' Illara Thuravi ' Swarna Somasundaram belongs to the ancient Suramangalam family in Salem. Her father Advocate Subramania Mudaliar had been a great reformer and had done much for the Dalit community in Salem. The family had given land for the Sharadha College in Salem. At one time about 5000 students were studying in the establishment managed by the Suramangalam family . Neelambal Subramania Mudaliar came from a family of scholars and she used to take ' Thayumanavar classes ' at the Ramakrishna Mutt in Salem more than 60 years ago. It was rare for a lady from an aristocratic family to teach in a public place.
' Illara Thuravi ' Swarna Somasundaram belongs to the ancient Suramangalam family in Salem. Her father Advocate Subramania Mudaliar had been a great reformer and had done much for the Dalit community in Salem. The family had given land for the Sharadha College in Salem. At one time about 5000 students were studying in the establishment managed by the Suramangalam family . Neelambal Subramania Mudaliar came from a family of scholars and she used to take ' Thayumanavar classes ' at the Ramakrishna Mutt in Salem more than 60 years ago. It was rare for a lady from an aristocratic family to teach in a public place.
About 60 students learnt under her. Interestingly Neelambal Subramania Mudaliar's grandmother Neelambal ( wife of Mahavidwan Sabapathy Mudaliar ) was a Ashtavadhani meaning one who could perform eight tasks at the sametime. The great person happened to be the Guru for Suryanarayana Sastrigal. The family at Salem appreciated and regarded the knowledge of Neelambal Subramaniam. She had written a compaitive study on the Nayanmaars ( iconic devotees of Lord Shiva ) and Alwars ( iconic devotees of Lord Vishnu ). Her family used to patronize musicians and Tamil scholars. The good lady was conversant with English and Tamil. Those were times when musicians used to stay put in the residences of their patrons in order to teach music.
A number of musicians including the famous Chittoor Subramaniam, Madurai Somu, Mysore Chowdiah, Musiri Subramania Iyer, Trichy Swaminatha Iyer , Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar used to teach music to Salem Jayalakshmi, the elder sister of Swarna Somasundaram. A gold sovereign used to given as ' Sambhavanai ' or fees for each kirtanai that taught by the musicians. The house was always filled with music during the childhood of the great scholar Swarna Somasundaram. Vallimalai Swami was one of those rare leaders who propagated Thirupughazh in the villages and he used to visit the Suramangalam home.
The intellectual heritage of Swarna Somasundaram had a wonderful effect on her and she was an institution by herself at Coimbatore. The devotee of Lord Shiva was born with three brothers and three sisters. Her parents had not just fed her with food but devotional music as well. Those days our people had understood that music and devotion were inseperable. Swarna Somasundaram began singing Thevaram and Thirupughazh by the age of two ! She was able to sing 100 verses of Thirupughazh by the age of four. Young Swarna used to participate in the family bhajans along with the members of her family every week.
It used to take place in front of a huge Lord Muruga and sundal prasadam used to be offered to the deity and had by everyone. Thus she sang Thirupughazh from the age of two to age seventy six. The devout girl started teaching from the age of ten from the Murugan Temple in Subramania Nagar at Salem. The huge Suramangalam house was over ninety feet by ninety feet and it had been endowed with a huge 'thinnai' ( a sitting area which used to form the outer front side of a house ). Swarna Amma used to teach the cheri or slum kids (mostly Dalit) on every Saturday. She had taken after her father in this regard. She spent some time with her sister Kuppulakshmi and ' Mazhai ' Balasubramaniam Mudaliar ( connected with research and work on rain ) at Coimbatore. Her education was at the Training School in Raja Street and she used to come to the residence of C.K.Subramania Mudaliar during her interval in order to spend time with the child C.K.Sivasubramiam ( Son of C.S.Kannayiram Mudaliar ).
V.Ramaswamy Mudaliar and his wife Lokambal of Coimbatore had been responsible for a number of good acts. They had won the love and affection of the great torch bearer of Saiva Siddhanta , Sivakavimani C.K.Subramania Mudaliar ( 1878 - 1961 ). Swarna Somasundaram of Salem came over to Coimbatore on getting married to Auditor R.Somasundaram , the son of V.Ramaswamy Mudaliar whose family lived next door to the Rathina Vinayagar Temple in R.S.Puram. The family had been responsible for the temple in a big way and continues to be associated with it. Swarna Amma had undergone education at the Avinashilingam College. She learnt special Tamil and was a self learner all her life. Her son Aravind recalls, " CKS Ayya used to make a number of women learn Thevaram and Thirupugazh under an Odhuvaar. About 15 ladies used to finish their daily work and learn regularly. They used to begin by the Tamil month of Chithirai and finish by Panguni ( month ). This way they used to do thousands of verses. My mother was a learner along with them. "
Swarna Somasundaram hailed from a great learning tradition and has left behind a marvelous legacy. She learnt under Somasundara Desikar. The men from the family were quite liberal and they respected her quest for knowledge. Her interest and devotion brought her many teachers - Isai Perarignar Dharmapuram Swaminathan, Sundaresa Desikar etc., She learnt Divya Prabandham from M.N.Venkatavaradan of Kanchi.
