Purattasi Sanikazhamai

Waking up at 4 am, we were dressed and out of the door by 4.45. The roads were totally empty, except for the usual one or two vehicles plying at this hour, and the crescent shaped moon that was shining in the black sky. We entered T.Nagar in a quarter of an hour, and as we entered the Venkatnarayana Road, the whole scene was different than the one we started from and the ones we travelled through. The Venkatachalapathy Temple was beautifully lit with the words “Om Namo Narayana” visible from either of the street end. And so begins the first Saturday.

For those who do not know what the title means, Purattasi is an important Tamil month usually from mid-September to mid-October, the prime deity being Lord Venkatachalapathy (Yes, the Dude in Tirupathi). Temple going on Saturdays (Sanikizhamai) is auspicious during the four weeks in this period. And if, the temple is stamped by TTD (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam), then it takes the endorsement to a whole new level. But, these Saturdays, are a gold mine for the silent observers, as a whole plethora of characters and idiosyncrasies are always in store.

Anyways, so we reach the temple, and its bustling with activity. Police personnel are everywhere, police cars are parked on either side of the road, with those red and blue lights blinking non-stop to turn a passerby blind. Barricades are lined up, and the people on the side of the barricade, stretched the queue away from the main road, into Ramanujam Street adjoining the Oxford School. My parents hopped off, I parked the car at a point further away and walked back to join them in the queue.

Many types of people can be found here – ardent believers, disheveled souls, charioteers and the crowd in the queue was a healthy mix of them all. Husbands who parked their bikes away were trying to find their wives in the queue with newly bought flowers in plastic bags for offering to the Lord and the wives, adorned with sarees, with washed hair neatly tied up and jasmine flowers pinned, were shouting out to their husbands to make recognition more easily possible. The queue started moving only after a good 15 minutes.

As we reached the main Road, and inched our way ahead, more sights awaited us. People were standing in the middle of the median, putting the elevated platform to good use by getting a darshan of the Lord. This middle standing crowd mostly involved the active morning walkers, who probably were not in a mood for an early morning bath and will probably visit the temple later in the day. And then the bus no. 13 from Triplicane made its way slowly through the Road, promptly stopping in front of the temple for a few good seconds, as the morning travelers peeped through the window for a glimpse and murmur of prayers. And then there were the flower sellers, the slipper safekeepers, and then the guy who sold coffee from his parked bicycle.

As we made our way inside the temple, ‘volunteers’ neatly dressed in pattu veshti and pattu sattai were guiding the crowd towards the exit, who were more interested in getting more of the Darshan, rather than walking towards the Exit.

After the darshan, as we made our way out, the overpowering smell beckoned. The laddus from Tirupati had arrived and were being distributed. Promptly, we bought our packets and moved out. As we were walking towards the car, my mom nodded satisfactorily and said “Very good and satisfying darshan” and my dad, the dutiful husband agreed. The words cheered the charioteer. We got to the car and drove away from the building up traffic and the never ending queue and the Temple.

One Saturday down, Three more to go… Happy Weekend Folks !