவை மாறிவிட்டன.
நாங்கள் அவரை எங்களுடைய மானசீக குருவாக ஏற்றுக்கொண்டவர்கள். இனி என் வாழ்நாள் முழுவதும் என்னுடைய ஒவ்வொரு முக்கியமான முடிவுகளிலும், பக்திச் செயல்பாடுகளிலும் அப்பாவின் தாக்கம் என்பது இல்லாமல் இருக்கப்போவதில்லை.
தாங்கள் கூறியதுபோல, அவருடைய மனப்பூர்வமான ஆசிகள் நம் அனைவருக்கும் எப்பொழுதும் உண்டு.
நன்றி அப்பா! 🙏❤️
N. Ramakrishnan (our youngest cousin)
தாயாய் அன்பு பாராட்டினீர்
தந்தையாய், குருவாய்
அறிவை புகுத்தினீர்
தெய்வங்கள் இன்னதென்று
அறியவைத்தீர்
எல்லோரும் நலமுடன் வாழ
பூஜைகள் பல செய்தும்
அன்னதானமிட்டும்
அரும்பாடுப்பட்டீர்.
“கோபமிருக்கும் இடத்தில் குணமிருக்கும்” என்பதைப்போல் அவரவர் நன்மைக்காகவே யோசித்தீர்.
அண்ணனாய் மட்டுமே நில்லாமல்
அம்மையாய் அப்பனாய்
ஆசிரியனாய் இருந்து
அனைத்தும் போதித்தீர்.
பாதியில் கைவிட்டதுபோல்
பறந்து சென்றுவிட்டீர்.
அவ்வளவு உரிமையாய்
அன்பு பாராட்ட
அறிவை புகுத்த
அனைத்தையும் போதிக்க ஏன் திட்ட கூட
இனி இங்கு
யாருமில்லை.
என் வாழ்வின்,
என் குடும்பத்தின்
பேரிழப்பே.
