Either way I would have come here. Even if there was no
treasure or I didn’t happen to know anyone here. It was not exactly a
pilgrimage. This, in fact was an invitation through centuries.” Come to Thiruvananthapuram
today “is what he had told. He changed my perception of God. He was a mystic, he
was a poet. I looked upon to his songs when I was sitting alone in clinic, when
I felt down, sometimes as a routine, and at times to compare with other sufi
saints.
The invitation
கெடும்இடராயவேல்லாம் கேசவா என்ன நாளும்
கொடுவினை செய்யும் கூற்றின் தமர்களும் குறுகக்கில்லார்
விடமுடை அரவில் பள்ளி விரும்பினான் சுரும்பலற்றும்
தடமுடை வயல் அனந்தபுர நகர் புகுதும் இன்றே.
நம்மாழ்வார்
In fields where drones abuzz,
He beckons to his abode
Ananthapuram is the name,
Death's vassals would dare come,
troubles efface,
Chant 'Kesava" each day, come
hither, to his place.."
Nammazhwar
Kaveri and bhavani
were dry, and hogenakkal was stripped bare of only rocks. Meena wanted to get
off to some place to soak in water. Maybe tirparappu, the last
time we went there, though in summer, the waterfalls were brimming with
abundant clear water and surprisingly less people to jostle there. Unfortunately
we discovered the falls only by afternoon and our bus was booked early in the
evening. So, we had to make a quick exit.
I never thought that the falls was so near to Thiruvananthapuram,
and another temple very close to it. The songs to reckon written by the same
mystic poet, Nammazhwar. The weather was partly cloudy with occasional drizzle,
and dark clouds gathering in the horizon. After padmanabhapuram palace and the
falls we had come to the temple around 3 pm. We had to wait for quite some time
till the nadaithirappu. Adithya was in a playful mood and he was swinging
Meena’s pallu and twirling his shirt over his head. We then had an uninvited
guide who took us through the temple and its history. Though not exactly
deserted, there were very few people for the “opening of the door”. We were
amazed at the intricate rosewood carvings of the temple. I had my own share of ecstasy
that evening. Life and death are blessings. Let the cycle repeat. I don’t wish
to be a zombie attaining “Mukthi”.
தலை மேல தாளினைகள் தாமரைக்கண் என்னம்மான்
நிலை பேரான் என் நெஞ்சத்து எப்பொழுதும் எம்பெருமான்.
மலைமாடத்து அரவணை மேல் வட்டாற்றான் மதம் மிக்க
கொலை யானை மருப்பொசித்தான் குரைகழல்கள் குறுகினமே.
நம்மாழ்வார்
"Bearing his feet on my crown,
of the lotus eyed one..
Residing over a serpant pedestral,
The lord of tiruvattaar,
Surround by facade rising high,
unflinching, he settled owning me,
and ME,
Acknowledged his claim"
- nammazhwar
another song which I stumbled upon..by ?Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma translated by K. Shesha Iyer.
" What makes me king?
The gaudy thing,
The diadem I wear?
Not that, indeed, the regal crown
For me whom He has made His own,
The king of Kings, whose lotus feet
upon my head I bear!
They for my crown, those lotus feet!
They make me king!"
We started early through the next morning to trivandrum temple. The temple would
be open to the general public after the salutations of the erstwhile Travancore
descendants. Though we were talking continuously, this song about beckoning to Trivandrum
was ringing in my mind. Legend says that Nammazhwar never moved from Alwar Tirunagari in tirunelveli district. Here, he
has described about tiruvananthapuram, surrounded by the various trees (he
mentions about their names), the rivulets and the lapping waves of the sea. Tiruvattar,
he says that the lord resides in a temple on a little elevated area, surrounded
by high walls. He would have come here, I thought. He would have seen this
reclining god and his summon is echoing through centuries.
And when I went near the sanctorium, the reclining lord
arose from his slumber, came alive, connecting the songs, the mystic poet and
his invitation to meet him.
NB: photographs of tvm were all lost since my cellphone software
got corrupted. Those which were remaining were sent immediately to my friend and
retrieved later on.
