Having spent six decades without participating in the Kumbha Mela of south, I was not in favour of waiting for another twelve years and so decided to take the plunge into the holy Mahamaham tank at Kumbakonam (KMU) , this year. Though the holy day of 'Maha Maham' , observed once in every 12 years occurs only on the 22nd of February this year, we decided to plunge into the sacred waters early before the place and the water are 'dealt with' by the expected 5 million devotees by the end of this week. My eagerness to participate stemmed from my queries to the Kumbakonam based relatives last year was put into action with some active follow up that culminated in a 20 member group setting out to KMU on the 13th Feb a little after noon.
By the time the entire team was collected and the van could move out of the city it was around 3 PM and after weathering some initial traffic snarls on the outskirts, the team enjoying the cosy comforts of AC and the constant passing of the 'munchers' reached KMU by 9:30 PM.
It was hard to get up at 4 AM the next day after enjoying the pleasing comforts offered by the selfless hosts of Ravi Swaminthan and family but egged on by the enthusiasm the group was up and ready at the tank by 6:30 AM. The place wore a festive look with the accompanying crawling vehicles, the customary whistle sound of the traffic cop and the usual attitude of the jaywalkers making it clear that the town will be theirs for the whole of next week.
The maha sankalpam was performed with religious fervour, as per the belief of the 'kartha' and due to the ebb and flow of the belief and passion which was more than the flow at the native Cauvery, none cribbed.
Stepping into the tank, the group went into a state of delirium and after taking a couple of immersions in the knee deep waters of the tank facing east and Kasi Viswanathar , people started settling down with some order being restored with sanity.
Though it is said that a holy dip in the tank is sufficient, due to availability of time and non-existence of a milling crowd, we decided to visit all the holy 'Theerthams' inside the tank, which were around twenty in number. At each of these theerthams, water was being taken in a vessel from an almost filled well and people took either a bath or just a sprinkle. Being a part of the group we agreed to a system that one or two of us will draw the water and pour on other members, and that helped the elderly lot and also avoid crowding at the well. It took almost 90 minutes to complete such sprinkler baths from all the twenty odd wells and by the time we got out of the tank, fully purified, we were swaying with a little wag commenting 'ரொம்ப நேரம் தண்ணீலயே இருந்தா கொஞ்சம் தள்ளாடத்தான் செய்யும் ' !!
After we changed our wet clothes at a house opposite to the tank, we quickly decided against our earlier plans of visiting Kasi Viswanthar and Kumbeswarar temples, as we heard that there were milling crowd there. The decision was made more easier when one of our group members went missing for sometime and after we searched and retrieved him from the swelling crowd, people were only more eager to head back home. But to keep up with the practice of having a darshan of the lord after the holy dip, the locals wisely chose KOTTIYUR KOTEESWARAR temple, which proved to be a wonderful choice with less crowd and a serene darshan .
The trip concluded with the group heading back by 2 PM with some well deserved sleep and the van speakers belting some latest number, the group was a happier lot reaching home by late hours of the day.
Some observations and suggestions:
1. The authorities have taken great effort , which I am told is an improved version over the last mahamaham. Kudos to them
2. But, I am afraid, it may not be sufficient. With the expected millions thronging the 6.2 acre tank, I guess something more could be done. Right now people are lead to the tank in a line and after that it is a free-for-all, with each group running its own way around the 20 wells in the tank. What the authorities could do is to erect barricades inside the tank in such a way that anyone going with the barricade will be lead to the wells one by one and exit at the last well. This could in a great way avoid a potential stampede. I am not sure why this is not being done (atleast so far).
3. The town looks spruced up with newly laid roads, buildings looking fresh with a coat of paint and also the smell of bleaching powder wreaking your nose everywhere shows that the civic authorities are up and alive.
4. Free offers are there for everywhere from drinking water to coffee, food etc., and the stalls are expected to be more with the D day approaching.
5. I could see a lot of policemen, with some senior officials under the shades escaping the sun that was looking to get angrier by the day.
