God(desse)s Must Be Pricey!

“How further?” I asked the driver. “Not too far saab. Another 6kms from here”. We were heading to the Kamakhya temple in Guwahati. Ever since I’d arrived I was told about the temple. Though I wasn’t very keen I set off to see it (trying to be a decent tourist interested in the local attractions). We were on the highway and the driver suddenly took a detour and the road suddenly started becoming steep. “Is it not in the town?” I asked. “No saab it’s on top of the hill”.

We reached the temple. As usual with any temple in India this too had its share of hawkers – of flowers and incense, of handicrafts, of idols and photos of gods and goddesses, of sweetmeats, of prasad. I had to perforce buy some flowers and incense to ensure that the shopkeeper looked after my shoes. I had to walk over 100 steps to reach the abode of the goddess. Kamakhya is the other name (the Assamese name) for Goddess Parvati. The temple is quite old. I didn’t have the patience to try and learn the local history and legend (mythology) of the temple (that’s rare for me; I normally am interested to know).

The temple wasn’t yet open to the devotees. I had to stand in the queue and wait. And much as I wanted to leave (I had no company to wait with and I was agitated for no reason) I waited. I started observing the architecture of the temple and the carvings on the temple walls. The style of the gopuram was what one would encounter in Orissa and parts of Bengal. But it was more rounded, almost like a Gumbaz on a mosque but not quite. I thought it was built of terracotta. The walls like any temples had the carvings of figurines. However they weren’t as beautiful or aesthetic as those that you find down south in Halebid or Belur. There were figurines with the faces that resembled monkeys or pigs with human bodies. And, the figurines’ breasts were almost at their abdomen! I wondered if the sculptor was paid enough or paid at all! Still their poses were graceful.

The temple has umpteen numbers of priests. They are called pandas. They are no way as cute as their namesake the Chinese giant pandas; not even the red pandas (except for the red robes that they wear). And, they really are a menace. They’d jostle, push and shove around once they’d get a willing devotee who wanted to offer special prayers to the goddess for a price.

One has to climb down the steps to reach the inner sanctorum. The entire place was rather dark. Then suddenly I remembered the facts about the temple. It’s probably the only temple where the yoni is worshipped. And Kamakhya is the Goddess of fertility! As I started reaching the place of worship the cover in which I was carrying the prayer offerings tore and all things spilt over. I thought the Goddess was angry with me for being disrespectful (despite my agnostic leanings)! I laughed to myself, offered my obeisance and started my trip back to the vehicle. I again wondered about the pandas. Their Vedic ancestors would be turning in their graves if they knew their descendants were worshipping heathen gods and goddesses! They’ve accepted Siva (read Lingam or Phallus) as part of their pantheon of Gods with great difficulty – to assimilate the Dravidians into the Aryan culture and make them accept the Hindu way of life (and its ills too in the bargain). But today’s panda can only think of the crisp notes that he’d make in the bargain!

I was climbing down the steps and “Oh!” And it suddenly struck me. This wasn’t the only temple that was located on a hillock. I wondered about the connection between the gods and goddesses and their temples on high mountains and hills and at generally difficult and inaccessible places. Wherever you go in India this IS the norm. You have Chamundeswari, the residing deity of Mysore on a hill, Hanuman in Bangalore, Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala, Lord Murugan in Palani. The list is endless. Why forget Vaishnodevi or or Lord Ayappa of Sabarimalai or Amarnath? And, Lord Siva decided to make Mount Kailash in the Himalayas his home! Mount Everest is known as Gowrishanker Parbat to most Indians! And, every mountain has an abode to one deity or the other. What is it that makes them reside in all these godforsaken places? Are they tired of the maddening crowds in towns and villages? Stifled for fresh air? Clamour for peace?

I think they just want to make their devotees work a little harder to reach them. They are really pricey. They want to make a statement that they’re not easily available. That one needs to struggle to reach them. That the road to salvation isn’t easy and one must perform a stringent journey to reach Gods and Goddesses!

Humans (read, devotees) haven’t been daunted by this. They always have found a way. May be short cuts too. Pandas and priests are there too to make them reach their God (or Goddess) faster with special pujas and costlier bribes! Or you have institutionalized bribing system with special entry fee at temples for the rich (I can’t think of a place that doesn’t have it). Reminds me of a song from a Kannada movie that goes, “…hanaviddare nee dinakaranante; illadiddare shwaanadante (If you are moneyed you’re like the Sun, else a dog)”! Long live religion!