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Iyer is the name given to a community, or sub-caste, of Brahmins (a priestly Hindu class / caste from India). Iyers mostly profess the advaita philosophy propounded by sri Shankaracharya. For many centuries, they have had strong ties with the Tamil-speaking region. Though Iyer is used as a suffix to names, it does not constitute a caste or family name, but a sub-caste of Smartha Brahmins.

The term Iyer is likely derived from the honorific ayya in the Dravidian, which in turn derives from the word arya as in Aryans.

Identity and origins

Iyers are distinct from other Smartha Brahmin communities mainly in having Tamil for their mother-tongue. In other words: Iyers are Smartha Brahmins whose mother tongue is Tamil. Brahmins are believed to be of North Indian origin, but have been present in South India, including in the Tamil region, for a very long time. Even presuming that theory to be accurate, no one knows when the first Brahmins came south, and they appear to have come to South India in different waves. While there are no specific historical acccounts or documents which describe them to have come from distant lands, traditional folklore attributes the Brahmin sage Agastya to be first Brahmin to come south and establish a family in the Dravidian region. This folklore is not totally accepted by local politicians and some historians, who see this folklore as suggestive of Aryan invasion from the North. There are a number of other theories based on race, caste and invasion, which are yet proven or substantiated by any verifiable or authentic evidence. Hence, discussion of these theories is more a discussion of legend than of history.

Such traditional accounts as Chola inscriptions in Tanjore temples hint that a large number of Iyers may have migrated from other regions of India to the Dravidian land at the invitation of Tamil kings in order to perform Vedic rituals such as Yajna and that they received land and donation in return for their services. However, some ancient legends in works like the Ramayana and Mahabharata speak of many Brahmin rishis meditating in the South, which, if true, implies a Brahmin presence in South India before 1000 BCE.

Iyers—like all other Brahmins—trace their paternal ancestors to one of eight rishis or sages. This way they classify themselves into eight gotras, according to the ancestor rishi .

Iyers have many subsects among them, such as Vadamas, Brihatcharanam, Vathima, Ashtasahasram, etc. The different subsects may indicate a different place of origin. Inter-marriage between these subsects was very uncommon until recently, although there is no longer any rigid taboo against this. Many modern Iyers even marry out of the Iyer community: such marriages are often tolerated, though seldom approved.

Rituals, Ceremonies and Festivals

Although many rituals that were practiced in ancient times are no longer followed, some traditions are continued to this day.

Iyers are initiated into rituals at the time of Birth itself. In ancient times Iyers performed rituals when the baby was being separated from mother's umbilical cord. However, this practice is not followed in modern times. At the time of birth, a horoscope is made for the child based on the position of the stars. Then Iyers undergo the naming ceremony. This affair is important as the name given during this ceremony would be the individual's religious name, and would be used when ever prayers or ceremonies were conducted, where that individual had to be mentioned. Besides this, some families conduct homas every birthday of the individual, to invoke god's blessings. In other families prayers are performed every year on the individual's birthday. This birthday does not have to do with the child's birthdate, but it corresponds to the nakshatra, or star, corresponding to the time at which the individual is born. The child's first birthday is most important, when both Iyer boys and girls have their ears pierced. From that day onwards a girl is expected to wear earrings. The ceremony is only a formality, for the iyer boys of modern families.

