06/06/2026
Her previous name was Palaniammalโฆ
People say she came to Tiruvannamalai after losing her brother - a lorry driver - in a car accidentโฆ She started walking Girivalam - the sacred circumambulation of Arunachala mountain - daily, never stopped, and never went backโฆ
Today everyone calls her ๐ง๐ต๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ถ ๐๐บ๐บ๐ฎ - the Hat Mother. Tattered clothes she never changes. A hat that people place on her head. Matted hair. Walking the Girivalam daily in the mornings - sometimes seen even three times a day.
And the internet is divided.
Some say: she is a living Siddhar - an Avadhoota, a free being, touched by Arunachala itself. They collect her discarded cups as prasad. They bow when she passes. They say her spit is a blessing. People also share that they had divine experiences walking Girivalam beside her - that their life changed, that the shops she enters on her way started to thriveโฆ
Others say: this is a mentally ill woman who needs medical help, not worship. That calling her a saint is romanticizing suffering.
But she is not the first of this controversial kindโฆ
There was ๐ ๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐ถ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ (The Bag Swami)- fromo near Palani - who carried a huge sack on his back everywhere he went. People say he would scold devotees with harsh words - and everyone who received that scolding succeeded in life, healed, or had some profound experienceโฆ After some time there was a long queue of people waiting to be scolded by him. Devotees believed it was a special Siddhar way of absorbing your negativity and karma - and that the sack he carried was filled with the karma of all his devoteesโฆ
And ๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐บ๐ฎ - who lived in Salem - same style, living in the streets, disconnected from society, not talking to people, always surrounded by dogs she cared for - preparing food for them and for people as prasad together in the same potโฆ
The question is not โis she a saint or is she mad?โ
The real question is - ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ป๐ฒ๐
๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ?
Om Namah Shivaya ๐
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