Ayyappa devotees from TN worry about restrictions at Sabarimala
A Few Have Decided Not To Go At All
Sivakumar.B@timesgroup.com
Chennai:24.11.2018
Devotees of Lord Ayyappa from Tamil Nadu, tens of thousands of whom trek to Sabarimala in Kerala each year, are worried about the restrictions there after a Supreme Court order allowed entry of women of all ages. Many who either made a visit after the SC order or plan one said this was the first time they had to book darshan time.
T Ramesh, a former bank official who has been going to the hill shrine for 40 years now, is a little apprehensive this time. The Tamil Nadu government has asked the HR&CE department to set up a help desk for devotees from the state, but many remain concerned.
“We generally go in a group from Chennai. This year I am going from Bengaluru with another 5 people. We are told we must stay in Vandiperiyar and can only go up to Nilakkal, the base camp for Sabarimala,” said Ramesh, who has booked tickets for darshan and bus travel from Nilakkal to Pamba. “The restrictions are not only about allowing women of all ages but also with regard to the way we raise slogans in the name of Lord Ayyappa. We are told we should not raise ‘gosham’ (slogans) and silently pray and get down. We are told not to stay beyond 7pm in the hills.”
T R Ananthapadmanabhan, who walks to the shrine every year from Chennai, hoped there would not be any hindrance. “During a visit in October, I was stopped by police but I told them I was alone and had come to visit my Lord. After a few minutes I was allowed in.” He has even trekked from Varanasi, a distance of more than 3,000km, a couple of times to create awareness on shunning plastic in the hills He plans a vist later this year, walking from Chennai, but fears it could be the last time because of the many restrictions. “Everytime I visit the temple, I do the sayana pradakshanam (rolling along n the ground in wet clothes). I hope I will be allowed do it this time,” he said.
A few others have cancelled visits. M Krishnan, a IT engineer who has been making the annual trek for 15 years, made preparations this year too. “After seeing the issue palyed out on TVs and reading newspapers, I decided not to go. I will visit the local Ayyappan temple. In future, if things are normal I will visit Sabarimala.”
UNDETERRED: Despite heavy rain pounding the Sabarimala region, the number of devotees visiting the hill shrine on Friday recorded a remarkable increase over the past couple of days, say officials
A Few Have Decided Not To Go At All
Sivakumar.B@timesgroup.com
Chennai:24.11.2018
Devotees of Lord Ayyappa from Tamil Nadu, tens of thousands of whom trek to Sabarimala in Kerala each year, are worried about the restrictions there after a Supreme Court order allowed entry of women of all ages. Many who either made a visit after the SC order or plan one said this was the first time they had to book darshan time.
T Ramesh, a former bank official who has been going to the hill shrine for 40 years now, is a little apprehensive this time. The Tamil Nadu government has asked the HR&CE department to set up a help desk for devotees from the state, but many remain concerned.
“We generally go in a group from Chennai. This year I am going from Bengaluru with another 5 people. We are told we must stay in Vandiperiyar and can only go up to Nilakkal, the base camp for Sabarimala,” said Ramesh, who has booked tickets for darshan and bus travel from Nilakkal to Pamba. “The restrictions are not only about allowing women of all ages but also with regard to the way we raise slogans in the name of Lord Ayyappa. We are told we should not raise ‘gosham’ (slogans) and silently pray and get down. We are told not to stay beyond 7pm in the hills.”
T R Ananthapadmanabhan, who walks to the shrine every year from Chennai, hoped there would not be any hindrance. “During a visit in October, I was stopped by police but I told them I was alone and had come to visit my Lord. After a few minutes I was allowed in.” He has even trekked from Varanasi, a distance of more than 3,000km, a couple of times to create awareness on shunning plastic in the hills He plans a vist later this year, walking from Chennai, but fears it could be the last time because of the many restrictions. “Everytime I visit the temple, I do the sayana pradakshanam (rolling along n the ground in wet clothes). I hope I will be allowed do it this time,” he said.
A few others have cancelled visits. M Krishnan, a IT engineer who has been making the annual trek for 15 years, made preparations this year too. “After seeing the issue palyed out on TVs and reading newspapers, I decided not to go. I will visit the local Ayyappan temple. In future, if things are normal I will visit Sabarimala.”
UNDETERRED: Despite heavy rain pounding the Sabarimala region, the number of devotees visiting the hill shrine on Friday recorded a remarkable increase over the past couple of days, say officials
No comments:
Post a Comment