A grand ear-piercing ceremony held in Tiruvarur has drawn attention after the family of a local DMK functionary reportedly displayed ₹60 lakh in cash, gold jewellery weighing around 50 sovereigns, a luxury car and several truckloads of ceremonial gifts.
The ceremony was reportedly organised for the 10-year-old daughter of Saranya, the sister of Gokul, a DMK district representative in Tiruvarur.
The scale of the seer varisai, traditional ceremonial gifts presented to the girl and her family, was reportedly far beyond the usual fruits and household articles associated with such functions.
Two glass boxes were reportedly used to display bundles of ₹500 currency notes, with ₹30 lakh placed in each box, taking the total cash display to ₹60 lakh.
The ceremony also featured gold jewellery reportedly weighing around 50 sovereigns. The jewellery included necklaces, bangles, earrings, jhumkas, anklets and other ornaments.
The family also reportedly presented a brand-new top-end Mahindra vehicle, said to be worth around ₹33 lakh, as part of the grand ceremony.
The procession did not stop there. Several lorries reportedly carried the seer varisai items, including around 500 eggs, 50 bundles of sugarcane and hundreds of different ceremonial gift trays.
Videos from the event showed women carrying the jewellery and ceremonial items, while the scale of the arrangements attracted attention on social media.
Gokul’s father, Ramu, is reportedly a DMK councillor. He was also seen distributing ₹500 currency notes to people who gathered to welcome the family.
Saranya, whose daughter was at the centre of the ceremony, reportedly works as a professor at a college in Madurai. Her husband, Kathiravan, works as an accountant in the Tamil Nadu Highways Department in Thanjavur.
The family’s display of wealth has also raised questions over the source of the money and jewellery.
According to relatives cited in the report, Gokul, who is originally from Usilampatti but is now a DMK district representative in Tiruvarur, is involved in several businesses. These reportedly include chit fund and finance operations, a bakery and sweets business, and a lodging facility in Velankanni.
Relatives claimed that the family had accumulated the wealth through these businesses over a period of time and purchased gold jewellery for the women in the family.
The ceremony has nevertheless drawn attention because of the sheer amount of cash, gold and other valuables reportedly displayed publicly.
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