Sekkilar Nilayam was constructed in the last quarter of the nineteenth century by Kandaswamy Mudaliar. His only son Sivakavimani C.K.Subramania Mudalar (CKS) and the mother Vadivammai lived in the lovely ' Thottikattu Veedu ' (house endowed with a courtyard) for many years. This old residence continues to be a treasure house of relics. Alexandra, a portrait researcher from Belgium was deeply impressed with the preservation of records and books.
Sekkilar Nilayam was constructed in the last quarter of the nineteenth century by Kandaswamy Mudaliar. His only son Sivakavimani C.K.Subramania Mudalar (CKS) and the mother Vadivammai lived in the lovely ' Thottikattu Veedu ' (house endowed with a courtyard) for many years. This old residence continues to be a treasure house of relics. Alexandra, a portrait researcher from Belgium was deeply impressed with the preservation of records and books.
The portrait of Kandaswamy Mudaliar welcomes the visitors and it is perhaps the earliest of its kind in Coimbatore. This edifice houses an oil on canvas picture of the young Meenakshi Ammal, the spouse of CKS. She had in fact destroyed a lot of evidence connected with her husband's involvement in nationalist causes. CKS had bee in touch with Aurobindo. The book ' Nationalist Movement in Tamilnadu ' by N.Rajendran (Oxford University Press), states some interesting details. There was one Krishnaswamy Sharma, who had been involved with the Swadesi Movement. He had been arrested and a few people wanted to throw a bomb and get rid of the Magistrate involved. These few included C.K.Subramania Mudaliar, Desikachari and Padmanabha Rao. The Police records had stated that the three of them had discussed this subject. In fact the home of CKS was raided but his young wife Meenakshi Ammal had destroyed all the papers connected with her husband and the freedom movement.
It is wonder to see a number of old books with dates going back to 1884, 1887 etc., Actually they contain just the year without the century being indicated. The books are kept well and K.Sivasubramanian, the son of Mangaiyarkarasi (foster daughter of CKS) has to really explain that the books are really old. Otherwise we would not be able to believe the antiquity. The family needs to be appreciated for keeping the house intact. The old deities in the pooja room and the ritual utensils are well preserved. Many of the prayers, rituals and festivals are still being followed. The world must thank Mangayarkarasi Kannayiram for ensuring that CKS wrote his autobiography ' Pittan Oruvanin Suyasaritham'. This book is a real treasure of information. CKS is well known for his treatise on ' Periya Puranam ' and his father Kandaswamy Mudaliar had also been a devout scholar. The author of this treatise was perhaps among the earliest to celebrate his sixtieth birthday at Thirukadaiyur.
Mangarayarkarasi Ammal, was married to the Shaivaite scholar Kannayiram Mudaliar. He was a Government servant and his collection is also marvelous. Kannayiram had served during a couple of general elections long ago. An album of his, containing pictures connected with an election training camp is interesting. The electoral boxes, preparation meetings, kits and methods seemed to have been meticulous. The photographs seem to communicate the high order of involvement. Thankfully this relic is in a good condition. Kudos to Kannayiram and family for preserving these pictures.
Sekkilar Nilayam houses a number of letters, comments, postcards and manuscripts also. The visitors book of the Tamil Sangam has the nice handwriting of Tamil Thatha U.Ve.Swaminatha Iyer. There are letters and communications from Suddhananda Bharathi, Kadiresan Chettiar, Swami Chidbavananda Gnaniyar Adigal among others. We can get to see the handwriting of Pammal Sambandha Mudaliar on a few books. The manuscript of the autobiography of C.K.Subaramania Mudaliar is well preserved. A large number of photos, albums and books can be seen on the walls and shelves. The furniture, the frames and the house are in a time warp ! K.Sivasubaramanian, the grandson is quite busy managing the reprint of the ' Periya Puranam ' and other books connected with his elders. He used the latest technology with effort less ease. A number of Tamil scholars, writers, people who love the divine culture of our land are among the regular visitors who enjoy the hospitality of Sivasubramanian and his wife Thulasi. She is ever ready to whip up a snack on just seeing a visitor.
C.K.Subramania Mudaliar has a road named after him in R.S.Puram. He had been of great help to Kappalottiya Tamilan V.O.Chidambaram Pillai. They had both planted trees on Vysial Street more than 100 years ago. Diwan Bahadur C.S.Rathinasabapathy Mudaliar had been quite close to CKS and was a regular visitor to Sekkilar Nilayam. Kandaswamy Mudaliar and Subramania Mudaliar were responsible for a lot of work connected with Perur, Saiva Siddhantam and Tamil. A lot of ornaments were endowed to the temple and they had been made as per the descriptions found in the old texts. Of course CKS was a real nationalist and had known several torch bearers of the freedom struggle.
The signature of Kandaswamy Mudaliar is quite attractive and resembles a ' vel' (spear) . It looks as though it was first designed and then put into use. A number of group photos of Tamil scholars, enthusiasts etc., decorate this old home which is a part of the Coimbatore Heritage Trail also. The residents are ever happy to let such heritage enthusiasts to disturb them often.
The great scholar CKS had spent years on writing a treatise Periya Puranam and it is a seminal work. The book was submitted at Chidambaram, the home of Lord Nataraja. The original text had also been submitted in Chidambaram by the author Sekkilar. People from all walks of life from around the world continue to read and cherish this magum opus by C.K.Subramania Mudaliar. This book contains the stories of a number of devotees of Lord Shiva. Reading the autobiography of CKS is a revelation. His frank and forth right words are a gift. The book has come up due to the efforts of the family of CKS and their well wishers. These good Samaritans include V.Jeevanandam (Artist Jeeva), a close friend of the second grandson K.Kandaswamy. Thirugnanasambandan has been ever involved with the publications from Sekkilar Nilayam.
The latest edition of ' Pittan Oruvanin Suyasaritham ' looks even more attractive due to efforts of Dr.Saravanan of Chennai. This scholar has been doing extensive research on Mahamahopadhyaya U.Ve.Swaminatha Iyer and his works. A number of the books, essays and forewords given by Tamil Thatha have been compiled and published by him. Saravanan is a frequent visitor to Sekkilar Nilayam. The publisher K.Mangayarkarasi has acknowledged the role of Ramanathan and Arivalazhagan, the gentlemen who had toiled along with Saravanan. The pictures found in the family collection have now become part of the book.
The hard work of C.S.Kannayiram Mudaliar ensured that the relics were maintained and the works of CKS were published after his times. Now the son of Kannayirram Mudaliar, K.Sivasubramanian is involved in the publications on a continuous basis. Sekkilar is a home, a publishing house and a cultural centre which showcases the best of the ancient and divine Tamil culture.
Preservation of relics is quite a challenge. People are keen to move on with life and find it difficult to carry the past on their shoulders. There are descendants who have varied interests too. The strong seed sown by Sivakavimani C.K.Subramania Mudaliar has grown into a lovely banyan tree. The relics from ' Sekkilar Nilayam ' are reminders of our ancient heritage.