Mangaluru: Believe it or not, the volume at which the suprabhatam played from the Kukke Subrahmanya Temple has become the subject of a controversy with two warring groups coming to loggerheads.
The famous temple attracts hundreds of devotees every day and stands first in revenue collection among endowment temples. The suprabhatam is played through the loudspeakers every morning. While one group wants the volume down, the other wants it played out loud.
One group consists of members from the earlier temple committee, while the other has representatives from the Samputa Narasmiha Swamy Math. The two groups have always been fighting over many issues and the volume of suprabhatam is the latest.
The tussle began when Kannada Sahitya Parishath former president Harikrishna Punaroor, a close associate of Subrahmanya Math seer, asked the deputy commissioner to take steps to reduce the volume of suprabhatam.
“When I visited Kukke, I was told by the local residents and temple personnel that the volume of suprabhatam was very high and disturbing. I brought it to the notice of the deputy commissioner,” Mr Punaroor explained.
Acting on the complaint, Additional Deputy Commissioner Sadashiva Prabhu issued an order asking the temple authorities to reduce the volume of the songs. Angry protesters staged a dharna on Friday.
“We cannot agree with the argument of Mr Punaroor. The songs are played out at a medium volume around 5 am and it also works as a wake-up call for the devotees, who want to take part in the early morning poojas. None should object as most of the lodging facilities in the town are for the pilgrims,” temple committee former member Kishore Shiradi said.
The district administration, heeding to the demand of the protesters, did a U-turn on Friday, and the Assistant Commissioner issued a fresh order asking the temple authorities to continue to play the songs, at an increased volume!
