Village festivals
By: K S S Pillai
The just-completed Maha Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj had been in all radio and television news bulletins since its beginning. Attended by crores of people from all corners of the country and even outside, it had created several records.
While some political parties praised it, others denounced and mocked it. Though some lives were lost at crowded railway stations, those in authority might have heaved sighs of relief after the completion of such an event.
The politicians of the ruling party at the centre and several states took dips in the Ganga River with their family members after ensuring wide publicity in various media. Some males took their dips fully clothed, not wanting their sagging physical condition to be known to the public.
Not risking the chance to enter heaven, some in the opposition also came to take the dip after initially criticizing the event, while some others kept themselves away due to the fear of antagonizing ‘vote banks’.
The publicity the festival attracted and the politics played in its name reminds me of the festivals in my village in Kerala in the past.
Every village is populated by people practising different religions, and several temples, churches, and mosques celebrate different festivals there. As the general public believed that religion was a personal matter which should not be used as a weapon to fight one another, people of all faiths used to attend them, particularly the entertainment programmes at night.
The most important festival was the Sivaratri at the historic temple, which began nine days before Sivaratri. All respected the board at the main entrance, prohibiting non-Hindus, in multiple languages, from entering the compound. They were satisfied with the entertainment they got outside the compound walls of the temple.
Many associations, like those of merchants and the staff of the police station, would contribute money or finance the entire expenditure of one day’s festival. As the all-important day approached, there would be more programmes, including dance and Kathakali by famous troupes.
Some organizations of different religions offered free cold water, buttermilk and other drinks to the visitors.
The males who entered the sanctum sanctorum to pray were bare-chested, according to the age-old practice. They smeared their foreheads with sandalwood paste thrown to their extended palms by the priest. Some visited the temple to see the idol of Goddess Parvati, whose door was opened only once a year.
As it was a famous festival, most houses in the village had guests during it. The whole family and guests would walk through sandy roads at night in the light of torches made of dry coconut leaves to attend to some of the programmes.
Many friends liked to see programmes like Kathakali that lasted till the early hours, but they left after some time as the actors with strange make-ups, dancing to the songs by a couple of people, did not give them the desired entertainment. There would always be some elders in the front row nodding their bald or silver-haired heads, acting as knowledgeable spectators.
On the roads outside, products usually unavailable in the local shops were sold. Tea sellers with brass pots above live hearths and those selling sweet porridge would roam the area. The shops were well-lit with petromax lamps at night.
Gamblers set their temporary stalls outside the temple, tempting people who wanted easy money. They would lure the unwary by letting them win initially and later wipe them out.
Children would search for traders of colourful balloons, which would burst soon afterwards, but they would make small balloons out of the burst ones and remain happy. Their lips and mouths would become colourful from balloons for some days.
The local police station used to deploy some constables, but usually, there were no troubles except fisticuffs between groups that nurtured enmity between them. There would also be minor quarrels between people who were too inebriated with the toddy they drank from the local toddy shop.
As festivals were celebrated not to score political games like today, all the villagers and their guests enjoyed them.
(The author is a retired professor of English. A regular contributor to ‘The Kashmir Vision’, his articles and short stories have appeared in several national and international publications)
