|
||
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
Astrology
Chat
Cityscape
Classifieds
Entertainment
Health
Matrimonial |
|
|
|
By People flowed into the aisle and every inch of available space to sit and stand. The organisers, ‘Kumudham Jothidam’, the weekly magazine on astrology, themselves must have been stunned at the response to their ‘Mudhalam Andu Vetri Vizha’. The man who was responsible for this tremendous response, A M Rajagopalan, the editor of ‘Kumudham Jothidam’, wiped off a tear when he rose to speak.
He said when he was born, his father had taken his horoscope to an astrologer who predicted that he would have ‘lots of children’. Though it had shocked his father then, 79-year-old AMR (as he is fondly known to people around him) said rather emotionally that he now understood what that meant on seeing the eager faces in front of him. He told the audience that the letters he gets are not addressed to Astrologer A M Rajagopalan but ‘To my dear father’ or ‘To my dear grandfather’. And he does not get less than 700 letters a day, mind you! Apart from this, his house in crowded Triplicane has seen people from all parts of the country approaching him with their horoscope and personal problems.
People from outside Chennai had booked into hotels a couple of days before the anniversary to be there to hear AMR in person on April 12 as the organizers had also planned a question and answer session. Parking was full at the Sabha and people went in circles to park their vehicles. There were people who rushed into the auditorium after a long day at office. There were many who were taking down notes as he spoke. The surging crowd and the loud claps that rose every time a speaker praised AMR was proof of only one thing: The cult following the man has. Lena Tamilvanan, editor of ‘Kalkandu’ magazine, who was the emcee, spoke of how AMR is so confident that astrology is a science that he even saved nine lives once. The family had written to him that it was going to commit suicide. But, going through the horoscope, AMR calculated that their fortune was going to turn within a month.
AMR has unshakeable faith in the scientific validity of astrology. But more than that, it is his humane approach to the people who come to him confused, hurt or without a shred of hope that wins their heart. There is a warm heart beating behind that spotless white shirt and a great wit under that silvery cap of hair. There was ample proof of this when he addressed the gathering that evening. It is a moot point if he has any faith in feminism. But he is one of the most convincing feminists when he asks people not to shun girls born under certain stars or blaming the daughter-in-law for bringing ill-luck to her husband’s house. Who could have spoken more meaningfully and addressed the problems on the ground? He spoke like a father with 15 daughters though he has only three very successful sons.
Here comes the crux: The ‘pariharam’ does not mean spending thousands to appease some god or ‘griham’. It could be as simple as lighting a lamp at home for a month, or at a temple, or visiting a particular temple. Swami Kamalatmananda, head of the Ramakrishna Math (Madurai), former dean of Madras Medical College and geriatric physician Sivaraman, former DGP S Sripal, and president of ‘Makkal Sakthi Iyakkam’, R V Udayamurthy, who graced the occasion, all said it was AMR’s honesty and piety that were the reasons for his - what shall we call it - Success? Popularity? Confidence? Assurance? Unshakeable faith? There was more proof of it during the question and answer session. People had been filling the boxes left outside the auditorium with question forms and many were seen handing them over to volunteers inside. One interesting question was if there was some problem in India’s ‘jathagam’ and if that was the reason we were still struggling to become a prosperous nation. AMR said there was a problem as the country did not attain Independence at an auspicious time, but said, according to the stars, India was moving towards a very bright and prosperous future.
Hundreds of people queued up after the function wound up at 9 p.m. to seek AMR’s blessings. We need not take that as a measure of this humble man’s magnetic spell. The audience acknowledged it when they brought the roof down with thundering applause when a burka-clad Muslim woman made bold to go on stage after his speech and garland him to convey her respect and gratitude to him. Chitra S
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
Copyright
2008, Chennai Interactive
Business Services (P) Ltd. |
|
4.30 p.m. people started streaming into the Sathguru Gnanananda Hall of Narada Gana Sabha in Chennai even though it was a Saturday evening. By the time the programme began, there was only standing room.
AMR has been known to the readers of ‘Dinamani’ for several years as an outstanding astrologer before Kumudham floated a magazine exclusively for astrology last year and made him its editor.
So he sent a telegram asking them ‘to put on hold’ their idea of suicide and assured that they were headed for good times and that they could decide on what to do after that particular day. The rest is history: It happened exactly as he “predicted” and nine precious lives were saved.
His humanism, wit and warmth come through in the question and answer section of ‘Kumudham Jothidam’ where his replies are so full of hope. Even if he finds the case hopeless, he lets down the person slowly and prescribes a
‘pariharam’.
Clad in spotless white dhoti and shirt and sporting the ‘thiruman’ (namam), this modest man with a child-like smile has always evaded the spotlight. The Saturday celebrations changed all that and showed the great following that he has among the ‘faithful’.
