Arangayanam is a documentary in Tamil (with English subtitles) made by Sri. Bombay Kannan. I was able to watch the movie alongside an appreciative audience in Toronto. I’ve read the fictionalized version of this episode in Srivenugopalan’s novel, Thiruvarangan Ula. This documentary reinforced my awe of the characters of this episode in history.
It’s about the deity of Sri Ranganatha, and the efforts of a few dozen brave souls to protect the deity from the marauding armies of Ulugh Khan (who would later ascend the throne of the Delhi Sultanate under the name Mohammed bin Tughlaq) .
The year was 1323 C.E. When the armies attacked, the people of Srirangam and the visiting devotees were celebrating Panguni Uthiram outside the temple’s walls, with festivities honoring the Ustava deity named Azhagiya Manvalar (translation: the handsome groom). While they did hear of the Ulugh Khan’s army’s approach, they underestimated the peril and decided to keep the famous all-gold deity and the jewels in place.
When the armies reach the Kollidam river, the Vaishnav Acharyas and the temple administrators make an emergency decision to smuggle the deity away, while the rest of the crowd remains blissfully unaware of the deity’s departure. Ulugh Khan reaches the venue, is enraged at not being able to find the famed idol and the jewels, orders the whole crowd, numbering 12,000, to be slaughtered.
Pillai Lokacharya, the 118 year old acharya, leads a team of 52 people, including priests, palanquin bearers and guards, takes the idol away, On his deathbed, the acharya orders his followers to resume the prayers due to the deity and hide it in safe locations, until a return to Srirangam is deemed safe.
It would seem like a hopeless task to safely carry the deity undetected by the enemy forces. The rest of the story describes how the survivors carry the deity to various locations such as the suburbs of Madurai, Kallikandi (near Kozhikode), Melukote in present day Karnataka, and Tiurpathi, overcoming many hardships, until the Vijayanagara forces succeed in liberating Srirangam.
It's a touching story of raw courage, spanning 48 years of nomadic life for Perumal and His devotees.
Since there are only two narrators, it could have become monotonous. To alleviate the risk, the documentary mixes a few anecdotes, verbal narration, colorful sketches, visuals of the Sirangam temple, and videos of the various camping locations. The use of nadaswaram and pasuram recitals gives the viewer an authentic taste of the rituals.
The movie does a great job of describing the affection people feel for Lord Ranganatha and that being the motivation behind them guarding the deity by putting their lives on the line. The raw devotion and loyalty to the acharya induce goosebumps. Likewise, the movie describes how a few poorly equipped guards managed to keep a well trained military force from entering the Srirangam temple, however hopeless the task was to be. In the same vein, a devadasi sacrifices herself and lures an enemy general towards his death.
Finally, the documentary team deserves kudos for daring to tell this tale at all. It’s a dark part of history. While it’s hard to question the authenticity of this story, it's not a comfortable topic. People hesitate to talk about it for fear of being labeled Islamophobes. It’s not easy to narrate this story in an authentic fashion, and at the same time, avoid coming across as blaming a whole community for the acts of a tyrannical force. I believe the movie walks the fine line really well.
The movie is not without its flaws. There is some redundancy between the two narrators. Some editing could have fixed that issue. In many places, I would have appreciated a map to trace the path of the perilous journey. While there were visuals of all the locations mentioned above, most locations are filmed from a single spot. A walk around the temples mentioned as the narration is in progress would have made the locations feel more real.
A highly recommended watch. The maker, Bombay Kannan, is making the video available in USB media on request.
Click here for a trailer of the movie.
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