Nurungukal………….

     

Their first visit to our neighbourhood, a densely inhabited area, was sudden, short and unexpected. The pair of pachyderms  tusker surreptitiously trespassed into our locality under the cover of darkness, consumed a stretch of banana plants and retraced their path eluding an angry mob. The damage was costly and the target land resembled a war torn ground. From the size of the foot prints one can easily imagine the size of the animals. A boy on his way to collect the bundle of news paper from the nearby town had a glimpse of their long tusks as they were retreating in hurry at the first streak of twilight in the eastern horizon. The incident virtually hurt the otherwise peaceful locality. For the next couple of days the topic filled the air and all and sundry activated their social groups with the evidences of havoc done by our animal friends. Some even tried to mould a make belief contention that the pair are the descendants of a forgone herd who would have been reigning the hillock known as ANOMKUNNU and they have just activated by instinct an elephant path frequented by their ancestors many  years ago. As usual the memory of the invasion slowly vanished from our minds. But contrary to our wishful thinking, the pair appeared exactly after a month. A lady on hearing an unfamiliar sound peeped through her window  to witness them uprooting her plantain, a scene which will remain in her with a shrill. But to her surprise they moved slowly and left her premises placing the plant just in the porch of her little house, without causing any damage.  This time they refused to return, but remained in the vicinity for two days as if to establish a right on their ancestral domain and right of way.  Again they returned without much persuasion although this time the officials were ready to meet any eventuality. I heard today that the same pair is stationed in a coffee estate near to us. That means they are very serious about their intention of retrieving their lost ground, something precious and essential for the existence of their tribe. So far there is no loss to life or property. But how long they will hold their patience is to be seen.

       The episode has not attracted any intense media attention as in the case of Ottaplam sojourn on the banks of NILA. May be that ours is comparatively a low profile village.

       This conflicts between man and animal  on territories are to be dealt case by case. But in general the main issue is survival. The depletion of healthy forest systems denies sufficient food and water to our fore runners on earth, due to our encroachments to their territory and the lack of effective management of forest wealth. Let us hope that a day will ultimately dawn when a better harmony will prevail and till such time we would love to bear with the frequent visits of THEIR MAJESTIES… dum, dum, dum, pee, pee,pi……

Nurungukal…

     He narrated the incident with the fluency of a story teller. The flow was in correct sequence. There was no element of imagination. The young Poojari was in a trance,  as he described the unusual encounter, last night he had with a Fairy in the temple premises.

      He was young, dark, and muscular with long curly hair, which  fell below his broad shoulders. When he smiled the teeth sparkled like a crescent in a dark night. The eyes were expressive and his movements had the dexterity of a dancer. In nutshell he fit into the category of a CHULLAN , a glossary, the new gen girls use to describe a smart guy.

      It was after a frantic search we could manage to select him as the Poojari of our temple, because no member of the traditional Namboodiri family was willing to accept our offer. More over the temple is situated in the middle of a vast tea estate, isolated far away from human habitation.  He was just out of his teens and hailed from a remote village in Madurai. He had some training in conducting poojas from his uncle who was respected by all for his knowledge on such matters and was known as SASTRY.

       The story was told to us during one of our regular visits to the temple, usually after dusk to attend the deeparadhana. We selected the time mainly to get a full darsan as there would be no other devotees. In my case I took the opportunity to refresh my Tamil, conversing with him.

         After exchanging usual pleasantries, he slowly unravelled a mystery surrounding the temple.  When he was practising yoga in the open ground near the temple one night, he  felt a strange smell, followed by a tingling of anklets. There was a mummer as the slow breeze passed shaking the leaves of the Pala tree which stood majestically on the top of the nearby rock. As he turned round inquisitively a misty figure vanished with a deafening thunder and a red glow on to the top of the Pala tree leaving behind a fragrance for a while.

          In the past  I have heard about many such strange experiences, like odiyan, kappiri  etc. also stories of many weird forms from our night watchmen. Such items had never disturbed me. Even the one told by this Pujari boy, till the other day when I felt a similar feeling as I  happened to make a visit out of curiosity to the  top of the rock where the old Pala tree still adorns the surroundings. Rarely fictions are stranger than facts, I suppose……..dum dum dum pee pee pi.