The "Cool Dude"

He was what the GeNext describes as a "cool dude"! To try and decipher what it actually means is quite an arduous  task. However I will attempt to do so from possibly describing the kind of person he was. Educated, with a fairly decent paying job, with interests in and enthusiasm for normal pastimes like movies, sports, hanging out with friends and girl friends, party hard, drink harder, generally dismissive of dogmas and selectively of religious rituals, opinionated yet accommodative, politically aware without being a follower. In short a 'normal' city bred English medium type in his early 30s! With a sense of optimism that resides in such people. Quite popular in his professional and social circles.

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There is that indescribably something about the air in India. Or is it the water? Whatever may be the case, the social milieu of India is such that more often than not, it breeds people of a type who are quite unique when compared to people of many a land. Is it the history of accommodation and acceptance over a millennia that this land has witnessed? Or is it the secular, plural and syncretic lives lived by our forefathers which have been passed on to the subsequent generations? That unexplainable thing called the 'Idea of India' or as the youngsters have a penchant to put it succinctly as "We are like that only"? Whatever it may be but being Indian defies any mundane definition and it doesn't conform to any stereotype under any standard operation manual.

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Just as it seemed that the good times are about to graduate into great times, disaster struck. The slowdown of the Indian economy hit hard, where it hurts the most. The wallet! First vide a freeze on increments, to reduction in pay packets, to temporary benching to a pink slip. Well so what? There is this sheer optimism of an Indian youth which is difficult to beat down. India after all was touted as the land of opportunities. Something or the other will knock the doors, sooner rather than the later was the primary narrative. Then reality struck. There were too many with pink slips floating around in the employers market for anybody's good. Too many CVs chasing too few jobs. And when a young blood refuses to compromise either on the job profile or be pragmatic enough to take a lower paycheck, virtually it is back to 70s Bollywood films with "No vacancy" boards. Post taking an enforced sabbatical, exhausting all options and cleaning out the savings account dry, it seemed the only option left was to take up that job offer in "gulf", a euphemism for the middle east. The "cool dude" took it!

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India meanwhile was in an upheaval. A right wing party came to power. Intolerance rose. The very "idea of India" was under threat. Headlines screamed. Television screamed louder. Secularism was under threat. India will soon become a "Hindu Pakistan" was the emerging narrative. Liberal voices were being crushed and minorities were on the verge of being reduced to second class citizen. Majoritarianism ran roughshod over the constitutional guarantees and doomsday prophecies were being readied that suggested the balkanization of India.

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He took up his job responsibilities. Toiled for his scheduled 8-10 hours a day. All alone, virtually friendless in an alien land, alien country, for succour he turned to..........to what? He couldn't dig out joints to party. The conventional types of parties. Not on his salary package. Co-workers were more of the same and beyond duty hours had no time for the "outsider". TV was tiring. Internet was heavily censored. Even phone lines were eavesdropped upon. Social Media watched. Those picnic spots were a bore without friends. And there were no temples. It did strike him odd later, much later as to why he was asked to remove the Ayyappa dollor along with the Rudrakshamala it was tied to during his immigration formalities. It struck him everyday, day after day that however much he tried or may have tried, he was the perennial outsider. His abilities, his skills didn't matter. None gave him an identity anymore. His hobbies, his knowledge, his attitude didn't matter. Beyond work, he was not a Salman Khan fan, he wasn't a Manchester United enthusiast, he wasn't a good social companion. He was no longer the "cool dude"! He was not even an Indian! 

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Meanwhile intolerance levels was peaking in India, as artists and authors returned their awards, as daily headlines brought out information on yet another ban on yet another film, book, person or cuisine while the other end of the spectrum called it a political ploy or outraged over hypocrisy. It was around this time that the "cool dude" decided to take his biannual vacation back to India. We all gathered enthusiastically to welcome him back. To renew our regular hangouts. Party hard. Paint the town red. The works! It was then that  we realized. The "cool dude" was no more. Instead the person who met us was a Hindu!