When a male child reaches his seventh birthday he is eligible for thread ceremony also known as Upanayanam. From that day on, he becomes an official member of his caste, and is called as a "twice born". In ancient times, the boy was sent to gurukula to learn vedas and scriptures. He then practices extreme discipline during the period known as brahmacharya. He lives a celibate life, living on alms, and surviving on selected vegetarian saatvic food and observing considerable austerity in behaviour and deeds. The individual had to perform daily fire worship, and perform prayers without fail. Though such practices are not followed in modern times by a majority of Iyers, all Iyer boys undergo the sacred thread ceremony before marriage. Even today, many Iyers continue to follow the daily worship of Sun and the Goddess gayatri. This daily worship is also known as sandhyavandanam. This worship is necessary to be performed at dawn, mid-day, and dusk. The mid-day worship is called madhyahnikam. Besides this, all twice-born Iyers need to perform annual ceremonies such as Upakarma, when they replace their sacred threads with new ones. They also recite 1008 gayatri japas on a certain day every year. This is one practice very few twice born Iyers leave out. The Gayaatri is in pre-classical, Vedic Sanskrit, which is even more difficult to pronounce than the classical Sanskrit, words from which have been borrowed and assimilated to the extent of 30 to 75% in literary and, to a lesser extent, in colloquial forms of the respective vernaculars. Since however North Indian languages have been greatly influenced by the use of Urdu, a heavily Persian-loaded language of Muslims, and also South Indians generally do not care to differentiate in pronunciation of Sanskrit's four different sounds of each consonant (k, kh, g, gh; p, ph, b, bh; etc.) Iyer women have their own ceremonies such as the one at the time of attaining puberty (mostly a private family affair) and regular prayers that they organize for the welfare of their family. They learn shlokas and devotional hymns, and regularly worship various Deities.

A typical Iyer marriage consists of Sumangali Prarthana,Naandi Shraartham,Nichiyadhartham and Mangalyadaranam. This is a highly ritualistic affair and finally the bridegroom and the bride walk around the sacred fire seven times to complete the marriage.

The other extremely important rituals for the Iyers are the death ceremonies. All Iyers are cremated according to vedic rites, usually within a day of the individual's death. The death rites include a 13-day ceremony, and regular tarpanam, for the ancestors. There is also a yearly shraddha, that needs to be performed. These rituals are expected to be performed only by male descendants of the deceased.

There are other rituals for different occasions like Grihapravesam (entering a new house), perfoming yagnas for the welfare of world, etc.

In traditional families any food is first offered to God as naivedhya,and then eaten. Food is not considered to be consumed before this religious offering.

Iyers celebrate different festivals where they worship God. They offer different kinds of sweets to God unique to that festival. These offerings ususally include fruits. Worship of Gods is done by reciting Sanskrit hymns and special flowers are offered to God. Some of the many festivals celebrated by Iyers are:

Deepavali - the festival of lights, commemorating the victory of Lord Krishna over the demon Narakasura. The Iyers celebrate this in their unique style by waking up early in the morning and having and oil bath. The Deepavali medicine is a herbal sweet, that is believed to increase an individual's appetite for sweets. This sweet is prepared unfailingly every year. People light their houses with lamps, and burst fire crackers on this day.

Dasara/Navarathri - the nine-day festival of durga which culminates in a Saraswati Puja and then Vijayadasami. On Saraswati puja, Iyers keep the books they use, for puja. These books are removed and read on the Vijayadasami. Any other new work is also started on Vijayadasami. The sweet unique to Dasara is soondal.

Pongal/Makara Sankaranti - the yearly festival for the sun. The chakara pongal is a sweet made of rice and jaggery for this occasion. Sugarcane is also offered to God on this day.

Vinayaka Chaturthi - Birthday of Lord Ganesha. Kozhakattai (steamed rice dumpling usually with a jaggery/coconut filling) is a sweet prepared for this occasion, and is considered the favourite of Lord Ganesha.

Janmashtami - Birthday of Lord Krishna. Cheedais (deep-fried rice balls, with various spices, sometimes jaggery) are special food items prepared for this festival.

Tamil New Year- New Year according to the Tamil calendar. A neem paste is the main dish for this day.

Sivarathri - Worship day of Lord Shiva. The Lord Shiva is pleased with austerities, so no sweets are prepared. Instead, people are expected to fast the whole day, and worship Lord Shiva throughout the night. Fruits are permissible for those who cannot follow the intense devotion expected.

Karthika deepam - Day celebrating the victory of Lord Muruga over evil. Pori (sweetened puffed rice, sweetened with jaggery), is prepared on this day. The house is also lit with lamps to celebrate the victory over darkness.

Avani avittam - Upakarma day for the Iyers. On this day, Iyers change the sacred thread and recite vedas.

Iyers keep certain days for fasting. Some of the days Iyers fast are, Amavasya, Ekadasi, and Sivarathri.

