Hail Arunachala

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

Right from the inception of his private practice as a Lawyer in 1968, Sri Palaniraj has had a long and satisfactory innings to his credit, studded with stellar performances in very many cases besides earning the reputation of a sincere, honest and efficient Counsel. In his professional journey, he has served as Additional Government Pleader for about five years, during which he had a remarkable feat of maintaining high success rate and was able to retrieve valuable properties for the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Department.

In his career spanning over a period of almost half a century, the author exhibited exemplary compassion for the poor, needy, down-trodden and disabled persons, by providing free legal service to the Ex-Servicemen Welfare Board for a decade and to a reputed School for Differently-abled Children for another decade. Having lived in the holy place of Arunachala during the life times of great saints like Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, Yogi Ram Surat Kumar and Poondi Swamigal, he has imbibed lofty spiritual ideals which enabled him to assist successfully Sri Arunachaleshwarar Devasthanam, Tiruvannamalai, as its Standing Counsel, to redeem temple properties and also in the legal tussle with the Archaeological Survey of India. He has been a trusted Legal Adviser to Sri Seshathri Swamigal Ashram, Tiruvannamalai.

Representing Public undertaking Financial Institutions like Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation (TIIC) and several Private Financial Units he has secured recovery of large dues. His inclination for social service and penchant for writing prompted him to pen three Legal awareness Books, including the one for women's upliftment and welfare and also a much acclaimed memoir. His office has assumed the shape of a big banyan tree, since those who got trained under his tutelage turned into Senior Lawyers, who in their turn trained many other young lawyers. He is thus fondly addressed by many as guru. His well- knit family, consisting of his graduate wife, a lawyer son, two Post-graduate daughters, well educated daughter-in-law, scholarly sons-in-law and six disciplined grand children, provides him necessary solace, strength and space to achieve his aspirations.

For a long time I have cherished the desire to write a book on Tiruvannamalai and its great temple of Lord Arunachaleshwara, both of which lie at the foot of the holy mountain, Arunachala (also known as Annamalai, where I have been resident for the last seventy two years, since my childhood. At various times, friends, devotees, and a local bookseller have, often unsolicited, all encouraged me in my desire to write such a book, and so, taking their encouragement as a sign of blessing by Tiruvannamalai's presiding deity, Sri Arunachaleshwara, I have ventured to take up this work.

I decided to write in English, as I was sure that those who do not know Tamil would be benefited by such a book. The non-English reading Tamil-speakers would know much of it already through a process of cultural absorption, since Tiruvannamalai's fame is legendary in Tamil Nadu. But the information it contains would not be so well-known to English readers who do not know Tamil, and I was also reminded that, "Today, India has perhaps the largest English-speaking population in the world", according to David Crystal, a renowned Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales. Therefore, I have thought it appropriate to write the book in English for the benefit of English-readers, both in India and abroad.

**Contents and Sample Pages**