You are right. Intolerance has indeed peaked in India.


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PS: The "Cool Dude" 2 soon!


Glossary:

Dollor : Pendent
Rudhrakshamala : 

Women? Good Lord!

Either the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has read my blogpost or better sense has prevailed. A new sense of purpose maybe. Among the many complaints mentioned in my earlier post I am happy to report substantial changes, for the better that I witnessed during my recent visit to the Sabari Hills. The washrooms/restrooms earlier resting on man made lakes and the other attended shortcomings have been renovated. No more water logging. No more running around to fetch water. And clean! Well done TDB.

Plastic! Where art thou? The Sabarimalai and its entire trekking stretch and the Sannidhanam is plastic free now. No polybags, no pet bottles. NO PLASTIC! Kudos! However Dear TDB here are a few suggestions which can make this step even more devotee friendly. While ban on pet bottles is a very welcome step, you must also ensure presence of far more numbers of fresh drinking water kiosks. I for one was left mostly thirsty as I did not carry any water storing unit and had to discard the pet bottle at a garbage bin at the start of the trek at Pampa. You must also encourage the water/water substitute brands to possibly sell their liquids in recyclable glass bottles which will not only ensure conserving the environment around the holy hills but also give people a chance to buy and carry liquids to quench their thirst. Well done TDB for converting a nitpicker into a suggestion maker!

At the starting point of the trek up the Sabarimalai there is a police check point. Not only looking out for pickpockets or unruly devotees but also to check the age certificate of the women devotees who they suspect might be over 10 or under 50 years of age. For those who came in late, the rules at Sabarimalai bar girls/women in the above age bracket from entering the temple premises because of an age old tradition which believes their presence will defile a temple where the resident god, Lord Ayyappan has taken a vow of permanent celibacy. You would also be aware of the recent movements from various quarters to stop what is described as a regressive practice which is not only patriarchal but is also unconstitutional. While the matter is still in the courts and various parties are jockeying to take position for and against any change in this tradition, I for one am all for the rules be amended and the women, all women be allowed to have a darshan of our maker. You may call me gender neutral on this issue. Just as Hindu rituals/practices have either evolved for the better through internal reforms or by the stroke in the law books. If Sati can be abolished, if widow remarriage permitted, if right to property be allowed for the girl child, then why not an innocuous temple entry?

Shani Shingnapur - Trailer for Sabarimalai?

I can already read your mind. “Hinduism under attack! Our rituals and our tradition!” Say the fundamentalists. “Why only us Hindus? Why not the other religions married to the book?” Say the champions of Uniform Civil Code. I will take up your queries, one at a time.

I have already touched upon Sati and other ‘traditions’. For those who are unaware, a visit to Sabarimalai demands a 41 day period of penance which entails celibacy, no vices, black attire, no shaving/hair cutting etc. In short lead a life of a yogi/hermit. That is the tradition. Today however many if not most do not undergo the penance. I have seen people even during the penance indulge in activities not permitted. And one can see many a trekker smoking away to glory. These traditions are expendable of course for it is the men who indulge in it you see. Double standards if there was one and so much for Hinduism under attack. Be a sport. Be true. And let the ladies in. I am sure they are far more pious and serious than most men are!

“Why only us Hindus? Why not the Abrahamic religions? You don’t have guts to touch their religious practices!” Sadly I too have to agree with you here. A combination of ‘why disturb the beehive’ mentality and lopsided lust for 'minority votes’ by a section of our political class has led to a substantial number of our citizen remaining in perennial darkness of regressive practices. Appeasement is what it is called commonly. And it must change. Change soon. This country owes it to some of its most backward and oppressed citizenry in the name of following 7^th Century laws. And I am willing to go the whole way on this point. I have what I think only one question for you. Must I too regress or stagnate or stop evolving for the better just because others don’t? Will you for example stop giving attention to your work or your business or studies because some others in the company or marketplace or classrooms are unwilling to or unable to or are not permitted to? I am sure you will agree with me that you won’t! That is the crux of my argument. I will continue to strive and improve and continue to set a positive example. And will keep doing it for my benefit. And I am sure one day it will rub off on the others. I as in Hindus and others as in those who are still suppressed by the dogma arising out of the pulpit.

