Home

Saturday, March 23, 2013

The night of the rishaba vahanam



The mada veedhis came alive last night and early this morning. While the rest of the Mylapore neighborhood rested from the labours of the week.

It was the night of the grand rishaba vahanam, a  procession that many people may well be at to listen to the musicians - the bandwallahs and the nadaswaram artistes perform for the gods.

At 11 p.m. on Friday, hundreds of people were in slumber inside the temple and under the canopy outside, to rest before the procession was to begin close to midnight.

The vahanam sat in the eastern end of the temple campus, close to the main gate here while the gods took their place in the mantap that lines the north wall. Through the night, rituals went on and people  filed past the gods. And close to midnight, the procession began.

By 5 a.m. the procession ended at Sannidhi Street - over 2,000 people filled the square as the gods rested under the 16-pillar mantap here. It was a quiet Saturday morning. And for all those who found space around the mantap and near the gate, there was a spectacle - the Lord enjoying the swings of a dance as his carriers swung to the music of the nadaswaram and the band - playing the English tune - For he is a jolly good fellow!.

A jolly way to go back to His abode in Mylapore.

1 comment:

  1. " Lord enjoying the swings of a dance as his carriers swung to the music of the nadaswaram and the band - playing the English tune - For he is a jolly good fellow!." - I didn't understand this how you saying that Lord is enjoying this .. .this is the irrespect they are doing for GOD Shiva (Playing English tune ) . whether this is our vedic culture which says to play English song... whey they spoiling the culture ...I also saw this I really feel shame on this . ... why that temple Gurukkal's didn't insist any on this .... they didn't treat as God , the peoples are just seeing as idle .. so only you peoples enjoying this kind of shameful services to God (playing English Band)... nothing to say .. (kali kalam )

    ReplyDelete