A sea of humanity, young and old surged through the streets. A trickle had started in the early afternoon and reached its peak as the moon rose and shone in bright and balmy glory. It was an auspicious full-moon (pournami in Tamil) night at Tiruvannamalai, the ancient temple town in Tamil Nadu, which nestles and thrives at the foot of the mountain Arunachala.
The general mood was one of gaiety combined with a clear intention of reaching the goal; the goal being circumambulation of sacred Arunachala, or girivalam (In Tamil: “giri”-mountain, “valam”-to circle). This involved a brisk walk of about 14 kilometres, which had to be completed before moonlight faded into dawn. Although the devotees were walking in what looked like remarkably ordered chaos, officials were in evidence to maintain order, and traffic was restricted to the perimeter of the town. It was November 6, 2014.
My first visit to Tiruvannamalai was with my mother, about a decade earlier. When I lived in Vellore, a town that is about 80 kilometres away, I was fortunate to renew my relationship with this famous temple town. While earlier visits involved visiting for an afternoon, I gradually took to staying for a few nights, giving myself more time to enjoy the vibrant spiritual atmosphere and its organic bustle. The main draw of the town is its spiritual ambience and it attracts seekers from all walks of life. It is home to several ashrams, and temples to several gods of the Hindu pantheon abound.
The sound of the temple bells in the cool fresh mornings herald the activities of visitors and the life and commerce of the townspeople; this soon leads into the dusty drowsy heat of midday where inactivity prevails. Evenings find the town reenergized with townsfolk returning home, evening aarti and pujas in the temples, visitors congregating in the small restaurants for solitary or group dinners, and the bustle is extinguished again with an early night. The roads and lanes of the town are lined with large shady trees, and huge stacks of tender coconuts are readily available for the ever-thirsty visitors.
Denne historien er fra October 2017-utgaven av India Currents.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 2017-utgaven av India Currents.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Elephant and Donkey Tribes of Politics
The Motorcycle Guru Speaks.
On Feminism
It has been eight months since I started my MFA at Bennington College. In the last eight months I have cooked half a dozen meals. I pack my children lunches and I clean up the kitchen after my husband when he makes dinner for the family after he comes home from working in a Silicon Valley tech company. Cooking has never moved me. Motherhood has—but not the baggage of social dos and don'ts that accompanied it. I have done fewer play dates than the meals I have cooked in the past few months, and I rarely go to a birthday party. My husband takes the children to their social engagements. “But is this fair?” you might ask and I answer, “It is not about fairness, it is about what moves you as a person and how to keep that flame of what keeps you alive, burning within you, while negotiating roles in an adult world that still largely favors men over women.”
Of Wedding Bells And Hospital Bills
Not another invite,” I groaned, picking up a thick cream and red colored envelope.
A New Lease Of Life
How an Indian grandmother started making heart-healthy choices.
A Mother Loses Her Child: Fact And Fiction Coalesce
LUCKY BOY by Shanthi Sekaran. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Random House, New York. 472 pages. Hardcover. $27.00
From The Hood Without A Loo
TOILET: A LOVE STORY. Director Shree Narayan Singh. Players: Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Padnekar, Anupam Kher, Sudhir Pandey, Divyendu Sharma, Subha Khote. Hindi w/ Eng. Sub-tit. (Viacom).
Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness
A LIFE OF ADVENTURE AND DE- LIGHT by Akhil Sharma. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.: New York. 202 pages. wwnorton.com $24.95 hardcover.
Who Was Enid Blyton?
Raised in and out of India, I don’t remember reading too many Enid Blyton novels—barring those from the Noddy series. I knew, though, they were all the rage among girls—mostly girls. They’d spend hours reading them and like fish in a school, prattle over what they’d read over their lunchboxes.
Victoria And Abdul: It Looks A Lot Like Love
VICTORIA AND ABDUL. Director: Stephen Frears. Screenwriter: Lee Hall, based on book by Shrabani Basu. Cast: Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Eddie Izzard, Adeel Akhtar, Tim Pigott-Smith and Michael Gambon. Focus Features, 2017. MPAA Rating: PG-13
Looters, Schemers And A Curse
Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond.
