Little-known till a couple of days ago, all of a sudden lakhs of people now want to visit — or at least know more about — the temple town of Kukke Subramanya, 105 km from Mangalore. Their inspiration: a sporting icon struggling to return to form.
Sachin Tendulkar's two-day pilgrimage to the Kukke Sri Subramanya temple drew scores of fans. It also had them sourcing details from a website on the town.
Result: the website saw over 17 lakh hits till 1.30 pm on Monday, leading to a server crash. Many e-mails and telephonic enquiries were received at the temple's reception office at Kukke Subramanya in Dakshina Kanara district.
“It was never like this in the past,” said a source at the website. “Though VIPs from all parts of the country visit the Kukke Sri Subramanya temple, Tendulkar's visit has led to a deluge of enquiries about the pujas here.”
At the temple, Lord Subramanya is worshipped as a snake.
Tendulkar, wife Anjali, brothers Ajith and Nithin, and sister Savitha spent Sunday and Monday at Kukke Subramanya, performing rituals aimed at helping him overcome sarpa dosha — perhaps one of the factors behind his nagging injuries.
"He performed sarpa samskara on Sunday, and ashlesha bali and nagapratishte on Monday," said the source. "These rituals were recommended by a family friend, VS Nayak, living in Bangalore."
{{/usCountry}}"He performed sarpa samskara on Sunday, and ashlesha bali and nagapratishte on Monday," said the source. "These rituals were recommended by a family friend, VS Nayak, living in Bangalore."
{{/usCountry}}To fans eager to shake hands with him, Tendulkar said, “I’ve pain in my shoulders. Please don't disturb me.”