Late after the dinner on Dasami, a family of 10-15 members climb into the jeep with huge garlands and a bag packed with special silk sarees for the ladies, silk parikinee for the little girls, angavastram and dhoti for the men and boys. The grandfather occupies a prominent seat beside the driver, with one son next to him and a grandson on him!! The grandmother, though sitting at the back, holds a significant position too...given the fact that she has two of her grand-daughters on her lap. One hour in that December chill, the group reaches the choultry next to Bhavannarayanaswamy temple in Ponnur, where large carpets are laid for the people to sleep.
At around 2am, the children wake up to the loud chatter of the elders who are all running around in haste. Some of them are taking a bath, some wrapping the sarees in the traditional style and some helping the youngsters wear the dhoti. The girls are rushed into the washrooms where shining steel buckets with hot water provided by the temple are awaiting. Immediately after the bath, they are dressed in the silk parikinees and the hair is neatly plaited with customary round and gold-plated hangings.
Clad in total conventional attire, the family heads towards the chariot of the temple at 3:30am. After the puja, the special idols of the Lord and the Goddesses decorated in flowers are placed on the chariot. The grandfather climbs up and garlands the idols in the roses tied with shimmering threads. The grandmother embellishes the chariot with some more flowers. Divinity is in the air as the devotees around shout the multiple names of the Lord. Once done, all the members pay their respects to Bhavannarayanaswamy and pull the chariot for the procession, after which, the doors at the north end of the temple are opened for the Darshan. The entire family prostrates before the 'sarvantaryami' with devotion, not only for him being the omnipotent, but also as the representation of the great-grandfathers who have donated the land they have received from the kings, for the temple. Prasadam is then distributed to everyone around. As everyone knows, the special offerings during Dhanurmasam (that ends with cooking Pongal over the flame of cow-dung cakes, in mid-January) are rice varieties. Having these hot and piping pongal and pulihora from the temple kitchen, on that cold and hard stony floor at that early hour in a misty climate, is the ultimate experience of the lifetime.
This has been the routine of our family since childhood, on every Vaikunta ekadasi, which also happens to be my grandfathers birthday. The scent of the garland of roses, the warmth of grandma's embrace while sitting on her lap and the scrumptious taste of the prasadam are still fresh in my mind.
Traditions and customs just seem to be a re-assurance of togetherness among the people woven into a family or a society for that matter. They create a backdrop for everyone to remember their roots and pay reverence to the unknown force behind the present day prosperity!!
