Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
KANCHEEPURAM, INDIA, September 29, 2010: Every day at 6am, the seers at the world-famous Shri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham in Kancheepuram are up and about, getting ready for their gaja puja — prayers for the elephants housed on the premises. Around the same time, the muezzin at the Sunnath Jamaath Jumma Masjid next door can be heard calling to the faithful for the morning namaz.
While the priests at the Peetham go about chanting their slokas, the prayers go on at the mosque next door simultaneously. One does not stop for the other nor disturb the other. The prayers continue in unison. The prayers begin with clockwork precision every day and are a celebration of the harmonious coexistence of two religions.
“It’s been this way since I took over as the Shankaracharya in 1984,” says Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal, the 69th pontiff of the Peetham. “I think it is most beautiful and unique to hear both the namaz calls and the suprabhatham at the same time,” says the 76-year-old seer.