I was riding back home from work the other day, humming to a Vidya Iyer’s south Indian number..which slid me back smoothly in my childhood memories while my mind tried to reconnect the pieces of related memories.
The gentle breeze under the canopy made me shiver as it felt cold and I remembered Ayyappa Pooja that is celebrated at my township every December. The pagoda is covered with blue tin in a semi circular shape which houses the deity. The path leading to the deity is lined with many small nilavilakkus with a giant central Nilavilakku giving the hall a golden yellow aura. Little girls dressed in traditional Pattupavadai and blouse and beautiful ladies in ‘Mundum Neriyathum’ or Kasavu adorn the pooja venue. Men dressed in ethnic Mundu and shirt look absolutely wannabe. The pandal is decorated with some white flowers which look like white lilies with faint green leaves which are hanged all over the pagoda.
I distinctly remember me and my friends with my father carrying my little sister in his lap behind us used to run to the pagoda on hearing the bells which marked the start of the ‘aarthi’. Two uncles used to sit in the front singing the devotional songs in malayalam. Me and my friends used to hurry and grab the front most spots near the deity to sit. Even though we didn’t use to understand a word of what they all sang, still I had by hearted the songs as ‘Harivarasanam Devamashraye’ , ‘Hari hara suthane’ and ‘Mangalam swami ninnamam roop mudagila nityam jaya’..
The loud ringing bells along with melodious chorus of the devotional songs in the ears in that mild golden yellow aura from central Nilavilakku made me feel a different divinity in the ambience and connected to the deity. Even my little sister who was just two, used to fall silent to the chorus of bells and chanting. Unlike other kids who were just interested in tasty ‘prasadam’, me and my friends made it a point to attend the prayers everyday as we absolutely loved to sing the songs.
I can still feel the precious divine feeling on remembering hard; trying to recreate the memory in my mind which I miss these days given to busy life. As much as I liked and waited for different festivals, Ayyappa pooja was a time for which I waited eagerly. The pooja ends with a procession with traditional drummers, Kathakali dancers with vivid face paintings and attire and elephants carrying the deity followed by ladies and girls dressed in Kasavu carrying villaku termed as ‘Thiruvabharanam’ used to be the best part of the whole festival. Kids including me were scared of the Kathakali dancers, even though they just used to bless people coming near them.
The last day used to be ‘Mahaprasadam’ after the management people used to leave for Sabrimalai as a tradition. My best friend’s father used to bring us the invitation for the mahaprasadam every year and he never missed one day at the pooja. The main attraction of the Mahaprasadam used to be ‘Sundal’ fried chickpeas in coconut oil with spices and dried red chilli. Everyone used to crave for more of it apart from the delicious Idli Sambhar having the most authentic taste…
I came with a start out of these memories as I spotted that I lived just near the ‘Halol Kerala Samaj’ and wondered whether they’d be conducting Ayyappa Pooja there and if I would be able to attend it. If that happens by chance, I’m sure to find Selva Durai, owner of the Selvam Ganesh stall as the cook for the Mahaprasadam. And I’m sure he’d be surprised to find me there.. 😉
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