MalikapuratthuAmma. Waiting for the wait to end!

There is an interesting sidelight to the Celibate Yogi in Sabarimalai. A lady, much in love with Lord Ayyappan, Malikapuratthu Amma, whose shrine too is one among the many in the Ponnambalam is waiting for the day when the Lord will break his vows. The condition imposed by the Lord to accept her is that he would do so the day when there is not a single ‘debutant’, christened Kanni Swamy, among the devotees who visit the temple! The other legend about Ayyappan is that he is a much married man. He has two wives. Purna and Pushkala. SO! The Lord has not forsaken the womenfolk. It is as good a time as any for men to stop forsaking them too!

Purna Pushkala sametha Ayyappa Swamiyeiiii!

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PS: The lady of my house says she will never visit Sabarimalai till she attains the age prescribed by the traditions. It will be a deiva kuttram she says. I too won’t insist. The lady knows what she wants and I leave it at that. I am sure most men will agree with me.

You might find this interesting too. The Bad, The Good, The Best of Sabarimalai

 

Glossary:

Dharshan : Holy glimpse of the Idol of the god/goddess in Hindu temples.

Ponnambalam : Golden Temple

Kanni Swamy : First time visitor/devotee at Sabarimalai.

Deiva Kuttram : Blasphemy

Sannidhanam: Sanctum Sanctorum  

Sati: Practice of a widow joining/forced into the funeral pyres of her husband. Abolished by law during British India days after a sustained campaign against it by Reformist Raja Ram Mohun Roy.

The Flying Bull

The Tourism Department brochures will tell you enough. You must visit the magnificent Nellaippar Temple built by the ancient Pandya Kings and improved, expanded and maintained by every ruler to have Tirunelveli under his wings. The brochures will also advise you to stand under the Kuttrallam Falls post a massage with herbal oils. And of course visit the adjacent Kuttralanathar Temple which like most temples of Tamilnadu are ancient, big and magnificent! What the brochures will possibly not tell you is a must visit place in the vicinity, Sivasailam.

As the name suggests, Sivasailam is yet another temple dedicated to Lord Shiva that dot the landscape in and around the Tirunelveli District of Tamilnadu. Approximately 60 kms away from Tirunelveli, in the Ambasamudram Taluk is the abode of Sivasailanathar and his consort Paramakalyani. Located on the banks of Ghatana Nadhi, a tributary of Thamaraparani River this temple is steeped in myths and legends.

While the primary reason to visit any Sivalayam is to offer prayers to the reigning deity of the temple or sink in the beauty of the marvellous temple, Sivasailam offers a unique but interesting diversion to the routine. The most attractive exhibit in Sivasailam is the not in the sanctum sanctorum but outside it, the vehicle of Lord Shiva, the divine Nandi!

Myths, legends, folklore and a mixture of all these says that once Nandi complained to Lord Shiva that while the Lord and the Goddess along with the million other gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon get the pride of place and attention in all the temples, Nandi despite being the Vaahanam of Shiva is mostly ignored by the devotees. So upset, Nandi asked Shiva to help get some spotlight on him. Shiva having accepted the complaint as one with some merit in it, asked Maya the Architect/Engineer/Sculptor of the Asuras to sculpt a statue of Nandi which would be unmatched in its beauty and the same to be consecrated at Sivasailam. Maya, the story goes, sculpted a statue of such divine beauty, so lifelike, so perfect that the statue came to life and it prepared to get up and fly off to the heavens! Such perfection being too much for mere mortals of the earth to witness and appreciate. Maya, ever alert to such a possibility, promptly threw his instruments on Nandi even as it was getting up and made a thin wound on its back and thereby reducing the Nandi statue from the levels of perfection of the gods. The so dented statue promptly froze into a stone again and adorns the pride of place in the temple.  

