“We have 60 million gods in India, but somehow the peculiarity of the folk religion in Tamil Nadu and the Murugan cult fascinated me.” “The data we gathered from pilgrims, art historians and scholars was so vast that it could make 100 more projects,” says Vidya, who framed the concept.
The result is a 45-minute film Lord Murugan and South Indian Hinduism, which takes the viewers on a journey of how the ancient Dravidian Civilization mingled with the Vedic religion from the north to result in the complex multi-layered faith we find in the current times. The project that commenced from Thirvappudaiyar Temple, a Siva Shrine on the banks of Vaigai, got completed on the shores of the Indian Ocean, at Tiruchendur Murugan Temple. It contains folk myths, personal and cultural histories.” CM Centre has been working since 2008 in documenting the trends in Murugan worship and the constantly growing pilgrim centres across the globe, especially in Tamil peopled nations. Noting how the north has Ram and Krishna while in the south, gods like Murugan and other demi-gods are venerated, Vidya says, “There are numerous aspects to people’s religion.
Vidya, Academic Director, CM (Chella Meenakshi) Centre for Educational Research and services. “Is there something called Tamil religion?” asks Dr. Pilgrims walk barefoot for days, carry heavy peacock-feathered kavadis on their shoulders, and perform voluntary austerities while they ask for Murugan’s blessings on themselves and their loved ones. Lord Murugan, who emerged in the hills of south India, flourishes today as a major Hindu deity in six sacred sites in Tamil-speaking south India. Lord Murugan and South-Indian Hinduism shows how South-Indian Dravidian civilization has engaged for centuries with Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu ideas from northern India, including debates between those who believe in God and those who do not.
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