Bharaniputhur - Chennai

Background:

It was around 11 am on 18th May 2015, Monday (Somavaram) , a day auspicious for Lord Shiva , that self along with Mr Adalarasan, Founder of Uzhavarapani Mandram , Velachery and Mr Asokan, caterer who had sponsored that day's (being Kirthigai)  special abhishekam and pooja to 7 ft tall Lord Yoga Balasubramanian at Pattabhiram decided to visit Bharaniputhur Ekambareswar / Kamatchi Amman temple and discuss with the local people about the possibility of launching Daily Annadhanam scheme for 50 persons at the temple premises.

Mrs Selvi along with 4 other lady devotees and Mr Balakrishnan, a retired hotel owner and a local resident, showed keen interest to launch the scheme provided some  initial set up cost is taken care of .
It was close to my heart to  launch the "Piddi Arisi Dhittam" (ie.every family  donate one handful of  rice everyday )which is in vogue for more than 60 years in Perambur (where I had spent most of my  years in life) as per the wishes of Paramacharya of Kanchi to help the needy, the disabled and those abandoned by their children and the locals instant and favourable response made me at once seize the opportunity and I offered to bear the entire initial cost of set up.

We immediately arranged for 2 bags of rice, bought pulses, cereals, condiments,  spices, pickles along with basic  infrastructure items like gas stove, 50 nos stainless steel plates, 25 nos stainless steel tumblers , 2 nos knives  for cutting vegetables, spoons etc.

In less than an hours time, Mr Ashokan along with the local lady devotees prepared sambar rice and kesari for 50 people and with bought out potato chips and pickles , the Daily Annadhanam Scheme at Bharaniputhur was successfully launched after offering to the Lord and  Ambal. The locals happily ate and the devotees present assured to take it forward.

Instant decision and immediate implementation was all due to the grace and blessings of the Lord  Ekambareswarar and Kamatchi Amman.

Update
During my recent visit , it was observed that deserving beneficiaries, as intended by us initially, were only a handful and also the local volunteers expressed that they would make special prasadhams on  pradosham days when there are more than 100 devotees in attendance instead of daily annadhanam.
We readily agreed with them as it appeared to be a more practical solution from implementation  point of view.