Once upon a time , every village and town in Tamil Nadu had a jewel in the form of Agraharam ( brahmin street) usually around the main temples of the village or town. In 1950s,there were only 12 districts in Tamil Nadu ( then TN was part of Madras Presidency that had total of 28 districts) as against 38 now. Those were : Chinglept, Coimbatore, Nilgiris, North Arcot, Madras,Madurai, Ramanathapuram Salem, South Arcot, Thanjavur, Tirunelveli and Thiruchirapalli. Of these, Thanjavur and Thiruchirapalli were most important for Tamil Brahmins. Due to the benevolence of kings of Chola dynasty, Pallava, Pandya and Marathas who ruled these areas at different periods , number of Brahmin settlements came up as an adjunct to various temples built by these kings almost in every village under their rule. Large parcels of agricultural lands were donated to the temple and also to the Brahmins who were held at high esteem by the royalty. There were approximately 12000 odd villages in TN those days and each one of them had one or more agraharam where Brahmins led peaceful and pious life. Apart from being temple priests , Brahmins were also in the professions of school teachers and village karnams. Almost 90% of the school teachers at the primary level were Brahmins who considered the profession very noble and sacred. The villagers respected Brahmin community for their cultured and disciplined life . Karnam ( village accountant and records keeper) was another profession which was hereditary until 1977 ( MGR replaced it with Village Administrative Officers as a state cadre) was also dominated by Brahmin community. Temple priests, village school teachers, village karnams as their main source of livelihoods , the community and their agraharams prospered and flourished particularly in Chola desam ( Thanjavur- Tiruchirapalli belt). It is said that Chola kings and queens built close to 1000 Shiva temples in their kingdom .
in 1967, with the advent of the Dravidian government ( with their anti- Brahmin and anti-God plank) in power, the decline of Brahmin community and deterioration of agraharams started. The decline was felt very strongly in Thanjavur- Tiruchirapalli belt , the stronghold of Dravidian parties. Brahmin teachers lost their jobs and temples were not supported much. Slowly, the population started moving to nearby town, cities, outside the state or even abroad. Agraharam houses were abandoned or sold at distress prices to other communities. Many of these houses were bought by wealthy Muslim community indirectly from the Brahmins .In Mayavaram town , the famous Brahmin agraharams like Pattamangalam and Mahadana were converted to commercial premises owned by Muslims. Villages like Rajagiri, Ayyampettai, Pandaravadai, Papanasam which were once burstling with agraharams are now nearly Muslim villages. In Needur near Mayuram, the famous Shiva temple ( Somanathaswami temple) is surrounded on all sides by Muslim community occupying erstwhile agraharams. It is reported that Muslims prefer to reside in Brahmin occupied houses with the belief that no harm will come to them in these houses that have been sanctified and purified by pujas, prayers etc by Brahmins for years.
Yet, there are still some villages where agraharams have survived and occupied by Brahmin families. Udayalur, Thippirajapuram, ( near Kumbakonam) , Ganapathy Agraharam, Echangudi are some of the villages , I know of, where agraharams are still intact and breathing. Elders have returned to these villages to spend their last years in their places of birth. Many more such villages may be existing here and there , but 90% of agraharams have disappeared or in the process of extinction. Kerala government has declared agraharams as heritage sites giving full protection for their existence. It will be too much to expect such kind and graceful gesture from TN government.
Tamil Nadu agraharams can be rejuvenated , resurrected, reincarnated and restored only by the Non Resident Tamil Brahmins who live in various countries and financially strong. If each one of them decide to buy a house in a Agraharam of their choice, that is still existing , then original glory can be slowly restored over a period . With changing political scenario in the country , there will be better times for Tamil Brahmins in future. The NRI who buys an Agraharam house can let it out to the local priest at nominal rent so that the house is maintained properly. This way , the local Temple priest can also be helped . These priests do not have any income other than what devotees drop on the archanai plates.
In 1950, the total population of TN was about 3 crs of which Brahmins constituted 3% and now out of nearly 8 cr population , Brahmins may be just 1% or so. Brahmins today are financially better placed than 1970s thanks to the computer and digital world that opened up when other avenues were closed for them . So, I request the Brahmin NRIs to think seriously how they can help and restore our Agraharam heritage.
in 1967, with the advent of the Dravidian government ( with their anti- Brahmin and anti-God plank) in power, the decline of Brahmin community and deterioration of agraharams started. The decline was felt very strongly in Thanjavur- Tiruchirapalli belt , the stronghold of Dravidian parties. Brahmin teachers lost their jobs and temples were not supported much. Slowly, the population started moving to nearby town, cities, outside the state or even abroad. Agraharam houses were abandoned or sold at distress prices to other communities. Many of these houses were bought by wealthy Muslim community indirectly from the Brahmins .In Mayavaram town , the famous Brahmin agraharams like Pattamangalam and Mahadana were converted to commercial premises owned by Muslims. Villages like Rajagiri, Ayyampettai, Pandaravadai, Papanasam which were once burstling with agraharams are now nearly Muslim villages. In Needur near Mayuram, the famous Shiva temple ( Somanathaswami temple) is surrounded on all sides by Muslim community occupying erstwhile agraharams. It is reported that Muslims prefer to reside in Brahmin occupied houses with the belief that no harm will come to them in these houses that have been sanctified and purified by pujas, prayers etc by Brahmins for years.
Yet, there are still some villages where agraharams have survived and occupied by Brahmin families. Udayalur, Thippirajapuram, ( near Kumbakonam) , Ganapathy Agraharam, Echangudi are some of the villages , I know of, where agraharams are still intact and breathing. Elders have returned to these villages to spend their last years in their places of birth. Many more such villages may be existing here and there , but 90% of agraharams have disappeared or in the process of extinction. Kerala government has declared agraharams as heritage sites giving full protection for their existence. It will be too much to expect such kind and graceful gesture from TN government.
Tamil Nadu agraharams can be rejuvenated , resurrected, reincarnated and restored only by the Non Resident Tamil Brahmins who live in various countries and financially strong. If each one of them decide to buy a house in a Agraharam of their choice, that is still existing , then original glory can be slowly restored over a period . With changing political scenario in the country , there will be better times for Tamil Brahmins in future. The NRI who buys an Agraharam house can let it out to the local priest at nominal rent so that the house is maintained properly. This way , the local Temple priest can also be helped . These priests do not have any income other than what devotees drop on the archanai plates.
In 1950, the total population of TN was about 3 crs of which Brahmins constituted 3% and now out of nearly 8 cr population , Brahmins may be just 1% or so. Brahmins today are financially better placed than 1970s thanks to the computer and digital world that opened up when other avenues were closed for them . So, I request the Brahmin NRIs to think seriously how they can help and restore our Agraharam heritage.
