Wife’s dream made fan build temple for MGR CHENNAI: Every Sunday, since the poll dates were announced, the crowd of devotees at the Arulmigu MGR Aalayam at Nathamedu in Tiruvallur district , 45 km from Chennai, has been swelling. Thanks to the special offering to the god — movies of M G Ramachandran (fondly called MGR) between 5pm and 8pm.MGR, the actor-politician of yesteryear who is the deity at the temple, has been attracting leaders and workers from across the political spectrum, besides regular devotees.L Kalaivanan, who built the temple in 2011, says he is busy as not only members of the AIADMK, the party MGR founded, but also those from other political outfits have started visiting the temple to get the blessings of MGR.Huge cut-outs of the star put up by Kalaivanan greet devotees at the temple which is open every day between 9am and 8pm. Though rituals such as tonsuring of head take place every day and even childless couples flock to the temple for progeny, the temple stands out for its unique devotional hymns — songs from old MGR movies.Kalaivanan, who grew up watching MGR movies, started offering prayer to photographs of the matinee-idol after his death in 1987. “Each MGR movie taught me a lesson. As the LS poll is nearing, there is huge rush. Candidates and cadres come and pray for their victory,” said Kalaivanan, a newspaper distributor.The management committee members of the temple are particular about choosing songs and cut-outs of MGR. “We don’t play love songs, we rather use songs that can provide people insight about life,” said a member. Some party workers have been observing a 41-day ‘vritha’ after wearing bead garland for the smooth victory of their candidate. “This is like what pilgrims do in Sabarimala , the famous hill shrine in Kerala. They remove the garland of beads standing before the idol of MGR after completing the 41-day vritha. This year, we have a lot of devotees doing this for the smooth victory of their party leaders,” said Shanthi.“I am not a fan of MGR, I am a devotee of that great man,” says the 66-year-old.The temple has a small hall with a sanctum sanctorum with two idols of MGR. A chair that MGR used at his house in Ramapuram is also kept close to the wall.For Kalaivanan, there is a reason for building the temple. One day, his wife Shanthi had a dream in which MGR walked into their house and rested a while on the sofa. He looked sad. The couple then decided to construct a temple for him. Kalaivanan had to sell his property at Pudupet in Chennai to fulfil his wife’s dream.

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