A family in Nerkuppai, Sivaganga district, has been preserving a rare tradition for 175 years—reading a Ramayana manuscript written on palm leaves as a yearly observance during the Tamil month of Purattasi.
The family, belonging to the Nagarathar community with a strong Saiva heritage, also honours Vaishnavite devotion by reading the story of Lord Rama at home each year. The practice is associated with the N.Pazha. family of Nerkuppai’s Irani temple lineage.
According to the family’s account, brothers N.Pazha. Nallakaruppan and N.Pazha. Muthupazhaniyappan were engaged in trade in Colombo when Nallakaruppan developed vision problems after being affected by smallpox. He is said to have prayed to write and read the Ramayana manuscript, and later recovered from the impairment.
Following this, the Ramayana text was written on palm leaves in 1850, and the family has continued the reading without interruption for six generations. The annual “edu reading” begins on a Saturday in Purattasi and is completed the following Saturday.
As the older Tamil script on palm leaves is difficult to read, a handwritten book copy was prepared in 1980 based on the original, and the family now reads from that copy while carefully preserving the palm-leaf manuscript. Family member M. Ramarathinam said the yearly reading brings a sense of shared joy and enthusiasm to the household.
