Step brother holds 13th day ceremony for Jayalalitha
As Jayalalithaa was from a Iyengar Brahmin family, the rituals were conducted according to Ramanujacharya's Srivyshnava customs.
Mysuru: Upset with the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, J Jayalalithaa’s family customs being ignored following her death, Mr N.J. Vasudevan, who claims to be her step-brother, held a Vykuntasamaradana, the 13th day ceremony at theYagna Valkya Ashrama in Srirangpatna, Mandya district on Saturday.
As Jayalalithaa was from a Iyengar Brahmin family, the rituals were conducted according to Ramanujacharya’s Srivyshnava customs. While Mr Vasudevan’s nephew, Varadarajan performed the rituals, a team of five priests from Mysuru conducted the ceremonies from 11am to 2pm.
Besides Mr Vasudevan, 80, who claims to be the son of Jayamma, the first wife of Jayalalithaa’s father, his relatives, and Amritha, who claims to be her niece, participated in the ceremony .
Said Mr Raghavan, a relative of Mr Vasudevan, who supported the ceremony financially, “Since Jayalalithaa was not married the right to perform the rituals rests with her paternal family. Also since none of our customs seem to have been complied with after her death, we decided to hold our own ceremony.”
Meanwhile, both Mr Vasudevan and Ms Amritha have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding a CBI inquiry into Jayalalithaa's death.