Ready to get up and fly away!

Offered without comments!

The 'Dent' of imperfection!

There are many temples in India where one can see statues of Nandi much bigger in size and grander in scale, the ones in Brahadeeshwaran Temple in Thanjavur or the Basavangudi in Bangalore readily comes to mind but I bet if you would ever see a Nandi, more beautiful, almost bordering on perfection anywhere else but Sivasailam!  

Even the 'tail' tells a tale of perfection!

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PS: And while you are in the district don't miss too the Glorious temple in Tenkasi. And Papanaasam. And Sankarankoil. And................! 

Glossary:

Vaahanam : Mount/Vehicle

Asuras: People of the dark and evil in Indian Mythology

Heaven at a Bargain

It was anticipated. I mean for a person who was a virtual vegetable for the past one year or so it was quite expected that the curtains will be drawn anytime now. And as a mark of respect or the pressure to act as per societal norms ensured that a trip was taken to meet him for the last time before the moment overtook us. As expected and dare I say the much awaited moment arrived and the Father-in-law took his leave from the world of the mortals. Surprisingly despite the advance notice of the inevitable, tears were shed by the progenies of the man.

The basic formalities post his demise went with clockwork precision. The death certificates, the ambulance, the electric crematorium were a breeze except for the arrangement of the man who stood between us and the departed soul in search of moksham! The Shastrigal of course! With the ‘family’ Panditji being away from town, a mini hunt was launched to find a substitute who would fill in and one was duly identified. However there was so much ground to be covered before the stand-in-Pundit would take up the responsibility. Firstly came out his ‘menu’. Basic Package @ Rs.X, Special Package @ Rs.X+ and finally the Premium Package @ Rs X++! The various packages were presented with such skills that the salesman in me was impressed. The sales pitch further had punch dialogues (“One must not be miserly when it comes to the last rites of one’s father. Don’t you want him to attain Vaikuntham?” Welcome!) No prizes for guessing that the suckers fell for the sales pitch. It was then left to a senior citizen in the family to negotiate the special ‘End of Season’ discount. Post a back and forth which made sabziwala/behenji scene seem like a child’s play the deal was struck and the swarga yatra began in right earnest post the exchange of crisp currency!

Basic or Premium?

If we thought with that we had reserved a berth for the old man in heaven, we were wrong. As in a discount sale so in life, never ignore the *Conditions Apply written deliberately in so small a font that you need a magnifying glass to comprehend. To cut the story short, the Package amount was only the fees while all the samagri needed to perform the rites were not part of the standard product. They needed to be paid for separately. The Shastrigal gallantly offering to procure them from his ‘regular’ store at an attractive discount! The proceedings moved ahead post the exchange of currency yet again.

*Conditions Apply

Over the next 13 days, the rites were performed as per the direction of this expert. On the last day of the event, the Shastriji proceeded to give us a sermon. The ‘meaning’ of the rites indulged in were explained. Most of us weary folks by then were ready to get on with life. The Shastriji however was in no mood to let go. “What we have just completed are the initial rites which will ensure swargam for the departed soul. However there remains a ‘monthly’ karyam for the first year and then an ‘annual’ do which will ensure a happy stay for the departed soul in heaven!” Thus spake the sagely Panditji. And post this monologue we awaited the inevitable. The Pandit didn’t disappoint us. “Basic Package @ Rs.X, Special Package @ Rs.X+ and finally the Premium Package @ Rs X++!” He said!

 

AMC Available!

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PS: To satisfy your curiosity, the family decided to part with more crisp currency!

Glossary:

Moksham/Vaikuntham/Swargam : Heaven

Sabziwala/Behenji : Vegetable vendor and a homemaker

Yatra : Journey

Karyam : Vedic rites

Samagri : Articles for conducting the rites

Panditji/Shastrigal : The Hindu Priest