Unity in Diversity at its best
Published February 4, 2010 | 
India in general and Kerala in particular has always been famous for being the home to a multitude of cultures, festivals and religions, which has only accented the richness and vibrancy of our social fabric . Though divisive forces and religious fanaticism have wrecked havoc all over the world, Kerala can take pride in being successful in upholding its secular credentials.
This heartening incident that happened in Cochin last week , should be an eye opener for all those who try to break the strong bonds of brotherhood and amity.
Scene 1: A well attended religious procession from a famous temple is underway and the streets get jam packed with curious onlookers and devotees as the many colorful ‘kavadis’ ( Richly decked up arches,some as tall as four feet or more; with confetti and glitter which is carried on the shoulders of the male devotees as a mark of respect to the presiding deity of Lord Muruka) take to the streets. Well complimented by the fast beats of percussion instruments, soon the religious fervor and frenzy hits its crescendo as the devotees with the towering kavadis on their shoulders and some with their cheeks pierced with the sharp tridents as a mark of penance, dance and swirl in a trance. As the procession enters the residential areas, people staying in houses on either side of the road welcome the procession with lighted lamps and floral garlands irrespective of their caste or religion. The procession grows in size as more people join it at the rear, making it a swarming sea of humanity. Nobody seems to bother about the religion of the person standing next to him; on the other hand everyone was making the most of the festive spirit in the air.
Scene 2: A few minutes later, a church procession in connection with its annual festival hits the main roads. The decorated deity was taken out in procession and there were band sets and people carrying religious flags and colorful parasols to add to the pomp and glitter of the whole occasion. Both the processions meet at a junction down the road and I could see people of both the processions exchanging pleasantries as they moved forward.
Igniting religious enmity is not in people’s agenda anyway and those who are behind it should have their own evil designs and motives for sure!
Sabarimala – The centre of faith and devotion
Published November 21, 2009 | Like every year the doors of the famous temple Sabarimala were once again open for two months for the pilgrims. Being a devotee of Lord Ayyappa I was also one among those millions of pilgrims waiting to get a glimpse of Lord Ayyappa. The temple gets thronged with devotees especially during the main pilgrim season from November to January. Mandalapooja(Nov.17th)and Makaravilakku(Jan.14th) the two main events of the pilgrim season. The temple remains closed during the rest of the year except for the first five days of every Malayalam month and during Vishu (April).
Throughout the route to pamba we spotted hundreds of pilgrims marching ahead to their destination ‘Sabarimala‘. After reaching ‘Pamba’ ( the third longest river in the South Indian state of Kerala and considered as the Dakshin Ganga due to its association with the pilgrim centre – Sabarimala) I was much pleased, the way the authorities have cleared up the banks and made ample space for the pilgrims to take the holy dip in Pamba.
After taking the holy dip in ‘Pamba,’ we marched towards the Pamba Ganapathy temple, we started our journey bare footed with Irumudi Kettu (Irumudi is the only travelling kit which a pilgrim carries on his head during the pilgrimage) on our heads toward the hilltop Sabrimala shrine. Metal detector and scanning machines were installed to keep a vigil. Thousands of devotees were marching up chanting ‘Swamiye Ayyappa’ ‘Ayyappa Swamiye’. Even the arrangements seemed quite perfect this year with many commendable works by the dewasom.
Glimpse of the development this year :
- Construction of new Cardiology Centre.
- Broadening of pathways
- Concreting the pathways
- Building up new barricades on the way
- More resting shelters on the way to the shrine.
- Medicated water stalls for devotees
Many temporary restaurants and tea stalls were there on both sides of the pathway. We all were moving on chanting the name of Lord Ayyappa, and suddenly the climate changed,and it was rain all over. Soon we moved on to those resting sheds constructed this year, again we started our journey towards the shrine after the rain.
Walking for an hour more we finally reached the ‘Nadapanthal’ where devotees were queued waiting for making it to the 18 holy steps. All along the journey I found more devotees from Tamil Nadu, Andra Pradesh and Karnataka rather than Kerala and few foreign nationals were also there stating how popular Sabarimala is. As one steps on those holy eighteen steps, a full throated cry goes up from the devotees, “Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa!” It is the realisation of a mission. Policemen were deployed all around. After few struggle we managed to those 18 steps (Pathinettu padi) made up of pure gold, where policemen were standing on both side of those 18 holy steps pulling up devotees quickly.
Actual Timings during the Mandala Pooja – Makaravilakku Season
Opens at 0400 hrs 0400 hrs
Nirmalya Darshanam 0405 hrs 0405 hrs
Neyyabhishekam 0430 – 1130 hrs 0425 -1130 hrs
Ganapathi Homam 0435 hrs 0430 hrs
Usha Pooja 0730 hrs 0730 hrs
Ucha (Noon) Pooja 1230 hrs 1300 hrs
Closes at 1300 hrs 1330 hrs
Opens at 1600 hrs 1600 hrs
Deeparadhana 1830 hrs 1830 hrs
Pushpabhishekham 1900 hrs 1900 hrs
Athaza Pooja 2230 hrs 2230 hrs
Harivarasanam and Closing at 2250 to 2300 2250 to 2300 hrs
My eyes were taken by surprise to see such a massive turn out of devotees, the Lord Ayyappan temple (Sreekovil) was glittering with gold all over it, from roof top to pillars and doors all made of pure gold. In the sannidhanam there is a shrine of Lord Ganapati which is also recently platted with gold facing to the south-west of the main temple, known as Kannimula Ganapati. The special offering to this deity is Ganapati homam.
After worshiping the two deities, we moved to our camp. Though it was 10 pm but the buzz and enthusiasm of the pilgrims made me to realise that its nothing other than Gods blessing which keeps those pilgrims active even after walking for hours bare footed.
Next was to buy the prasadam, the queue for arvana was really long with devotees waiting to make it to the counter. I felt the lazy approach in the arrangements made by the police, as many devotees jumped the queue to buy the prasadam. After an hour we got the arvana payasam (prasadam of Lord Ayyappa).
Next morning we woke up early to take the holy dip in the ‘Bhasma Kulam’(About a 100 metres away is the shrine of Malikappurathamma. where hundreds of devotees takes holy bath in memory of the tapaswini Sabari who entered a fire to end her mortal life. It is after her that the peak is named Sabarimala). After taking the holy dip we started our journey back to pamba, while descending on the route we saw tall trees standing dead straight appearing like skyscraper. We spotted many ‘Doli’(Palanquin) carrying old aged and disabled devotees. I appreciate the efforts by those palanquin carriers who carry pilgrims on those hilly terrains.
Being the first day of Mandalamasam there was huge rush of devotees. After reaching pamba, again we took a holy dip refreshing ourselves from the fatigue of descending down the hill. With the first dip in water something brushed my feet, it was a mundu – Many devotees abandon their mundu after taking the holy dip on their way back.
In order to avoid any traffic congestion heavy vehicles were not allowed to be parked in the parking lot near pamba. So we opted for a public transport towards Nilackal (An important Temple enroute to Sabarimala and located between Plappally and Pampa) an intermediate halting area with ample parking facilities distributed separatley as per states, like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andra Pradesh. This year lot more parking area was allotted, from there I boarded my bus and started my return journey with the hope to come back again next year, with more fervor and devotion. “Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa”.