Residence of Iyers

Iyers nowadays live mostly in Urban centres but also live in certain rural areas as well. In the past , they used to live in colonies known as Agraharams.(In Sanskrit Agram means Tip or End and Haram means Garland. Generally Shiva and Vishnu temples will be situated at the ends of Agraharam.Mostly such Agraharams lie by the side of a river also.) These are streets where only brahmins were allowed to live. A typical agraharam consists of a Temple and a street adjacent to the temple. The street used to have many houses where Iyers lived as Joint families.The houses were simple and usually made of wood. The houses were well built and strong.

After India's independence Iyers started moving out of their agraharams and began living with the rest of the society.However there are still some agraharams left where some traditional or old Iyers continue to stay. In the wake of Brahmins getting sidelined in Professioanl education and Government employment,especially in Tamil Nadu,most Agraharams are now deserted and the present generation ,at least one in a house, has migrated to the US Or UK Or Australia.

Social and political issues

During the ancient and mediaeval periods, Iyers (and Brahmins in general) rose in prominence in Indian society, primarily due to their emphasis on spiritual life and scholarship, particularly in terms of their expertise in the Vedas and the attendant religious rituals. Later, during the colonial period they also acquired English education and served as clerks in the British rule in India. After independence, they consolidated their position in the Indian administration. Such a situation led to resentment from the other castes in Tamilnadu, An upshot of this atmosphere was an "anti-Brahmin" movement and the formation of the Justice party. Though formed on a principled high-ground, the movement soon led to a power struggle between the Brahmins and the other castes like the Mudaliars, Pillais and Chettiars. In the 1960s the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (roughly translated as "Organisation for Progress of Dravidians") and its subgroups gained political ground on this platform forming state ministries, thereby wrenching control from the Indian National Congress party, where Iyers at that time were holding important party positions.

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The above paragraph is far from truth. Iyers emphasise on ethics in all spheres of life: personal/professional which is a dying phenomenen in post independence India. Ethics/morality take backseat. Corruption and immorality take the lead. Iyers succeded not because of knowledge of vedas alone. It is because of sincerity in things they do which most other communities sadly lack. Successful communities are always persecuted around the world. Nobody likes successful people. Like the Jews and Iyers Brahmins. Brahmins were successful in British India simply because British appreciated talented people and those who are sincere in work. Democracy in India has given space and breeding ground to mediocre people and groups because they have numeric majority and nothing else. Therefore, Brahmins can be pushed aside even if the country goes to dogs. Dravidians have ruled the state of Tamil Nadu for about sixty years after pushing out Brahmins. What have they achieved. NOTHING.

Mr. H. Venkatachalam hvenkatachalam@rediffmail.com

Iyer Women

The Iyer woman is often portrayed as woman draped in a nine yard saree, also known as madisar in tamil. This dress is permitted only for "sumangali" (loosely, a woman whose husband is still alive). Though such dress is worn regularly only by the older women, on festivals and other religious occasions it is worn by young women as well. Traditional Iyer women, both married and unmarried wear a "pottu" (red dot, also known as kumkum/sindoor/bindi) on their forehead and married women always wear the mangalsutra or "thali" as it is called in Tamil. This is a sacred cord tied by the bridegroom around the bride's neck and is the chief part of the marriage as it unites them in matrimony ,while the officiating brahmin priests chants vedic hymns.

According to scripture, an Iyer woman becomes part of her husband's family after marriage and adopts the gotra/lineage as well as the traditions of her husband's family. An Iyer woman who does not marry a brahmin is no longer considered a Brahmin and is not eligible to participate in the any of the orthodox traditions/rituals.

Until recently, an Iyer widow was never allowed to re-marry, while it was acceptable for Iyer widowers to re-marry. Divorces were considered a "great evil". Once a widow, an Iyer woman had to shave her head and lead the life of Sanyasin. She had to stop wearing the kumkum/bindi on her forehead, and was recommended to smear her forehead with sacred ashes. All of these practices have fallen by the wayside over the last few decades, and modern Iyer widows lead unencumbered lives.

Traditional Iyer Ethics

Iyers were extremely orthodox a century ago. They followed Dharma shastra texts of Manusmriti Apastamba and Baudhayana. The society is patriarchal with an extremely dominating male society.

