55) Village temple
Rain when it came,
Like the priest at the
Village temple,
Bathed the stone deity and
Stone paved pathways,
Constantly with drops of water
With the help of roof tiles,
Who shrank into themselves,
Left gaps in their relations.
The stone walls,
Smeared with grease and black dust
Of burning lamps on ghee*,
Poured by devotees to cleanse
Their sins; Rise from the
Nearby pond, in semi wet clothes
Lips busily chanting,
Symbolizing piousness externally,
Stare at the deity
With folded hands,
Sometimes along with children,
Who look up frequently,
To time exactly, the period of devotion.
2 comments:
55> Village temple
Futility of forced religious rituals, and actions without comprehension, and hypocrites together…
...thanks for reminding me, about the missed comment.
...many temples in kerala have a temple-pond, and many other descriptions are of such a temple - might not be easy for someone to visualize it who's not been there.. the practice of bathing in the pond / river next to temple, and walking to the temple to pray in that freshly bathed mode was very common in my childhood days.
...most parts of kerala somehow remains different from most parts of India (and even other southern states), and seem somehow untouched by the predominant cultural practices (For example - Diwali is not celebrated there & annual bonus to govt. employees are given on 'Onam'... a 10 day festival unknown to rest of India.
...oops, this is becoming another blog itself. ;)
Nice !
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