SP Balasubrahmanyam had said that the Sabarimala Ayyappan temple was a universal place of worship where religion, caste, creed, social status did not matter, thus making it a model for the rest of the world.
In what is said to be the first-ever such instance in the history of the Sabarimala Ayyappan temple, the Devaswom board on its own has come forward to perform a special Puja for veteran singer SP Balasubrahmanyam.
The temple organised an ‘Usha Puja’ followed by a ‘Gaana-archana’ (Musical offering) performed for Lord Ayyappa, the presiding deity of the temple on Friday. Following the Puja rituals, a musician of the temple’s governing board played the Naadhaswaram, (a wind-based instrument) to the tune of SPB’s national award-winning song Shankara Naadhashareera from the film Shakaranbharanam that released in 1979.
Though this is a film song, it is dedicated to Lord Shiva. For the uninformed, the 74-year old singer, who has won multiple national awards and Filmfare awards is in a critical condition at the MGM hospital in Chennai. He was admitted on August 5th and since then, his condition has deteriorated and the singer is under ventilator and ECMO(Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) support in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Notably, the singer has sung several songs in praise of the deity Swami Ayyappa. In 2015, he was awarded the Harivarasanam award that is instituted by the Kerala Government and the Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the temple. The award is given to a person for their contribution to propagating the spirit of secularism, equanimity, and the universal brotherhood of Sabarimala through the songs.
SPB had also said that the Sabarimala Ayyappan temple was a universal place of worship where religion, caste, creed, social status did not matter, thus making it a model for the rest of the world.
A Travancore Devaswom Board Official told WION, "This Usha Puja and special ‘Gaana-archana’ is for the recovery and well-being of the great Singer SPB. Cinema stars and commoners are praying for him alike and we have also spoken to his family. Musicians from the temple played three different instruments as a part of the musical offering. Ganesh, a Naadhaswaram player had also played the tune of SPB’s iconic 1979 song which is widely popular across Kerala and all other southern states. Such a musical offering has never been made before, for an individual, at the temple."
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 "Sabarimala Ayyappan temple performs one of its kind 'musical puja' for veteran singer SP Balasubrahmanyam")
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