Nevertheless, a brahmin women has always been found to be more educated (either an expert at arts) or science compared to other communities. This is especially true when you consider the 20th century (rukhmini arundale) where many brahmin women had an undergraduate degree. Iyers observed many rules in the past when they used to live and marry within their own community.They eat strict vegetarian food(which excludes certain plants like Onion and Garlic,which they considered impure but included milk/milk products made from cow). They were not expected to drink alcohol/wine/bhang or any other intoxicants such as drug or smoke cigarattes.

They followed ellaborate purificatory rituals,and Kitchen rules(which included separation of different kind of food items).One other example of their kitchen rule is the practise of cooking only after taking a bath.The other example was eating food after offering it to God. Marriage rules prevented Iyers from marrying within their own gotras ,and marrying outside their caste. As in other castes like mudaliars or chettiars, brahmins did not marry outside their caste.They also defined certain acts as unforgivable sin such as pre-marital and extra-marital sex.

Though corrupt and antisocial Iyers are not unknown as in other communities , by and large the community has been known as a law abiding community.

Iyers today

Akin to Bengal, the Brahmins in South India were the one of the first communities to be anglicized. However, this was restricted to their outlook on the material world. They have clung on to their Vedic Hindu traditions despite almost two centuries of western influence.

This newly created elite became the dominant social and cultural stratum in South Indian society producing a plethora of British style academicians, industrialists and political leaders. It also played an active role in the Indian independence movement. Prominent leaders from the Iyer community included Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Subramanya Bharathy.

However, with the rise of the Dravidian movement following India's Independence, the Brahmin community and especially the Iyer community and its symbols have become the favorite political whipping post for the Dravidian parties who represent the much larger non brahmin communities. As a result, iyers have almost ceased to exist on the political scene but continue to make their presence felt in other areas such as the private sector (India's industries that are not owned by the Government).

In addition to their earlier occupations, Iyers today have diversified into a variety of fields—their strengths particularly evident in the fields of mass media, science, mathematics and computer science. It is a minuscule percentage of Iyers who choose, in this era, to pursue the traditional vocation of priesthood, though nearly all Hindu Temple priests are Brahmins. Iyers have been active in the cultural field also. Music has always been integral to the Iyer community; Carnatic music forms an ancient classical tradition, and includes, apart from vocal music, instruments such as mridangam, naadaswaram, veena, ghatam, etc. Bharatanatyam has been ardently pursued by female members of the Iyer community from the time of its reinvention in early 20th century. These classical art forms, Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam, enjoy public patronage during the Chennai cultural season in the months of December and January.

Some notable Iyers in the Modern Era

Spiritual Leaders

The list of Spiritual Leaders is large. It is sufficient to name some of the Great Teachers.

• Paramacharya of Kanchi.
• Ramana Maharishi was a sage who meditated in the forests of Arunachala.
• Sheshadri Swamigal was a great Siddha who lived in the forests of Arunachala.
• Swami Sivananda was a great yogi who lived in Rishikesh,in the foothills of Himalayas.
• Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the founder of the Art of Living.
• Jagadguru Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamiji, who has done yeoman service in regard to a more receptive attitude of Muslims for building a Rama temple in Ayodhya, is the present pontiff of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham.
• Bharati Krishna Theerthaji was the Shankaracharya of Puri.He also brought Vedic mathematics to the modern world.
• Krisha Premi a great saint and devotee of Krishna in modern times.
• Muralidhar Guruji A great devotee of Lord Krishna in modern times

Scientists and Academicians

Not all names can be put here as there are many Iyers who have served as directors of National Institutes. If any important name is missing, the list may be updated to include the person.

