 | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | FOUL PLAY: Disgraced priest Mohanararu (centre) at the police station | | Lord Ayyappa would certainly not have approved. He is, in fact, incensed, astrologers would have us believe. This time around, it's apparently the corrupt and philandering ways of the tantris of Sabarimala shrine-Kerala's richest temple with an annual income of Rs 100 crore-that are to blame for his displeasure. At the centre of a gathering storm is Kantararu Mohanararu, the temple's head priest who oversees all rituals and customs. On the night of July 23, Mohanararu lodged a complaint with Kochi Police, alleging he had been abducted and taken to a flat where he was assaulted by miscreants who robbed him of his jewellery and forcibly took snapshots of him with a naked woman. The police, however, rubbished his charges. The tantri, they said, had of his own accord gone to the flat occupied by two women. One of the women had also been booked some days ago on charges of immoral trafficking. "The tantri was a regular visitor at the flat. We have evidence of at least 20 visits he made in the past one year. It seems he was indulging in unseemly activities," said K. Padma Kumar, dig, Central Zone. | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | LORD'S ABODE : Devotees at the temple | | Before arriving at the flat, police say the priest had even instructed the women to keep a bottle of brandy handy. Moments after Mohanararu entered the flat, some people forced their way in and threatened to spill the beans unless the tantri handed over Rs 30 lakh. Caught in a bind, the tantri reportedly offered them 40 sovereigns of jewellery and around Rs 20,000 in cash that he was carrying. An unrepentant Mohanararu filed a fresh complaint in which he admitted to having voluntarily gone to the flat. But he said he had been invited there by the women to conduct a ceremony during the course of which he claimed the miscreants attacked him and forced him to pose for snapshots with the women in bed. As for his first account, the tantri said it had been written by his driver and he had signed it without paying heed to the contents. Nevertheless, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), a state government-appointed autonomous body that governs all the temples of the state, has removed Mohanararu from his post. Fanning recent controversy surrounding the entry of women into the shrine's sanctum sanctorum and fuelling a showdown between the tantris and the TDB, the present row is being played out against the backdrop of an Ashtamangalya Deva Prasnam, an astrological exercise to gather the "Lord's views" on matters related to the shrine. Astrologers who recently conducted the prasnam at the instance of the TDB alleged serious wrongdoings that had apparently displeased the Lord, including the entry gained by women into the sacred inner chamber, a claim later substantiated by Kannada actresses Jayamala and Mayuri. | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | SEAT OF VICE: Apartment complex the priest allegedly frequented | | On their part, the tantris accuse the TDP of initiating a vendetta to counter objections voiced by them against projects mooted by it, including a Rs 100-crore ropeway in the temple premises. "The claim made by astrologers that the Lord had given his assent for the ropeway only reveals a larger nexus with the TDB," said a source close to the tantris. "All these projects mean commissions for members of the TDB," added the source. Brushing off the allegations, TDB President G. Raman Nair said, "The ropeway has been offered for free by the Tata Group, which has also set up a Rs 300-crore drinking water project here. There is no commission for anyone in these projects." Damaging claims by the astrologers have also singed the royal family of Pandalam, a former principality that is traditionally believed to be the foster family of Lord Ayyappa. "The hallowed precincts of the temple have been misused to peddle not just liquor, but even illicit sex," alleged Parappanangadi Unnikrishna Panikkar, the prasnam's chief conductor. Personal astrologer to several VVIPs, including former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa and Sri Lankan leader Chandrika Kumaratunga, Panikkar has lashed out at the Pandalams, founders of the temple. Attacking decades-old customs, like the temple priest washing the feet of the members of the royal family or the permission granted to them to climb the temple's 18 holy steps without the customary irumudikkett (a bundle containing coconuts, ghee and other items), Pani- kkar insisted such practices should be dispensed with immediately as the Lord "did not approve of them". Infuriated by the astrologer's assertions, the tantris and members of the Pandalam family have now moved court to declare the prasnam illegal. "The TDB is jealous that some pilgrims are offering money at our palace during their visit," claimed Revathi Nal Ramavarma Raja, 87, head of the Pandalams. As matters stand, the Lord alone knows who is to blame for the sorry state of affairs. Index
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