Cherunatturi Sahayam

‘Cherunattiri Bagavathy sahayam’ – that is what we write on the center top of our wedding invitation. Earlier, we used to start our letters to relatives too, with that invocation.
Cherunatturi is our Kuladevatha and ‘sahayam’ is help. Please note that we are seeking the sahayam, help of our family deity and not her blessings. From whom do you take help? From friends and relatives. We treat our family deity as a member of our family! We are certain that Her blessings are already with us. After all, She is our ‘Amma’, mother.
When Megh told me that today is Vrichikamasam, Hastham, the star on which I entered this world, my first question to her was whether I was 80. My interest was to claim the Income tax benefit available for those above 80 and when she said, ‘no Appa, you have completed 79 and entering 80 today, I was a bit disappointed! It was then I looked at the picture of Cherunatturi in our pooja, which Megh brought from our Hyderabad house. In fact that was the only thing she wanted from me, when she came to settle her family here, after her wedding.
‘Cherunatturi sahayam,’ I said then, looking at the Devine Mother.
Was it to seek Mother’s sahayam to lead me to the next border line or to make it less thorny than the current one, don’t remember now.
Anyway, Her ‘sahayam’ only brought me to this far and I’m sure that she will continue to hold my hand to walk further.
Cherunatturi sahayam, for all my net family too.