• Sir CV Raman (Nobel laureate and physicist)
• Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (Nobel laureate and physicist)
• G. N. Ramachandran (Biochemist who solved the three-dimensional x-ray diffraction structure of collagen, and whose "Ramachandran plot" describing the stearic freedom available to amino acids in proteins is described in nearly every basic Biochemistry text book)
• K.S. Krishnan Scientist Emeritus, Ex-Head of Physics. Dept. IISc, Ex-Vice Chancellor of Trivandrum University, a favorite protégé of Sir C.V.Raman & also has an effect to his name - Krishnan Effect
• Vilayanur Ramachandran Neuro Scientist, University of San Diego
• M S Swaminathan (b. 1925) has been called the father of the Green Revolution in Indian agriculture in the 1960s. As a result of his efforts, India became a net exporter of food by the mid 1970s. Swaminathan however has been Director General, International Rice Research Institute (Manila), and has received the Magsaysay Award (1971).
• S.R. Ranganathan Important figure in Library Science
• Raghavan Iyer Indian-born political philosopher and Hindu scholar.
• P. S. Lokanathan World Renowned Economist.
• Rajagopala Chidambaram Former Director of BARC, now Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister of India
• T. N. Ananthakrishnan Former Director, Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta
• L.A. Ramadas Former Director of Meteorological department of Government of India
• Krishnaswami Alladi Chairman, Department of Mathematics, University of Florida
• U.V.Swaminatha Iyer Aka. "Tamil thatha U.ve.sa" Father of Tamil Revival movement
• Subramanya Bharathy Tamil poet and Freedom fighter

Journalists and Writers

• Professor K. V. Krishna Iyer Highly respected professor and author of reference books on Kerala History
• Ulloor Parameswara Iyer Famous Malayalam poet
• "Kalki" B. Krishnamurthy Journalist and Novelist par excellence, founder of tamil weekly "Kalki".
• V. V. S Iyer Tamil Scholar and Freedom Fighter.
• V. S. Srinivasa Sastri - Rt. Honourable Srinivasa Sastri was a freedom fighter, great orator and teacher. Was called the "Silver Tongued Orator of the British Empire" by Winston Churchill
• Pico Iyer (noted author)
• R. K. Narayan (Indian author of great fame)
• R. K. Laxman (Indian cartoonist and humorist). R. K. Laxman is the younger brother of R. K. Narayan
• T. P. Kailasam - noted Kannada writer and considered as the "Father of modern Kannada Theater"
• Cho Ramaswamy Political analyst, editor of Tughlaq, and film actor.
• Malayattoor Ramakrishnan Malayalam novelist
• K. Subrahmanyam Indian journalist and strategic analyst

Advocates and Social Activists

• V. R. Krishna Iyer (Judicial expert and Justice, Supreme Court of India)
• Sir Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar One of the Founding fathers of Indian Constitution.
• Sir T. Mutthusami Iyer - Eminent Lawyer and Judge of Madras High Court in late 19th Century
• Sir Sundaram Iyer- Judge of the Madras High Court in late 19th Century
• Sir P. Sivaswami Iyer - Advocate General of State of Madras from (1907 -1911).
• Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer - Advocate General of State of Madras in the 1920's
• Rajah Iyer- Former Advocate General of State of Madras
• Patanjali Sastri- Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India
• Govind Swaminathan- Eminent Lawyer and former Advocate General of Tamil Nadu
• V. P. Raman-Former Advocate General of Tamil Nadu and former Additional Solicitor General of India
• G. Ramaswamy-Former Attorney General for India
• Viswanatha Sastri -Eminent lawyer of the Supreme Court of India
• Alladi Kuppusami -Former Chief Justice Andhra Pradesh High Court
• T. L. Venkatrama Iyer - Judge Supreme Court of India

Patriots and Freedom Fighters

• Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan First Vice President of India, Second President.
• Satyamurthy Indian freedom fighter
• Subramanya Bharathi (Indian freedom fighter and noted Tamil poet and social reformer.)
• Kalki Sadasivam Freedom fighter and husband of M.S. Subbulakshmi.

Sports players

• Vishwanathan Anand (Chess grandmaster)
• Nirupama Vaidyanathan First Indian women to play a round in Grand Slam.
• Professor K. V. Iyer World famous body Builder.

Performers in Modern music and arts of the new age

• Hariharan Singer (Colonial Cousins)
• Vijay Iyer Jazz musician

Distinguised Civil Servants and other people in the Government

• T. N. Seshan 10th Chief Election Commissioner of India, a Palakkad Iyer
• R. Venkataraman 8th President of India (1987-1992); Vice-President of India (1984-1987)
• T. S. Krishnamurthy A former Chief Election Commissioner.
• K. Subrahmanyam Former Secretary (Defense Production), Home Secretary (Tamil Nadu) and Director (Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses).

