The trip to guruvayoor is always an enchanting one, the prime reason being the drive through the kerala countryside's lush greenery- a kind of dark greenery of the rainforest type and also the numerous intervening streamlets. Not only that, the villas which are encircled by a wild garden around, no doubt aided by the abundant showers.
Right after crossing the Tamil nadu border, there is a marked change in the visual environment-the first evidence of is the narrow Kerala roads-also the undulations indicating the lethargic communist government (which otherwise is too eager to ring in the cash box out of liquor sales-this is a common scene in which you see restless citizens of the so-called communist state queuing up to get their daily supply, just reminding a ration shop). The road from pollachi to Thrissur does not qualify for even a state highway (after Kerala) but I am not complaining-for the average speeds is around 50 to 60 kmph.
At such speeds, one can assume that it should be a leisure drive, but it is not the case. The driving style of most vehicles qualifies for rash driving and one has to be too careful not to cause any undue mishaps.
The scene of the leeward side of the western ghats with the occasional white line indicating a temporary waterfall is a common scene on the left side of the drive. Thrissur is about 120 kms from Pollachi and road was drivable only after Vadakkencherry where the NH 47 gives a very smooth drive after that. This is the scintillating part of the journey, where you cross the palghat gap, with dense canopy on either end. There are also rubber plantations on slopes, with the green plastic bags tied to sap rubber milk. After this stretch it is urban most of the way and there is nothing to offer other than the ubiquitous villas.
We reached the temple by 2 pm. The entrance time for the evening prayer is by 3.30 pm and hence the traditional way of going to the temple pond and all that. I wore my dhoti and to protect from any embarrassment I added a belt too. But the belt was too contrasting to the dhoti so I tied another small towel around the belt. Now the package is complete.
There were dark clouds hovering around there, and hence it means rains soon. But this is a combination of monsoon and equatorial rains, and I am feeling sticky in the queue out of this humidity. Right from entering the temple, there was some prayer songs being recited in carnatic ragas by a child prodigy that was so serene and going well in this spiritual atmosphere. Then nature started its own raga. The rains-it rained and how. It was pouring and I cant even see properly as near as 50 meters.
This was a splendid moment when on one side there was the smooth voice of some child and on the other side the pour of the rains and waiting without losing patience for the temple gates to open. And to this extravaganza, there added another charm-yes it was near 3.30 pm and there was the usual ritual before opening for the evening prayers with the traditional kerala style ‘sendai’ drummings. How scintillating was the day….
On entering the temple, I could see that there was some ritual in which three elephants decorated and with all the embellishments was being given a sort of an acclamation from the other side by drums and cymbals with the occasional wind pipes blowing at the peak times. In listening to this, in no time I was near the deity and so I concentrated on my prayers. Lord Guruvayoorappa was still a mystery to me. At one time he looks like a child, and at another time like the normal form as seen in the printed form. Perhaps, that is the uniqueness of this temple. This time, He really looked like a child sporting a huge smile (as shown by the sandalwood paste applied) and it was like He smiling at me as I go near Him.
It again started to pour and the feeling was like I was standing near a giant waterfalls. The temple area was swept clean and the whole area looked fresh. Mom went for taking prayers another time, and in the meanwhile I was listening in awe to the music.
After prayers, the traditional guruvayoor visit customs like buying halwas and pappad packs and then we started to home. Near thrissur, I made a small accident, when the brake was not enough to compensate my lack of attention to prevent the bending of the wagonR’s bumpers and backdoor. Fiat’s radiator was leaking badly. It was a tough time there and after a wait of 2 hours or so, we settled it there with cash after getting an estimate from the service station and started to home again.
The engine temperature was soaring to new heights as there was no water in the radiator. It was really trying to get down at houses and ask for water at this odd time of the day, every five km of so. Sometimes it was totally empty and vapors coming from the hood, rain was pouring hard, with me getting wet and then messaging what I was undergoing to a friend, stopping at inconvenient places, talking to unknown persons, getting searched by night patrol policemen and finally it was 1 pm when I returned home.
Truly a oxymoronic day with extreme states within a few hours.
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