Ramaswamy’s adopted son and sole heir, MAMR Muthiah, 43, aka S Ayyappan, took over the reins of the Chettinad Group from his rather uninvolved predecessor in 1999. The temples of Lord Ayyappan's trusted lieutenants Karuppu Sami and Kadutha Sami are positioned as his guards (kaval) at the foot of the holy 18 sacred steps. Read more about No compromise with foster son, says M A M Ramaswamy on Business Standard. In a bitter family feud, MAM Ramaswamy, chairman of the Chettinad group of companies publicly disowned his adopted son S Ayyappan for having grabbed a substantial part of the family property. The temple of Maalikapurathamma, whose importance is almost in par with Lord Ayyappa, [citation needed] is located few yards from Sannidhanam. In 1995, they adopted Ayyappan and named him MAMR Muthiah. Ramaswamy Ramaswamy disowned his son Ayyappan after being cheated of all his properties and trusteeships My son should not light my funeral pyre, says Chennai industrialist MAM Ramaswamy Annamalai, the adopted son of Ramaswamy’s late brother M.A.M. Though Ayyappan claims to be Ramaswamy's legal heir, he was not allowed to perform his last rites. He has allegedly kept tabs on how Ramaswamy, a philanthropist and a lavish host, spends his wealth and dismissed dozens of employees who had been loyal to the family for decades. The long-running family feud between industrialist and former chairman of Chettinad Group M A M Ramaswamy and his adopted son M A M R Muthiah (also known as Ayyappan) intensified on Tuesday with the father rejecting the son's truce offer. Ramaswamy believed that Ayyappan was god-sent, ... Now, almost 20 years later, Ramaswamy accuses his son of cheating him and taking away his wealth. It was performed by M.A.M.M. Muthiah and Meena Muthiah. On the day of the funeral, heavy police force was deployed at the Chettinad palace to avoid any untoward incidents. In the 1990s, the duo decided to adopt a son to look after them.