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.