Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan
As the golden orb of the first sun of 2026 ascended, the venerable precincts of the Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha vibrated with a celestial resonance, marking a silver jubilee of spiritual stewardship by Sri Velukudi Krishnan. Against the grand backdrop of the sabha’s 125th year, the Srinivasa Kalyanam unfolded once more—a narrative as ancient as the hills of Tirumala, yet as refreshing as the morning dew.
This is the eternal paradox of the pravachanam: a story whose contours are fixed in the firmament of antiquity, yet whose retelling draws a burgeoning tide of humanity that overflows the mandapam. The allure lies not in the novelty of plot, but in the shimmering depth of its moral ocean.
Velukudi Swami, a man of profound intellectual pedigree who once navigated the rigorous corridors of commercial accounting before pivoting to inherit the mantle of his illustrious father, serves as a bridge between the temporal and the transcendent. His discourse is a masterclass in linguistic purity, a cascading torrent of chaste Tamil that eschews the colonial linguistic crutch, proving that the vernacular remains the most potent vessel for the sublime.
He addressed the burgeoning chasm of the modern age, where a disdainful GenZ often views heritage through a prism of skepticism. He implored the elders not to retreat into silence but to engage with the defiant queries of the young, drawing from the prescient wisdom of rishis who foresaw the spiritual dehydration of future epochs.
Yet, a melancholic shadow lingers over this vibrant assembly. While the masses lap up the ethical nuances and the lyrical beauty of the lecture, there exists a tragic inertia within the Hindu society. For many, these ethereal repeats have descended into a form of sophisticated infotainment—a transient emotional catharsis rather than a catalyst for systemic preservation.
The audience weeps at the beauty but remains paralyzed in the face of responsibility, moaning in a collective, dignified silence while the foundations of their legacy face a quiet, relentless challenge.
