Subrahmanya: Former chief of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, chairman of the International Cricket Council, managing director of India Cements Ltd and industrialist Narayanaswami Srinivasan has been camping here with his family members over the last two days.
But the news and his itinerary were kept under wraps and strictly away from the media. That the visit was to be a closely-guarded secret because not many people knew that his entourage stayed in Vijay Comforts.
On Sunday, a sarpa samskara ritual was held on behalf of his family. The ritual was continued at a private temple on Monday, June 15.
Under the guidance of purohit Ramakrishna Bhat the rituals were held. Go puja, naga pratishtha and ashlesha bali were also held. Thereafter they visited the Shri Kukke temple and obtained a darshan of the deity, besides offering a maha puja.
Many were surprised that the sarpa samskara and other rituals were held in a private temple instead of the tradition of the main temple. He is said to have paid two visits earlier and there were no restrictions.
But in view of the unpleasant situations he has been passing through in the cricket field during the past years, he had been advised by some astrologers from Kerala to have a ritual completed here, said sources close to him.
Srinivasan may have been inspired by the visits by Venkatesh Prasad, Robin Uthappa, Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar, Javagal Srinath, Rahul Dravid, Manish Pandey and other celebrities, sources at the temple said.
The news of the visit was kept totally away from the mediapersons, who were barred from going near the venue. Srinivasan not only refused to speak to the media on the pretext of its being a private visit but also stopped photographers from clicking.
The naga pratishtha ritual was being held in the outer precincts of the temple. View had been blocked by erecting large screen so that photography would not be possible.
Every arrangement had been made to keep the media away. Yet a few photographers were smart enough in managing to click some exclusive pictures.