For 1,000-odd boys, it’s torture time in Attukal now. Parents conspire with temple authorities to put their children through rigorous mental and physical abuse for five days where boys from the age of 5 to 12 are made to wear just a loin cloth, submerge in cold water thrice daily, eat measly morsels squatting on the floor and sleep on the bare temple ground.
They are made to wear just a loin cloth, submerge in cold water thrice a day, eat measly morsels squatting on the floor and sleep on the bare temple ground. Yes, recite mantras and obey blindly their leaders, too. They are not allowed to see their parents during this time. And on the final day, each of them will be decked up in yellow cloths, garlands, jewellery and make up on face including lipstick, and made to stand in a queue for their last unexpected torture. An iron hook, tiny though it is, will be pierced into their skin on their flanks. They scream. Blood comes out. A thread will be symbolically knotted through the hooks to symbolise their bond with divinity. Then hooks are pulled out and ash roughly applied on the wounds! All this for temple deity! How will our dear Attukal Amma be feeling?
Most of the boys will not be informed about any of these tortures when parents take them from home to the temple. Causing physical and mental pain to children are offences under sections 89, 319, 320, 349, 350, 351 of IPC. The Juvenile Justice Act and the Child Welfare Commission Act penalises it.
In the beautiful coffee table Book of my friend Lekshmy Rajeev, Attukal Amma- the goddess of millions, there is mention that this crude practice is still followed in the temple because the authorities believe that “Devi likes blood!” God, who decides what Devi’s likes and dislikes are? Animal sacrifices exist even now in temples in North India. Guwahati’s Kamaakhya temple has goats of all age tied up in the temple premises. At 12 noon, one poor trembling creature is brought to the sacrificial altar and its neck is chopped off with an axe. Blood spills around. The meat is then cooked and given as ‘prasad’! I remember the look on those poor goats’s faces.
As a devotee of Attukal Amma, I used to offer pongala since the age of 10, whenever possible. As a 22 year old Post Graduate I prayed once to Attukal Amma, “Please let me get through the Civil Services Exams which I plan to write. I will offer you 3 special pongalas for this blessing.” And I did it with fervour and belief for 3 years. And after my third pongala, I got into IPS clearing the exams! All my pongalas after that were 'thank you' ones. I foolishly thought that I bribed the Bhagawathy! All those times, I had seen these poor boys and deeply sympathised with them.
Last year, the son of my personal security officer was one of the so called soldiers of the Amma at Attukal. He was looking miserable each time I saw him in the crowd of boys. All the boys in wet loin cloths bore the same look of the sacrificial goats of Kamakhya. “Poor thing, why did you do this against his wish?” I asked the boy’s father. “Madam, I didn’t tell him about the piercing on the last day. If he knew that he would have run off from home.”
He replied. It came as a shock to me. I never knew till then that these poor boys will actually be pierced with a hook. I just thought there will be some symbolic tying up of thread around their waists. All these years I had not seen any picture in the media of boys being pierced. I had read no reports in any newspapers about it either. A crime is about to happen on hapless kid, the piercing will take place this year on March 2nd evening. I have been requesting people to stop it ever since I knew about this weird custom. I am not offering pongala this year. Unless there will be a divine intervention to stop this from happening. This time at least, I pray Attukal Amma to save her boy soldiers from getting physically hurt in Her name!
