Kathirkamam Bhaktar Ashram, Kaluwanchikudy
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Narayanapillai Swami
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Narayanapillai Swami and 'students'
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A prominent Kataragama devotee of Kaluwanchikudy in Batticaloa district, retired school principal S. Narayanapillai has for many years been walking to Kataragama every year with dozens of younger devotees. After retirement from Government service, from 1993 to 1996 Narayanapillai Swami was co-founder and resident director of Kataragama Kaele Kendra, the original ashram of the Kataragama Devotees Trust.
When deteriorated security in Kataragama prompted local authorities to close Kataragama Kaele Kendra in 1996, Narayanapillai Swami returned to his native Kaluwanchikudy and built Kathirkamam Bhaktar Ashram as a traditional residence for a solitary swami. Since then, Narayanapillai Swami passes his days in meditation and tending his ashram's simple garden.
Despite his solitary lifestyle, Narayanapillai Swami welcomes visitors, especially Kataragama devotees. When traveling between Batticaloa and Kalmunai on the east coast of Sri Lanka, be sure to stop at Kaluwanchikudy and enquire about Narayanapillai Swami:
S. Narayanapillai, retired principal
Kathirkamam Bhaktar Ashram
Kaluwanchikudy, EP Sri Lanka
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