ALAPPUZHA: Baburaj Namboodiri, the melsanthi of Ambalapuzha Sreekrishna Swamy temple, who was continuing at the temple defying Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) suspending him in connection with the disappearance of pendant during Vishu festival in April, has been removed overnight after TDB top brass intervened. Apart from Mr Namboodiri, Yedhu Krishnan Namboodiri, a B.Tech graduate, the new generation member of Kannampally family, who was kept at the temple as per the 'Karazhma' system as melsanthi, without the approval of TDB, vanished from the temple on Wednesday.
The quick action from TDB came a day after Deccan Chronicle published a report titled “Another tale of Travancore Devaswom Board bias emerges” on Wednesday. Getting rid of both illegal melsanthis, TDB gave Suresh Namboodiri, the senior most ‘Keezhsanthi,’ additional charge as interim melsanthi. Though TDB had decided on September 13 that he be given additional charge replacing Babu Namboodiri, it was ignored till the DC report appeared.
K. Gopalakrishnan, the administrative officer, said the key of the temple was taken back from Babu Namboodiri and spared him from the temple affairs since Wednesday morning itself. Though Yedhu Krishnan was considered for melsanthi instead of Babu, though he was given training for last 15 days, he refused to come to the temple. Currently, nobody from the family that got Karazhma (hereditary right) is in the temple’, he said.
The report which appered in DC on Wednesday.
Babu was suspended along with N. Sandeep, a non-Brahmin Keezhsaanthi, after Devaswom vigilance enquiry found serious lapses on their part. The TDB had sent a letter to the Karanavar (senior-most person) of Babu’s family to get him replaced as per the norms. Though the Babu’s family suggested a new appointee almost a week ago as per the TDB request, no approval has come from the Devaswom commissioner C.P. Ramaraja Prema Prasad’s office.
Row over ‘Karazhma’
With the TDB throwing out the melsanthi from the temple on Wednesday, the Kannampally family, who was keeping the rights of melsanthi of the temple ever since Chempakassery King was in power, lost its presence in the temple temporarily. The main crisis the family is facing is that they are unable to produce qualified priests to keep the right intact. The scion of the family, Yedhu Krishnan Namboothiri, an engineer, is not interested in the traditional job.
Though the family tried to teach him the temple activities for last 15 days after the crisis, he showed no interest in performing pujas. Apart from this, many of the devotees refused to admit other family members like Brahmadathan Namboodiri and Kesavan Namboodiri as melsanthis after being fed up with their decades-long misrule. Many of them now want to demolish Karazhma system and embrace meritocracy.
