PARAMBIL BHAGAVATI AMMAN.

(A short story by Vetrinilavan)


Parambil is a small village in Palghat District of Kerala State (India.) There is an AmmanTemple. The deity is called Parambil Bhagavati Amman. You can reach this temple, if you go by Madras -- Cochin National Highway. After reaching Palghat you have to drive 40 Kms. west and then carefully see on the left side of the Highway. There will be a small board in English and Malayalam with an arrow mark towards south.

PARAMBIL BHAGAVATI AMMAN TEMPLE
3 K.M.

From there a kachcha road lead you to the temple with hardly 5 feet width. But for the road Coconut trees, Areca trees, jack fruit trees, Bamboos, teaks, plantains grew in cluster and surround the temple. Rarely one could see the sun's rays on the floor. A shrill and shriek sound of bumble bees and jungle cricket will always be heard throught day and night and enrich the dark and dense atmosphere. The temple has an Emurandhiri--a priest. He will visit the temple once in a day and perform Pooja. There will only be a few coming at the Pooja time.

The annual festival of the temple will be held for 3 days beginning from the 1st of the month Karkataka (Aadi) July-August. At the time of the festival there will be huge gathering. People from all over India --not only Keralites, Tamilians -- will gather at the temple in thousands. The festival will be celebrated with gale and gaiety. On the third day, Bhagavati Amman will be taken on an elephant (Ulsavam). The festival culminates in the grand finale viz. the Sword Dance (Kaththi Kali). There are two swords kept in a wooden shield like plank which is kept in a wooden box before the deity of the temple. The swords are too sharp, two and half feet in length and 1 and half inch wide in the middle. Those swords will be taken out. The priest will hold the swords with that plank and hand it over to Sri Bhagavati Satyendran after a small ceremony and Pooja. Sri Bhagavati Satyendran is the player of Kaththi Kali. He is doing this Sword dance for the past 25 years. Before that his father was doing the same. He has got ancestral right over this. Satyendran will take the two swords in his two hands and dance according to the tune of Urumi, thavil and other drums, pipes and trumpets. He uses both his hands and swirl with the swords. The sound of swirling will be heard even in the midst of the blaring trumpets. His steps will be in rhythm with the drums. A big circle of people, men and women will be formed. The centre of atraction is his dance. The drums, trumpets and pipes will be played at full speed. There will be pin drop silence when the instruments are played.

The song played with the pipe will last about half an hour. Then there will be Thani Avarthanam or the play of drums alone for 2 or 3 minutes. Scores of drums beaten with sticks and hands with a feverish pitch of course without getting away from the Thaala and layaa would render heavenly sounds that would be a feast to the ears. The dancer will be moving at full speed around the circle encircling his hands with the swords. One can view the hands, swords and the body of the dancer all in single form. The three items cannot be viewed as separate things and people will look at this great heavenly dance with awe and forget their own self. Whenever drums are played set to a certain Thaalaa, it would end in a Theermanam. At the height of this rendition, all the drum players will stop in unison for a moment. But the dancer would continue his dance and with the swords he would jump and make two swift cuts in his body in the chest region. The sounds of swirling of the swords, his steps and the two sword cuts will be the ending note of the grand music. People have scintillating and blissful feeling from this event. The roar of the people in appreciation will reverberate in the hills of Parambil. The turmeric and kumkum (vermilion) powder is the only medicine for his bleeding chest. No doctor. No injection. Only the devotion and dedication has made Satyendran and his forefathers to withstand this dangerous art. The blood stained swords will not be washed with water. They will be cleansed with a new cloth and placed back in the wooden box securely in the plank.

The temple management has allocated an extent of 20 cents of tropical land to Satyendran. There is small thatched hut in that piece of land surrounded by areca, coconut, jackfruit trees and plantains. For so many decades Satyendran's fore-fathers were living in this place. But for the income derived from selling the usufructs of the trees and an amount given by the trustees after the festival, there is no fixed monthly income for his family. He is now aged more than 50. He has got a son. With all these impediments he has made his son study upto school final. He is now working at Madras. He is yet to enter married life.

His son Narendran usually comes during the festival and he has come down this year also. This year's fetival is going to start next week. Satyendran asked his son to take up his job i.e. playing the Kaththi Kali (Sword Dance), after his retirement. Narendran had training in this art during boyhood days. Moreover is it not in his blood? Narendran told him, "father, there is no future for this dangerous art. People have become more interested in entertaining items. They are attending to the temple only during festival period. They would forget you after the festival are over. Days are changing and one cannot maintain a family with this very meager income. So it would be better for you to come with me to Madras. We will settle there. You can spend rest of your life there with me". So, Naren is not willing. If he is not willing Satyendran has to leave this place given by the Temple authorities. Satyendran thought that this year's festival is the last one for him. If his son does not accept his proposal to continue Kaththi Kali after his retirement he has to once and for all leave the place. Sathyendran looked sullenly at his son. Naren, "let me leave this matter with Amman. If she has turned her benign look towards us everything will be OK".

Elaborate arrangements have been made for this year's festival. Some TV channel has come down with a team with modern camera and sound equipments. The place where the Amman Swami visits to on look the Kaththi Kali has been well prepared. Thousands can encircle and watch the rare feat. Separate enclosures have been created to register everything in the video camera. Special sound equipments are also there. Satyendran has also prepared himself for the feat. He underwent one week penance. During this period one should not shave; sleep in the mat; go nearer or look at women at their period.

(to be contined in Part II)