Suhanjana Gopinath, newly-appointed female Odhuvar takes charge at Chennai temple

Chennai: Suhanjana Gopinath took charge on Wednesday as the Odhuvar at Dhenupureeswarar Temple in Chennai.

Gopinath is 28 years old of age and was appointed as the Odhuvar (the one who recites hymns) of the Dhenupureeswarar Temple by the state government.

"I studied under Karur Saminathan for 3 years. I want to spread the message of Thevaram & Thiruvasagam," said Gopinath.

"It is not a job opportunity. It is something cultural. There is a structure. We studied for 10-15 years before coming here. But today, one can do a course for 3 months or a year, get a certificate and come here to this temple. This is a problem. We are doing work in the temple with a formula, but nowadays there is not a formula. They only want Tamil priests, not Sanskrit and Hindi ones," said a Sivachariyar named Sudhakar on the appointment.

"High Court has said that people should not be appointed like that, but it is being done," added Sudhakar.

On August 16, three non-Brahmin priests (archakars) were appointed at temples run by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department of the state government.