Nurungukal….2…

      Post harvest festivals are commonly celebrated in Kerala as part of an offering to various Gods or Goddesses. Most of them are in the form of rituals which have set patterns. Besides an expression of obeisance to the Deity, these festivals are part of joy and happiness that reflects the essentials of respective social fabric where each community have predefined functions. Although in the past most of them were conducted to enjoy the fruits of a good harvest. But now they are  merely routine rituals providing a chance to be hilarious in the company of a joyous crowd. The committees who organise such rituals make sure that the programme includes such ingredients in the name of divinity which can trigger not only a chance to worship but also for abundant pleasure.It can be either a colourful procession by parading a set of caparisoned elephants, in the company of many types of musical percussions. Folklore artists are an inevitable part of this galore. They have an ancestral right to perform. The art forms  are diversified from place to place and are related to the class of the main Deity of a temple.

      A few years ago I had a an opportunity to head a temple festival committee. I felt it as a privileged post. Because  during the performance of the theyyams and thiras I was addressed as the karthav  which means the creator. Thus I became an inevitable part of many ceremonies. At the end of each performance the oracle or theyyam or thira addressed me in a trance. I had to accept their commands and agree for compliance. In the process they used to give holy water [ undiluted brandy !!!] or a few pieces of burning charcoal or some time pulled me to and fro on the fire pit. Each such moments gave me an opportunity to test my belief or agility. But above all what I appreciated and enjoyed most in such rituals is the welcome prayer [thottam pattu], so melodious, stimulating your senses, when its crescendo reaches in high notes breaking the silence of a dead night and the entry of the enigmatic figure, colourful and fierce looking. The glow of the flames of many oil lamps reflecting on the surrounding mass, eagerly watching the proceedings can make you spell bound. I have witnessed in their face anxiety,sorrow, expectation,happiness, quest for consolation above all a confidence for being a part of a Devine togetherness. At the end when you are drenched by the turmeric water from the burning cauldrons by a sprinkling with the areca nut fronts one attains the satisfaction of being purified externally also. Can you visualise any other function which can cleanse simultaneously your mind and body at a time?........