And finally, the great day had arrived. It was a leisurely morning as we went through the chores with gusto. Lekha, in the meanwhile, had gone to the Panachikkadu temple along with my cousin. Soon after their return, we'd set off for Neelamperoor to be in time for the afternoon puja.
We'd reached there on time and thanks to my cousin, Vrinda's smartness, we could be at the sanctum sanctorum without much wait. Neelamperoor Amma was decked up for the occasion and I'd a nice tete-e-tete with her! Met Suma kunjamma and Kala, it was nice meeting up with them. They returned to their homes soon after. It was yet another occasion to meet up with all our elderly relations out there and in between, a tinge of sadness crept in at the thought of having to leave this place tomorrow.
We returned for lunch at Sarala kunjamma's house and it was a boisterous one at that. Meanwhile, Indira kunjamma and Kripashanker's movement towards the venue was also being monitored. Earlier, Vishnu, from my office at Kollam, was being vectored on to the temple's premises. I'd to sign a few papers that were required to be sent to New Delhi. Thankfully, he was able to reach without difficulty and accomplish his task and in the process, was mesmerised by the grandeur of the preparations for the 'pooram'.
After an hour's siesta and freshening up, we'd returned to the temple to participate in the final serials of the pooram. Our floats(Annam, as they call them) were ready - one was Radhan chettan's and the other was Indira kunjamma's. The carpenter who had worked behind the scenes had broken the coconuts in each case to tell us as to whether the 'Annam' that we'd ordered augured well for us.
How he'd come to those conclusions was through a simple process. After breaking the coconut with care, into two equal halves, he'd retained the water and added just enough plain water to maintain full levels. Into that a 'tulsi' leaf was broken into half and put into the 'eyed' half of the coconut. The leaf floated and settled below, on the floor of the nut, pointing its sharp edge towards one of the cardinal directions, based on which he made his assessment! (Radhan chettan's was Chingam 'raashi' and Indira kunjamma's was Kanni)
Saji, the late Divakaran chittappan's son, after giving us dinner had me change into the rig for the evening serials - a coloured dhoti and a towel draped on my shoulder. The sequence of the serials was as follows:-
(a) The gold replica of Neelamperoor Amma, is brought out at the doorstep of the temple so that
she witnesses the evening's proceedings.
(b) The senior most temple authority goes to her, asking for forgiveness for any mistake that any
of them could have committed during the previous 16 days, in the run up to the festivities.
(c) The 'padayani'(the gathering of the armed forces for war) begins with the recital of the
story of Ramayana in a sing song format and the guys dance around - a quaint action, with
plenty of movements - a bonfire.
(d) The leader of the group, then, goes to the memorial of the ancient king, Cheraman Perumal,
which is within the premises of the temple, seeks his permission and blessings to go for war.
(e) The 'thothukali'(A series of systematic and syncronised provocative actions with the shoulder
towels by the menfolk, that have gathered, follows. They do it around dry coconut leaves that
have been woven together and lit up as bonfires.
(f) And then, follows the march past of the 'Annams' as they are brought by four carriers, each, in
a delectable dancing motion, to the Amma for blessings before they depart for war. There were
92 Annams this year!
(g) The smaller ones('Onnekaal kol' of a height of 31/2 ft are followed by the massive ones of
the temple committee, an option that ensures that the pooram is conducted even if there are no
new offerings!
(h) As it draws to a close, food is offered for the spirits as thanksgiving and the whole temple
premises come to a silent regime after the light and sound of so many days.
It's 2245 hrs and the 'Padayani' has just begun.
Tailpiece.
Nice to be part of the Pooram where my grandparents, parents and the entire 'Puthuvayil' family had been actively part of for the past years.
We'd reached there on time and thanks to my cousin, Vrinda's smartness, we could be at the sanctum sanctorum without much wait. Neelamperoor Amma was decked up for the occasion and I'd a nice tete-e-tete with her! Met Suma kunjamma and Kala, it was nice meeting up with them. They returned to their homes soon after. It was yet another occasion to meet up with all our elderly relations out there and in between, a tinge of sadness crept in at the thought of having to leave this place tomorrow.
We returned for lunch at Sarala kunjamma's house and it was a boisterous one at that. Meanwhile, Indira kunjamma and Kripashanker's movement towards the venue was also being monitored. Earlier, Vishnu, from my office at Kollam, was being vectored on to the temple's premises. I'd to sign a few papers that were required to be sent to New Delhi. Thankfully, he was able to reach without difficulty and accomplish his task and in the process, was mesmerised by the grandeur of the preparations for the 'pooram'.
After an hour's siesta and freshening up, we'd returned to the temple to participate in the final serials of the pooram. Our floats(Annam, as they call them) were ready - one was Radhan chettan's and the other was Indira kunjamma's. The carpenter who had worked behind the scenes had broken the coconuts in each case to tell us as to whether the 'Annam' that we'd ordered augured well for us.
How he'd come to those conclusions was through a simple process. After breaking the coconut with care, into two equal halves, he'd retained the water and added just enough plain water to maintain full levels. Into that a 'tulsi' leaf was broken into half and put into the 'eyed' half of the coconut. The leaf floated and settled below, on the floor of the nut, pointing its sharp edge towards one of the cardinal directions, based on which he made his assessment! (Radhan chettan's was Chingam 'raashi' and Indira kunjamma's was Kanni)
Saji, the late Divakaran chittappan's son, after giving us dinner had me change into the rig for the evening serials - a coloured dhoti and a towel draped on my shoulder. The sequence of the serials was as follows:-
(a) The gold replica of Neelamperoor Amma, is brought out at the doorstep of the temple so that
she witnesses the evening's proceedings.
(b) The senior most temple authority goes to her, asking for forgiveness for any mistake that any
of them could have committed during the previous 16 days, in the run up to the festivities.
(c) The 'padayani'(the gathering of the armed forces for war) begins with the recital of the
story of Ramayana in a sing song format and the guys dance around - a quaint action, with
plenty of movements - a bonfire.
(d) The leader of the group, then, goes to the memorial of the ancient king, Cheraman Perumal,
which is within the premises of the temple, seeks his permission and blessings to go for war.
(e) The 'thothukali'(A series of systematic and syncronised provocative actions with the shoulder
towels by the menfolk, that have gathered, follows. They do it around dry coconut leaves that
have been woven together and lit up as bonfires.
(f) And then, follows the march past of the 'Annams' as they are brought by four carriers, each, in
a delectable dancing motion, to the Amma for blessings before they depart for war. There were
92 Annams this year!
(g) The smaller ones('Onnekaal kol' of a height of 31/2 ft are followed by the massive ones of
the temple committee, an option that ensures that the pooram is conducted even if there are no
new offerings!
(h) As it draws to a close, food is offered for the spirits as thanksgiving and the whole temple
premises come to a silent regime after the light and sound of so many days.
It's 2245 hrs and the 'Padayani' has just begun.
Tailpiece.
Nice to be part of the Pooram where my grandparents, parents and the entire 'Puthuvayil' family had been actively part of for the past years.
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