makara jyothi-Darshanam

Sabarimalai, the abode of Lord  ayyappa attracts millions of devotees from all over the world.  The ritual of  fasting and practicing celibacy adds upto unshakable belief amongst the devotees.  The showing up of Jyothi on Makara Sankranthi day has been one of the main attractions of sabarimalai and on that day to witness the "Jyothi", millions of devotees converge dangerously on the hill only to push and pull each other just to have a glimpse of the Makara Jyothi that appears on the opposite hill side that faces the Idol of the Lord. Accidents were waiting to happen all these years as the devotees who assemble there on the day of Jyothi far exceed the capacity of the entire hill terrain or the shrine!  This year the expected accident happened with a human loss  that numbered more than a hundred.
I had the opportunity to visit a place called Pachakanam which is situated just opposite the Sabarimalai temple
and from where the famous and auspicious Makara Jyothi is lit up and held high with the help of Bamboo sticks by the local villagers which appear as Jyothi to the millions of devotees who break into frenzy mood watching the Makara Jyothi coming up in front of them.  For the villagers, its an annual festival of harvest! They have a tribal celebration and dance right in front of priests who come from the Sabarimalai devasthanam temple.  The priests plan the time of showing Jyothi and everything goes on clock work timings!! The moment deeparadhana is shown here at sabarimalai, the priests sitting in the opposite hillock signal to the villagers to hold the fire  that's lit up high on a bamboo stick!  Its time the sabarimalai temple authorities come forward to tell the truth to the millions of devotees and advise them to bank upon pure devotion and not on Magics and illusions that are human made?  This will help not only the devotees but also relieve the devasthanam from facing and managing uncontrollable crowds that throng the temple year after year.  The Travancore Board should value human lives more than the collections at the temple and should boldly come forward to present the truth behind the Makara Jyothi for the benefit and knowledge of millions.  It is so hard to believe that people fall an easy prey for all these gimmicks!
May Lord ayyappan bless the humankind and give them more power to make their brains think on their own and not believe myths and illusions! I beg forgiveness if I have wounded the religious feelings  and reassure that I am myself a devotee of Lord Ayyappan and continue to be one.  I have visited Sabarimalai nearly 8 times!

Bhogi Smog!

Bhogi is a prelude function before the harvest festival of Pongal and celebrated in every  nook and corner of the state.  This is also celebrated elsewhere in the country as Makar Sankranthi denoting harvest festival.  Traditionally in Tamilnadu, the villagers used to consume the residual waste of the harvested grains to fire indicating the arrival of new crops and the beginning of a new era in their lives.  Times changed and slowly people started throwing the old clothes and unused articles that remained in the house into the fire thereby disposing unwanted articles from  their homes easily.  Modern times saw people throwing old tyres and other plastic materials into the fire adding to pollution in the atmosphere and restricting our lungs to breathe fresh air.  The government is doing their best to educate people not to throw rubber and plastic materials into the fire as they pollute the air that we breathe and it has found some level of acceptance  but a lot needs to be done more.  There are still pockets in  the city and the State as a whole where such bon-fires are created diminishing the quality of air.  The smog thus created creates lots of problems to people who have asthma and other ailments as they choke their lungs for want of fresh air.  Adding to the woes, the fire which is lit all around the state drives away the chillness of December season and makes the weather hotter.  If only people avoid following this stupid rituals of lighting fire, probably we can have some more days of cool weather besides good quality of air that we breathe!?

Tamil meiyam

The 5 day Pongal festival was inaugurated by the CM M Karunanidhi amidst much fanfare and show. The organisers have taken great efforts to bring rural folk artistes from all over Tamilnadu to present and rekindle the culture and glory of Music and arts that is widely prevalent in this part of South India.  The CM calls it a Dravidian culture and rightly it deserves its due importance in the sphere of music and dance.  I had the opportunity to watch the performers doing traditional dance to the beats of drums at the Elliot's beach.  The show was witnessed by hundreds of people who had gathered either to enjoy the holiday and the sea breeze or for taking a stroll across the beach for fitness!  I could hear the organisers appealing to people to come and patronise the show in numbers and thus encourage the rural artistes who were performing the traditional dances showcasing the culture of Tamilnadu.  There were more than 5 centres all over Chennai where these artistes performed taking turns.  One thing which came to remain in the minds of people is that the performing artistes gave preference to drum beats than music as all the movements and acrobatic manoeuvres were revolving around the noisy drum beats!  These sounds of drums can not be heard for a very long time as it tires the ears and makes a person drawn out of energy!  The organisers could have decorated the stage in a better manner.  The bamboo sticks and other wooden planks were all seen underneath the stage which made me feel as if we were still in the 1980s! Stage decoration and presentation is an art and constitutes an important parameter of any programme.  Probably, the organisers were reluctant to decorate the stage fearing IT probe as the organisers are under the scanner of the department in respect of the 2 G spectrum scam!  Tamil Meiyam deserves compliments for refreshing the memory of Dravidian's to understand their own culture which is otherwise lost amidst the noise and tantrums of western Pub culture that is overpowering!!

