The temple guide

A young newly married couple all decked up to explore the temple culture of the small city. Dressed up in local attire they went to auto stand to take auto, all auto walas were interested in taking foreigners only. They felt not wanted in their own country. Anyways they got an auto. They asked the auto wala to take then to a temple, which they had searched on Google. They reached there around quarter to 12 and it was closed. Temples usually stay closed there from 12 to 5 pm. The auto wala took them to another temple by himself. That was also closed. He himself was a Christian so he got down and enquired in some shops, and came back and took them to a temple which closed at 12. They reached there at 11.55. The husband asked his wife to tip the driver. Since he was dressed in the local munch, he wasn't carrying any cash. They entered the temple and saw from a distance that arti was going on. They thought they might close the gates of the deity so they kind of ran towards it. A lady signaled the wife something about her man. She didn't understand the first time the local dialect. The second time the lady signaled, she realised her husband was wearing t-shirt. Males are only allowed to wear mundus in temples in south. She asked him to remove it.

The guy removed his t-shirt and they went and stood at the end of the line of all devotees. Strangely there were only ladies. The aarti was over by then and the priest put the arti at one corner of the raised platform on which the priests were standing, worshiping the Lord. The young wife was busy handling her pallu with one hand, they went and took arti. The lady who had signaled her before, came and stood next to her. She was an old lady, very simply dressed, she was speaking only malyalam,  the couple had no clue what she was saying but they anyway smiled. Then she guided them to follow the priests. They went to another God. They sang something similar to "Om Jai Jagdish " but obviously she couldn't understand the lyrics. The young wife went and stood in front of the temple gate, to get a glimpse of the statue. Another lady told her in hindi to stand at a side and not in the way. There were two narrow white lines made in front of the temple and all ladies were standing on its either sides. Then she saw some males standing on the outer circle wearing shirts so I realised why there were no males standing with us except her husband.

All devotees started walking again towards another deity. They along with aunty followed them. One of the priest was carrying aarti and another was carrying two long rods. Aunty was telling the young married couple something and they were just smiling and had absolutely no clue. They then moved ahead and reached an open temple, it was a Shivling with Nandi as usual facing it. Finally one deity was visible properly. According to what she assumed, they had been to Hanumanji, Vishnuji , and now Shivji. Aunty told them to sit at a corner. She sat next to her and a girl was sitting next to her, as she saw her husband, she got up and left. The guy came and sat next to her. Aunty kept telling her something, while she wasn't getting a world, she was just understanding her active and feelings. Finally they went to Krishnaji and lastly Ganeshji. In north Ganeshji is worshipped first.

Aunty asked them to stand on a side of a passage. She muttered palki, so the wife understood that they will be carrying the lord in a palki through this passage so she was making them stand on the side. She made sign of money, so she understood that they need to keep some money in their hands. The husband was not carrying wallet, as there is no pocket in Mundu, and his wife was carrying clutch with their phones and money and in form of change she had only a 50 note and a Rs 10 note, so she gave him the 50 note. She signalled them something about him, which they could not understand twice then the lad understood and he stood at the other side of the passage. Then the priests took a cow and made it enter the temple gates, they worshiped it and everyone outside touched it and then placed their hand on their foreheads. The wife was thinking, wish she could gift that aunty something, so it would remain a sweet memory for her too, as she had made it for them.

Fianally the priest emerged carrying a palki, and outside some men were standing with musical instruments , they started playing drum and a pipe instrument. The priests stopped and did arti and took a thal filled with flowers to every devotee standing there. Everyone put their money on it and the priest gave them flowers. Aunty did not put and neither she was given flowers. The wife kept waiting, when they had to shower the flowers. The priest started moving ahead with the palki again. She could vaguely guess that it was Vasudev Bhagwan. Aunty signalled them that now they were free and could leave from behind. She thought for a moment if they should take her blessings by touching Aunty's feet, but that would be too much. She thought she could gift her bangles, which she was wearing, but aunty might not like used bangles, although she was a new bride and was wearing them for the second or third time itself. So they didn't do anything and tried to find their way back, as the temple had gates in every direction and they needed to get back to our footwears. They passed the palki again. Then outside we took tempo back to hotel.

Such a simple act of one person can mean so much for someone else. We are often so busy in our daily lives that we don't take breaks to enjoy these little joys in life. Humans can affect each other's lives, whether small or big, passively or negatively, is in our hands !