TIRUCHY:“I am satisfied with being an oduvar in this temple and want to be the same until my death,” declares S Angayarkanni (29), a dalit, the only woman oduvar in Tamil Nadu who at present receives a consolidated payment of Rs 1,875 per month at the Arulmigu Panchawarnaswamy Temple in Woraiyur here. She was appointed in 2006.When Angayarkanni was appointed as oduvar in the Panchawarnaswamy Temple with a payment of Rs 1,500 per moth, she was the first woman incumbent for the post.“I receive only Rs 1,875 per month as payment now. This is very meagre compared to my male colleagues in other temples,” she said and added she had made several representations to the appropriate officials on her salary.Since there was no recruitment for the oduvar post for five years, many temples in the State are retaining the retired oduvars. At present there are about 3,000 oduvars in the State and the number of temples under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) is about 8,500. With her devotion to God and love for Tamil language, Angayarkanni pursued the three year course in Tirumarai, a collection of hymns and writings of South Indian Saivite saints, in the Government Music School after Class XII in 1999-2000. “It was my bold decision, and my parents, who are agricultural labourers, did not stop me. I began singing the Devaram and Tiruvasagam with devotion, as I was pious from my school days.” “Gradually, I began to love the hymns and the philosophy,” she said.
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