Distinguished people in the Entertaintment Industry

• Mani Rathnam Famous Movie Director, full name: G. Subramanirathnam Iyer.
• K. Balachander Famous cinema director.
• G. Anantha Aiyer Well know NRI Tamil Playwright
• G V Iyer Internationally renowned Director-Producer of Sanskrit movies like 'Adi Shankaracharya','Ramanujacharya','Bhagawat Gita'.
• Gemini Ganesan Famous Tamil star
• Soundarya Famous Telugu actress (late)
• Arvind Swamy Actor cum entrepreneur.
• Shankar Mahadevan Well known film singer and Music Director
• Vidya Balan actress
• Padma Lakshmi actress and super model (was an Iyer,until she married Salman Rushdie)
• Jai Shankar Late Tamil actor
• Trisha Krishnan Upcoming actress in the Tamil and Telegu film industry

Performers of Classical arts

• Rukmini Devi Arundale One who popularized Bharathanatyam
• Padma Subrahmanyam Renowned Bharathanatyam dancer.
• Vani Ganapathy

Carnatic musicians

Since the mid-20th century, Carnatic music has been dominated by Iyers. As a result, below is only a selection of the most popular Carnatic musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries.

• vocalist Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar (1895 - 1974)
• vocalist Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
• composer/vocalist G. N. Balasubramaniam
• vocalist D. K. Pattammal
• violinist Dr.L.Subramaniam World renowned violinist
• vocalist Madurai Mani Iyer
• mridangist Kumbhakonam Rajappa Iyer
• mridangist Palakkad Mani Iyer
• mridangist Palghat Raghu
• mridangist Umayalpuram Sivaraman
• mridangist Trichy Sankaran
• composer/vocalist Papanasam Sivan
• violinist T N Krishnan
• composer/violinist Lalgudi G Jayaraman
• vocalist K V Narayanaswamy
• composer/vocalist Maharajapuram Santhanam
• violinist M S Gopalakrishnan
• vocalist Sanjay Subrahmaniam
• vocalist Radha Ramji
• vocalist Sowmya

Other famous people

• Sir C. P.Ramaswami Iyer the devan of Travancore.
• Subramanium Swamy, Lawyer, Academician, Economist, Politician, President of the Janata Party.
• Gurumurthy RSS Intellectual
• Lakshmi Sehgal, a Presidential Canditate and former head of INA women command.
• Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar Economist and writer of Swaminomics

External links

• http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/ is the website of the Advaita Vedanta research centre, and hosts articles and mailing-lists on the subject.
• http://www.kamakoti.org/ is the website of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, a religious establishment tracing its roots to Adi Sankara.
• http://www.sringeri.org/ is the website of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham.
• http://www.bharatavarsha.com/iyer.html is the home of the Iyer Heritage Site, an "information resource about the history, socio-anthropology, genetics and traditions of the Iyer community of Southern India"
• http://www.keralaiyers.com/
• http://www.sankethi.com/ (Information on Sankethis, a sub group of Iyers from Karnataka).
• http://www.tambram.bravehost.com/ is an online community for Tamil Brahmins.
• Kuzhalmannam Agraharam - a typical kerala iyer palakkad gramam
• http://tamilartsacademy.com/journals/volume3/articles/Vedas%20and%20Vedic%20Saivas%20in%20TN.html An interesting article on saivaite and vedic Iyers who lived before 1000 ad in tamilnadu
• http://www.chennaionline.com/columns/DownMemoryLane/diary172.asp An article on Dikshitars of Chidambaram
• Iyer matrimony gives a brief Idea about Iyer marriages
• http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/India/Iyer/iyer-index.htm a website on Professor K V Iyer
• http://www.sivananda.com/ a website on life and teachings of Swami Sivananda
• http://www.ramana-maharshi.org/ a website dedicated to the teachings of Ramana Maharishi
• http://nobelprize.org/physics/laureates/1930/raman-bio.html brief biography on Nobel laureute C V Raman
• http://www.dlshq.org/saints/appayya.htm a well written biography on the legendry Iyer Saint and Scholar Appayya Dikshitar
• http://www.salagram.net/parishad6.htm has some Information on Ramanujacharya , who was born in an Vadama Iyer family and founded a rival or new community - Iyengars

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