It has been more than a month since the Supreme Court delivered the verdict, allowing women of all ages to enter the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala. Reactions from across the country, not just in Kerala, were divided. And when time came for women to actually ascend the pathinettampadi (18 holy steps) for a darshan of Lord Ayappa, the 'progressive' state of Kerala descended into chaos. Anti-social elements, in the garb of devotees, not only raised slogans, but also physically tried to block women from entering the shrine, and injured some. Even members of the press were not spared.
On Friday, Trupti Desai, founder of Pune-based social activist organisation Bhumata Brigade, who shot to fame with her campaign to enter the Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra, arrived at Kochi airport with the intention of entering Sabarimala. Devotees have, however laid siege to the airport, preventing her from leaving the place. Even as officials tried to coax her to return back, she said, “I will go ahead come what may. I will not go back without the darshan of Lord Ayyappa. She further claimed that those who are trying to prevent her entry into the hill shrine are not devotees but goons.
Meanwhile, THE WEEK spoke to a few women who are #ReadytoWait—a movement initiated by a group of female devotees who say they are ready to wait till the age of 50 to enter the Sabarimala temple. Padma Pillai, spokesperson and Hyderabad-based entrepreneur for the movement says, “We feel vindicated with the public and mainly devotees coming on to the ground to protest. Campaigning on social media for the cause has finally given us the expected outcome.”
Pillai, who has been on the forefront of nama japa yatras (chanting of Ayyappa mantras) says the aim of the collective is to only protect interest of the devotees. There is no other inclination, except towards Lord Ayyappan, she adds. “The BJP initially supported the SC verdict. They changed their stance only after seeing that the sentiments of devotees were hurt. As long as they are supporters of the age-old tradition, it doesn't matter what their political leaning is. In fact, a member of the Pandalam Royal family, Sasikumar Varma, was associated with LDF.”
Pillai also feels that the temples and other religious institutions have certain rules that need to be followed. While some politicians would want to take advantage of the situation for electoral gains, they need to understand that it is the tantris and devotees who are the real custodians of the temple, she points out. “And the issue cannot be solved without taking into consideration what the devotees want. The devotees too have the Constitutional right to practice their religion in the way they deem right. So, the court needs to take into consideration what is essential to the religion and not just what is essential to the Constitution,” she says.
According to Anuradha Harish, a Tanjore artist and blogger, “Devotees continue to feel hurt as beliefs are not to be questioned. Non-believers needn't visit the shrine.”
Kavitha Niroop, a corporate skills trainer based in Trivandrum, says, “ Hinduism as a religion does not have any written guidelines. It is one of the most flexible religions as it does not dictate that Hindus must go to temples so many times a week or should have read so many scriptures. A few guidelines that exist are either passed on word of mouth from one generation to the next or have been inferred from mythology and scriptures. And as a Hindu, I feel threatened when these beliefs or guidelines are questioned. And I am sure a lot of other Hindus feel too. I personally feel that Hindus are being attacked in this whole scenario. In the early days, temples used to be a ground for people to socialise. It belonged to that locality and was taken care of by its residents. Even today, temples are for believers only. Because, for a non-believer it does not symbolise anything. So, when devotees feel that their temple would be desecrated, they will stand up and voice their concerns. As for political agenda, I feel anyone who wants to support the cause of the shrine are welcome, it does not matter where your political affiliations lie. I would also like to point out that restriction on entry to Sabarimala is not entirely gender specific. Nor does it elevate the position of women in the society. There are other issues faced by women like domestic abuse or the absence of adequate public toilets for women that need to be addressed on a more urgent basis than entry to a place of worship.”
