Faith, Forest and Filth (A Drive to the Shrine)

This particular post is not intended to outrage religious feelings or any class or group of people. There is no malice in my intentions. All I wish to do is to share my visions to the small group of my readers by celebrating the rights that our democratic constitution grants us.

“Waka Waka” The sweet Shakira sounded again on my mobile. It is the same number that created my hangover more last night, now it’s again interrupting me between the second twist of Baccardi.

“Hello, Da, start to take Vratham (follow certain austerities), we are going to Sabarimala.” squealed my childhood friend - a physician who is going to pursue his super speciality degree.

What the ‘four letter word’? Yes, I also had a vague plan of visiting the second largest pilgrimage centre in the world which has over 50 million devotees visiting every year. But this is cruel.

“It’s ok. 7 days is enough, it’s not the Mandala season, so no need to sob over the 41 days Vratham.” 

With half a mind I kept my glass, and poured one last Bacardi before the so called Vratham. Gulped and without touching the hot BFC chicken, announced my holy visit to Sabarimala Shrine chewing some warm groundnuts.

Those 7 days were very hard for me but I fought against my good loving friends, who were wooing me with bottles and freshly prepared cuisines of four-legged and two legged living beings.

 

Back in Kerala, the rains were pouring like anything, one pot per drop? Whatever! The mode of travel was next on the discussion board and we settled the travel, in my car as the taxis were INR 1500 more when calculated. Though my friend and me were multi-millionaires, we were against wasting money. Dad was in his high mood of tension and even gave me an option of shifting my holy visit to two or three months later. But I didn’t want to lose the precious 7 days of Vratham. He also gave me a PowerPoint presentation describing the pros and cons of using a taxi. The main point which struck me was the wear and tear on the engine if we use our car. We settled with my car and my friend’s driver.

 

All went well and we had our ‘Kettu-nara’ at a nearby Ayyappa temple on 14.06.2010, 8AM. The atmosphere was as romantic as in the tropical rainforests. I could see the faces of the people who had come to see us off, turn like tomatoes when our drenched buttocks plunghed the cozy back seat of my car.  Our journey started with a devotional bajan, “Swamiyee! Sharanam Ayyappa!” around 8.30AM, to the Western Ghat Mountain Ranges of Pathanamthitta District in Kerala.

 

We reached the foot of the Sabarimala hills around 5.00 in the evening after visiting Chottanikara temple, Vaikkom Mahadeva temple and Ettumannur Mahadeva temple on the way. We also went to the Mosque of Vavar (The Muslim friend of Ayyappa, they say) and could see people worship both, with the same fervour, symbolising Hindu-Muslims unity. The river Pamba, where we had to holy dip ourselves was flowing as if the water molecules were in a race to reach the sea first. We bought a pair of raincoats as the rains were not having any idea to impede. It was a sheer waste, as I tore it with my finger nails while trying to put it on. Three dips in the holy river Pamba, and we started our climb with the Irumudi Kettu on our heads, to the Sabarimala Shrine, situated among  18 hills, covered with thick dense forest and a total distance of 5kms traversing through three high-ceilinged mountains Azhutha, Karimala, Neelimala and varying from 3000 to 6000 feet. The rains was pouring cats and dogs and we had to stop every half hour, as the path was very slippery and we lacked the normal exercise of walking, and here we are talking about climbing.  

After around three and a half hours, we stood in front of the last 18 golden steps (Pathinettam padi). Jokes apart, my eyes over flowed with tears and couldn’t speak for some time. The sight evoked a fullthroated refrain “Swamiyee Sharanam Ayyappa” Straight ahead was the image of the Lord, Dharma Sastha resplendent in all his glory. We moved around the temple in a clock-wise direction and came right in front of the shrine. There, sitting in the Yogasana/meditative pose, with a band around his folded legs, a cloth crown on his head, the forefinger of his right hand touching the thumb indicating That Thou Art (Tht Tvam Asi) was the deity. The ‘Dharshanam’ was spectacular and heart-filling. The crowd was pushing us from behind but we got enough time to absorb the positive energy radiating from inside. 

 

We had our own and family member’s offerings in the form of Ghee, Rice, incense sticks, coconuts, money, camphor etc. We offered the ghee from the ghee filled coconuts and it also fused as part of the hundreds of litres that was overflowing from the collecting vessels kept at the corners. We sat there and started to appreciate the temple beauty. Thanks to Dr. Vijay Malaya, the Alcohol king of India, for covering the whole temple roof in gold. As decided before we planned to stay there and headed towards the accommodation office to rent a room, for the night, without touching the wild boars grazing on the ghee smeared coconut pieces here and there. Most of the direction boards were covered with Devosom political posters asking for a serious inquiry into the case of a missing office employee.

 

We got a room paying 400 Indian Rupees, on the third floor of a newly constructed Guest House. The door opened smoother than the 450 years old Amber Fort of Pink City, Jaipur. We also got two straw mats for 15 rupees plus five rupees caution deposit each. The room gave the impression of a museum preserving the black dhothis and VIP underwears, spreading the nostalgic thoughts of the previous devotees. The walls and floors were perfectly maintained and designed, using natural pan spitting and cigarette buds.  The beauty of the room increased when the light, coming from the one and only yellow bulb, reflected on the broken window glass panes on the floor. We both had to unload out our stomachs and we checked out the bathrooms. It was so well maintained, that none of the earlier residues was cleant. The water coming out of the pipes had a great competition with the black filter coffee in colour and Vaseline in viscosity. No prize for those who don’t ask me how I met the nature’s call. UGH!!!!!!

 

We changed our schedule a little, decided to leave the Sanidanam. We went locking the door behind us, straight to the Accommodation office. I stopped talking about the greatness of the room and the methods to maintain it like that, when I realized the concerned person was looking at a lizard which was about to catch a fly, rather than listening to me. With the caution deposit of 100 INR we started descending. We took our own sweet time in climbing down as we didn’t want a straight flight hurling down towards the car and surprise the driver. We stopped in between as hunger pangs struck.  Paratta (kerala porotta) and Kadala (Black Bengal gram) curry. The Kadala was cooked so well that it would bounce 7 times if dropped on a hard floor. We also had a big forest butterfly to eat with us. 

On the way up and down we met so many people on the pilgrimage to Sabarimala. Some of those characters are jotted below. No prize for guessing who had more Bhakthi.

·         Two persons in their religious ‘attires’ (Designer T-shirts, Shorts, Sneakers and even caps)-branded, munching on big ‘Lays’ packets’.  They didn’t even stop in trying the ‘trolleys’. (A chair fastened on two bamboo poles carried by 4 persons to carry old and physically challenged people.)

·         A family- A father looking like golf player (the golf club was the only thing missing), the mother chanting ‘yes you can do, only 3 kms more, come on.. yes.. Ahh’ (God knows what she was expecting up there), the two teenagers carrying a PSP and a Discman.

·         A person carrying two gas cylinders to the top without any hardships on his face. I could count his ribs. Hope he gets a three figured amount after he delivers it.

·         A group with a high-end mobile playing “Uff teri adaa, Uff teri badan, I like the way you move”

·         An old man with crunches walking slowly up chanting ‘Swamiyee’ at the top of his voice.

 

We sat dipping our throbbing feet in the cold Pamba for more than half an hour and came back in the car, back to square one thinking of when the Lord himself will get fed-up sitting at the top. Hope the positive energy would pertain there.

Swamiyee Sharanam Ayyappa.

 

Tail Piece: Ropeways and Railways to Sabarimala Sanidhanam? Hope they won’t bring the mountains down. The days when a Multiplex will be opened there is not very far.

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