13.5 kg golden armour gifted by Jayalalithaa adorns Thevar statue

RAMANATHAPURAM: A 13.5 kg golden armour gifted by late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for the Thevar Jayanthi and guru puja adorns the statue of freedom fighter and spiritual leader Muthuramalinga Thevar at his memorial in Pasumpon near here.

The tradition of adorning the leader's statue with a golden armour (Kavacham) was observed with religious fervour, ahead of the 119th birth anniversary and 64th guru puja celebrations of Muthuramalinga Thevar on Friday.

On Monday, the 13.5 kg pure gold armour, which was gifted to the Pasumpon memorial by Jayalalithaa in 2014, was formally retrieved from the Bank of India branch vault on Anna Nagar main road, Madurai, with AIADMK treasurer Dindigul C Srinivasan completing the mandatory legal and bank formalities along with the memorial’s hereditary custodian, Gandhimeenal Natarajan.

Prominent party leaders, including former state ministers RB Udhayakumar and Manikandan, accompanied the organisers during the retrieval process.

Following the clearance, the high-value armour was transported under multi-tier armed police security by road to the Pasumpon village in Ramanathapuram district. Upon arrival, it was ceremoniously placed on the life-sized statue of Muthuramalinga Thevar to mark the commencement of the three-day festival.

A large contingent of police personnel accompanied the vehicle to prevent any untoward incidents.

According to the organisers, the golden armour will remain on the statue through the weekend to allow thousands of devotees and political party leaders to pay their respects, after which it will be safely returned to the bank vault on November 2.

The armour was valued at approximately Rs 4.5 crore in 2014 when it was presented. Due to its immense value, the golden armour is not kept permanently at the Pasumpon memorial; instead, it is securely stored in a designated Bank of India vault in Madurai throughout the year.

Every year, days before the anniversary celebrations commence, the AIADMK party treasurer along with the memorial trustees formally retrieve the armour from the bank vault under heavy armed security and bring it by road to Pasumpon, to be fixed onto the statue for the three-day event. Thereafter, it is returned safely to the bank locker.