AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE

AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE

Recently I had gone to a trip to Tirupati, it was very fun experience for me to go to there with my whole bunch of 12 family members and man it was a ride... we rode in cars a total of 18 hours journey, and I made sure not to puke in the car through the travelling, it's the least I could do. The Tirupathi was nice and all but when I reached Arunachalam it was on another level. I’ve always felt as a daughter of Mata kali, and to this I was at this historical place… you see it was fun, though what pondered me that, I had visited the temple on the day of Dusshera I think I did a great job by doing that. because I would never forget it for the rest of my life. at night just before we were travelling back to the highway, i saw something, yes it was the live action of the Maiasaura Samharan, it was spectacular. why? how? I'll tell you, the local were doing it as a folklore, an act, a drama. four people were pushing the cart which resided the figurine of Mahishasura, evil, proud and gallant, and in front was our Mata, with her glorious Palanquin, in it her idol decorated with flowers, gold and her striking bare furious eyes, the local people were pushing and pulling the cart of Mahishasura front and back for a total of 6 times I suppose. Tt felt like I was actually seeing the real battle unfold Infront of me. on the seventh time the cart was pushed towards the maa, the arrow by the pandit struck the Mahishasura idol, the figurine head was the pulled by the local people. the way it was presented to the people was unique to me. because when any Dussehra approaches what we do is burn ablaze a huge or small idol of the evil deity. it made me think, must we do this? I mean setting ablaze the evil deity? because we are just human, only human. going as far as to do the “Dahan” like the goddess, was too much for my perspective. even as a kid when i asked my mother about it “ma why do we still do the Dahan?” “We are not the gods, must we replicate what she did?” to that my mother had said “some traditions have their reasons, but thinking is what changes everything, each person has their own perspective, maybe yours might not align with them”. since then, I had not asked the same question to anyone as I had understood that they wouldn’t understand nor accept my mentality. but now, maybe I can now.