No one killed Jessica?

This real story that  happened in the National Capital in the year 1999 became a sensational news all over the country and raised many eyebrows questioning the deteriorating Indian culture that came to rub with the western Pub culture to which the young and the old got attracted without bias!  Delhi- the power centre of the country is a mute witness to many of such brutal killings combined with rape and other atrocities heaped upon women.  Gone are those days when Delhi used to be a place of tranquil, peace and prosperity where there was a perfect mix of Citizens from all over the country working, earning and trying to better their lives. Delhi never had its heritage or cultural background and everything came from people who came in from different directions and corners of the country to give Delhi its due!
The gutsy Jats will draw a dagger even to settle small quarrels in the Mohalla(area) where small groups
made their presence felt by establishing vandalism.  Jessica Lal's murder also took place in an elite area of Mehrauli where the Pub was being run exclusively for the rich for profit!  It is very common to find drunkards pleading for one last drink with the bar-tender after business hours when strict law enforcement comes into effect.  People fan their ego amongst friends to show off their capability and control over the bar/pub even after it pulls the shutter down for business.  The refusal of the bar tender to serve that last drink resulted in the sensational Jessica Lal murder case that shook the pillars of justice in the following years.

Rani Mukherjee, with all her abusive language sounds sexy with her broken timber voice!  Once again Rani has proved that she is unmistakably the "Rani" of Hindi cinema with her ease and style of acting. She looks stunning for a come back to Bollywood films and can give a run to all other leading ladies of Hindi cinema!  Vidya Balan, as a subdued sister of Jessica has performed her role well to support the character.  There are moments of emotional upheavals when Rani confronts Vidya Balan to light a candle along with thousands and lakhs of fellow citizens in memory of Jessica at the India Gate and compelling the President of India to order a re-probe into the whole affair to bring justice.  The relentless fight against the murderer of Jessica by the media ably assisted by Tehelka gives out a strong message to the power corridor of politicians reminding them of the eventuality and has elevated the class of thousands of journalists who work to present the hard facts to the people and mobilise support for a good cause!  The way the politician an his associates make the witness turn hostile and replace circumstantial evidences goes to prove the depth of corruption and greed for making more money within our society.  The movie has been made with courage and conviction to send out a message to the society not to be cowed by threats and stand up for truth as it shall always win!  The movie also sends out a signal to all those youngsters not to indulge in activities beyond certain limits and not to argue with any men folk anywhere as you never know they may be drunk and may draw a pistol to shoot you! India is not yet ready for the Western Pub culture or equality in gender! It is better to be dud rather than DEAD??

Hilton Hotel, Janak Puri New Delhi

This American Hotel was a sight of relief when I discovered its presence while travelling in the Metro rail to Dwarka.  This is the only star hotel of international standards in and around JanakPuri area.
I decided to venture into this hotel to pamper myself with a good ambiance and surrounded with luxuries and amenities.  The Hotel looks absolutely marvellous with good interiors and high class lighting. I went to the lounge bar and was quite amazed with its style and beauty!  For reasons best known to the hotel, there were no imported whiskies or beer which were available.  I had to be content with some local rum and cola!  For a 5 star hotel, i still wonder why they are not able to procure and serve imported liquors?
Later in the evening, I went to the restaurant where I ordered some Indian Breads and curry to go along with. The food preparations were of quality and standards.  The only draw back was that they refused to give a finger-bowl to get rid of those oily feel n your fingers after having eaten Indian food.  When I inquired as to why they are unable to provide a finger bowl, the manager said " Hilton does not follow finger bowl mode".  Instead, they offered me a hot towel, a sparkling white one, which was unusable after I wiped my fingers which were stained with oily residues of masala curry!!  I felt it would have been better if Hilton adopts Indian standards of providing Finger-bowl instead of a hot towel which will save them quite a lot of money on a long term!  Anyways, I got the best value for my money for the 2 hours that I spent in the Hotel!!