Swarna Somasundaram received the support of her husband from the year 1961 and therefore she began her journey with Thirupughazh. Her interest in devotional music blessed her with a lot of good. As time progressed Swarna Somasundaram began to learn under the 229 th Pontiff of Kanchipuram ( Thondaimandala Adheenam Ganaprakasa Swamigal who was earlier known as Muthusu Manickavasaga Mudaliar - a great scholar who had written a number of books ). It was M.S.Palaniappa Mudaliar who had brought this oppourtunity ( the Adheenam ) to Coimbatore.
The scholar Rayaso Sokkalingam Chettiar used to speak on one single pasuram for an hour and this triggered a deep learning curve in Swarna Amma. The 229 th Pontiff used to state that he would have preferred her to be his successor and he asked her to speak in the Saiva Siddhanta Mahanadu. She spoke in a number of radio programmes, wrote a number of articles and taught a huge number of students for about five decades. Swarna Amma was appreciated by a number of critics and she has sung in places like Kasi. All the rules which had to be adhered to were taken seriously by her. She had a number of friends and soulmates all around the world and this included Managayarkarasi Thiruchitrambalam of Jaffna in Sri Lanka. More than 400 Theveram Kutcheris had been done by Swarna Somasundaram. Kilograms of sundal used to made for the people visiting the household of Swarna Amma.
The Scholar Swarna Somasundaram had promised her Guru that she would teach irrespective of age, caste, status or wealth. She had given ' Deekshai ' to more than 1000 students. She was an amazing teacher and she single handedly created an eco system for the devotees of Lord Shiva during the modern era. Every single detail concerned with the subject - Saiva Siddhanta was well known to her. She followed the system all through her life. Swarna Amma went the way she lived and on the insistence of the Pontiff of the Perur Santhalinga Adigalar Mutt, the ' Illara Thuravi ' was placed in the Mutt premises itself. Her daughter in law Dr.Neela has done a nice book on Saiva Siddhantam and it has been published by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
The grand daughter Karunasagari is a well known classical dancer and teacher. Swarna Somasundaram ensured that even the ones who were not good in music could also learn and sing. She used to teach the songs and also the meanings in a remarkable manner. She was a recipient of a number of awards, citations and recognitions - Thirumurai Tamilmani from Kanchi Gnanaprakasa Swamigal, Ezhisai Vallabhi from Siravai Adheenam Sundara Swamigal, Pann Isai Vani from Perur Santhalinga Ramaswamy Adigalar, Perumpaananangai from Thiruthavathurai Naadukaankuzhu : Lalgudi, Gnanathirumurai from Panniru Thirumurai Mandram, Nallisaivani from Madavalam : Vellore, Thiruthondar Mamani from Tamilagha Deiva Sekkilar Mandram : Kunrathur, Thirumurai Siddhanta Perarsi from Saiva Siddhantha Perumandram : Avinashi Mahanadu, Isai Perarasi from Siruvapuri Murugan Abhisheka Kuzhu : Chennai, Isaikalai Selvar from Kovai Sanmarga Sangam & Avinashilingam University, Siddhanta Sarabam from Saiva Siddhanta Perumadram : Chennai, Kulapathi Munshi Award from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan : Coimbatore, Siddhanta Semmani from Thoothukudi Bhagampiriyal Madhar Sangam and Karpanaik Kalanjiya Nangai from Mylam Bommapura Adheenam Sivaprakasa Swamigal Vizha : Trichy.
A number of students who had learnt from her have become remarkable people. A whiff of fresh air in the form of Thevaram and Thirupughazh wafted through the city of Coimbatore because of the intense efforts of Swarna Amma. The Gods and Saints who have blessed the land from time immemorial would have certainly been extremely happy with the fabulous lady and her good work. The amazing legacy of Swarna Somasundaram will continue to reverberate in the world of Saiva Siddhanta. Coimbatore is fortunate to have been a witness and the lucky place for having been the home of the devout Swarna Somasundaram.
