Kadavasal Ramadurai Iyer and his son Kunjitapatha Iyer

Kadavasal Ramadurai Iyer and his son Kunjitapatha Iyer

Cadavasal Ramadurai - There is only one likeness of him. That is in a Tanjore painting of Nataraja, in which he is shown standing with palm folded. . (the photo of the Nataraja picture, was with Vattaram Siavaswamy Iyer) and is now with his grandson Rajiv in Chennai). Good interactions have taken place between Kanchi Chandrasekara saraswathi Periyaval of haloed memory  and used to recount how he was well looked after during his travels in a palanquin. Ramadurai Iyer, used to keep a full "kudam" of milk and the palanquin bearers should not shake the palanquin and keep such a smooth movement that the milk should not spill, when the Sankaracharya was in the palanquin. There was a "bhoygi" ie. Palanquin bearer named Lakshmanan, whose legs were bowlegged and his shoulder was black with hardened skin by carrying the palanquin. He used to talk of his "yajaman". There was one Lakshmi Patti mother of one Seshu Sasthrigal in Cadavasal, and Lakshmi Patti, fondly kbown as Echi patti used to say in Tamil, " when Ramadurai Iyer walked by after visiting the temple or his lands, no woman in the village will stand in the front yard and men, if any, will stand up and tie their towels around their waist and keep their hands crossed over the bellies! In those days, the private road that lead to Cadavasal house was not there and the only entrance to the house was via Agraharam. Another servant, who himself had faint memnories was Mannadhan, whose father was a servant of Ramadurai Iyer. Ramadurai Iyer wife’s name was Janaki. She was a very fair person in her mien as also in her mind and intellect.

When he was in the palanquin on his way to Karunthittangudi, he saw a nice looking girl
peering out of the window in a house. He was smitten by her looks and immediately sent word through his Kariyasthan (secretary/manager) to find out who the girl was. When he was told that the girl's wedding was impending, he called for the girl's father and told him to call off the marriage as he wants to marry her. Legend has another version ie. that he saw a girl in the house that was being prepared for a wedding the next day or so with plantain trees and other festoons, then called the girl's father and said he will marry her, at the same time advising the bridegroom's party to keep away! A true Maharaja Story! There is no method of checking which version is true; it is all over 130 years old.

Few interesting anecdotes. Chinnadorai of Vadagal, whose ancestors were originally Palayakars of the Vijayanagar empire. His ancestors had one day Puja in the Sirkali festival of Thirumullaipaol and a similar day was for Ramadurai Iyer. The protocol was that the Oorvalam should commence only after the Kartha of that day was present and performed the puja. Unfortunately on one Occasion Ramadurai Iyer was late and the Kattalai Thampuran ordered the Oorvalam. Ramadurai Iyer's palanquin reached the Sannadhi St, just as the procession was starting. He asked his Bhoyis (palanquin bearers) to bring the Kattalai thampuran and was beaten up. This appears too extreme and may have been embellished over repeated narrations but it is possible that Ramadurai Iyer had the Kattlai thampuran beaten up and collected an apology. He was a terror in his lifetime.

Sattanathapuram Manni patti (Baghirathi) used to remark about Ramadurai as “Kandal viduvano cadavasal Ramadurai” (will he leave a girl after sighting her !!!)


Cadavasal Ramaiyer (Ramadurai Iyer) was named after his grandfather. Cadavasal Ramaiyer sister was named as Janaki in memory of her grandmother. In the Current generation Sattanathapuram Natarajan’s son Ramesh is named after the legendary Ramadurai.

Cadavasal Ramadurai Iyer’s son was Kunjitapatham Iyer (Senior Kunjithapatham Iyer)



Sitting on the left is Cadavasal Kunjitabatham Iyer [ Senior CRK ]

He was a leading lawyer in Nagapattnam. There is "Sanad" in Mayavaram CRK's (Senior CRK’s grandson) office room right under Kujithapatham Iyeer's photo, conferring the title of Rao Bahadur or Rao Sahib to the late senior CRK Iyer with the date Sep. 1917 or so signed by Lord Chelmsford, Viceroy of India. The Sanad and the medal that goes with it was collected by Cadavasal Ramaiyer (Senior CRK’s son) from the Governor of Madras, as by that time, senior CRK Iyer was dead. (died sometime during the first world war betwen 1914 and 1918). Probably it was in 1917 or so