Chennai: The Tamil month of Karthigai is a favourite season for Lord Ayyappa devotees to spiritually connect with the Lord. But the number of pilgrims bound for Sabarimala from Tamil Nadu this season has not seen a rise. This may be owed to the restrictions imposed by the police on pilgrims’ movement at the Valiya Nadapandal in neighbouring Kerala.
Tamil Nadu accounts for the largest number of pilgrims which Sabarimala attracts annually and the devotees undertake the pilgrimage by observing a ‘vrattam’ for 48 days. Men of various age groups take ‘deeksha’ marking the commencement of the annual Sabarimala pilgrimage during this month.
The devotees wear a special chain beaded with Rudraksha and Tulsi beads. Women who attain 50 years and girls below 10 years, also, take up the arduous vrattam and trek to Sabarimala. However, they are now forced to defer their religious voyage due to the unexpected turn of events at Sabarimala.
“Many devotees do not want to take the risk of visiting the temple of Lord Ayyappa now due to the restrictions imposed by the Kerala government and police. Because prohibitory orders were in place there, how could devotees who always travelled in groups, expect take up the trip alone now,” asks V. Subramanian, Secretary of Jankalyan.
Police are expected to instil confidence among the people, but things appear to be contrary. The police are filing cases against devotees and are dissuading group travel, which is the hallmark of pilgrimage to Sabarimala, says a BJP senior. “Devotees cannot chant the name of Lord Ayyappa now. This is something weird and unacceptable,” he adds.
When the agitations erupted in the neighbrouing State following the Supreme Court verdict directing the temple authorities to lift the ban on menstrual women’s entry, a large number of Ayyappa devotees who could not make to Sabarimala had to complete the vrattam at the Lord Ayyappa Swamy temple at Raja Annamalai Puram here.
The restrictions imposed by police on the pilgrim movement at Valiya Nadapandal, where pilgrims used to rest earlier, continued on Wednesday too. The hill shrine was opened on November 16 evening for the over two-month-long pilgrimage season amid heavy security and protests.
On the fifth day of the annual pilgrim season on Wednesday, Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan had visited amid some unsavoury experiences with the police.