6. Many 108 ambulances and water tankers were in evidence.
Despite all the hiccups, I felt it was worth the travel of 650 KMs in 30 hours, more for the holiness of the event, the experiences of a dip in the tank and the 20 odd wells and the excellent culinary offerings of our hots, which made everyone of us looking forward to 2028 !
God willing if we are here, we will be there !
By the time the entire team was collected and the van could move out of the city it was around 3 PM and after weathering some initial traffic snarls on the outskirts, the team enjoying the cosy comforts of AC and the constant passing of the 'munchers' reached KMU by 9:30 PM.
It was hard to get up at 4 AM the next day after enjoying the pleasing comforts offered by the selfless hosts of Ravi Swaminthan and family but egged on by the enthusiasm the group was up and ready at the tank by 6:30 AM. The place wore a festive look with the accompanying crawling vehicles, the customary whistle sound of the traffic cop and the usual attitude of the jaywalkers making it clear that the town will be theirs for the whole of next week.
The maha sankalpam was performed with religious fervour, as per the belief of the 'kartha' and due to the ebb and flow of the belief and passion which was more than the flow at the native Cauvery, none cribbed.
Stepping into the tank, the group went into a state of delirium and after taking a couple of immersions in the knee deep waters of the tank facing east and Kasi Viswanathar , people started settling down with some order being restored with sanity.
Though it is said that a holy dip in the tank is sufficient, due to availability of time and non-existence of a milling crowd, we decided to visit all the holy 'Theerthams' inside the tank, which were around twenty in number. At each of these theerthams, water was being taken in a vessel from an almost filled well and people took either a bath or just a sprinkle. Being a part of the group we agreed to a system that one or two of us will draw the water and pour on other members, and that helped the elderly lot and also avoid crowding at the well. It took almost 90 minutes to complete such sprinkler baths from all the twenty odd wells and by the time we got out of the tank, fully purified, we were swaying with a little wag commenting 'ரொம்ப நேரம் தண்ணீலயே இருந்தா கொஞ்சம் தள்ளாடத்தான் செய்யும் ' !!
After we changed our wet clothes at a house opposite to the tank, we quickly decided against our earlier plans of visiting Kasi Viswanthar and Kumbeswarar temples, as we heard that there were milling crowd there. The decision was made more easier when one of our group members went missing for sometime and after we searched and retrieved him from the swelling crowd, people were only more eager to head back home. But to keep up with the practice of having a darshan of the lord after the holy dip, the locals wisely chose KOTTIYUR KOTEESWARAR temple, which proved to be a wonderful choice with less crowd and a serene darshan .
The trip concluded with the group heading back by 2 PM with some well deserved sleep and the van speakers belting some latest number, the group was a happier lot reaching home by late hours of the day.
Some observations and suggestions:
1. The authorities have taken great effort , which I am told is an improved version over the last mahamaham. Kudos to them
2. But, I am afraid, it may not be sufficient. With the expected millions thronging the 6.2 acre tank, I guess something more could be done. Right now people are lead to the tank in a line and after that it is a free-for-all, with each group running its own way around the 20 wells in the tank. What the authorities could do is to erect barricades inside the tank in such a way that anyone going with the barricade will be lead to the wells one by one and exit at the last well. This could in a great way avoid a potential stampede. I am not sure why this is not being done (atleast so far).
3. The town looks spruced up with newly laid roads, buildings looking fresh with a coat of paint and also the smell of bleaching powder wreaking your nose everywhere shows that the civic authorities are up and alive.
4. Free offers are there for everywhere from drinking water to coffee, food etc., and the stalls are expected to be more with the D day approaching.
5. I could see a lot of policemen, with some senior officials under the shades escaping the sun that was looking to get angrier by the day.
6. Many 108 ambulances and water tankers were in evidence.
Despite all the hiccups, I felt it was worth the travel of 650 KMs in 30 hours, more for the holiness of the event, the experiences of a dip in the tank and the 20 odd wells and the excellent culinary offerings of our hots, which made everyone of us looking forward to 2028 !
God willing if we are here, we will be there !
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