MEMORIES OF THE NIGHT OF CHITRA POURNAMI

I had written this piece a few years ago and the Full Moon tonight reminded me of this post which I have subsequently dug out of my archives and am reposting here once again.

I have been trying to compile a list places I once knew and events I once witnessed in Madras during my childhood and youth and I was reminded of one such place and event today; for today is Chitra Pournami, or Chitirai Pournami, which is an unique Tamuzh festival observed on the full moon day (Pournami) in the Tamuzh month of Chitirai. On this day special poojas are conducted in many Temples as it is believed that prayers on this day / night can lead to Jeeva Samadhi and Moksha or salvation and eternal life.

It is about one such Temple located in Alandur which I visited a few times on each night of Chitra Pournami during my late teens that I wish to write about. As I may have mentioned in earlier posts, I went wayward during my teens and used to have various groups of friends for each specific waywardness of mine.

I do not know if was destiny or mere coincidence but I used to haunt Peter's Road during my teens and it was on this Road that I have learnt various truths about life. There was nothing that I did not do there on Peters Road.

Peters Road was a ten minute walk away from my residence and was conveniently placed out of the view and reaches of my parents. Every day I would walk down to Peter's Road to gang up with friends. I had quite a few friends there and we used to hang out there smoking cigarettes and trying to raise adequate finances to smoke a joint or have a drink and go see a movie.

One of the guys who used to hang out with me was also a lover of Mary Jane and he introduced me to a gang of boys who met regularly outside the Tirumala Dewasom's Dharam Shala which was located behind the YMCA Grounds of Royapettah. The entrance to the Dharam Shala was on Peter's Road next to the Bharat Scans Building of today. It was on the pavement on the other side that we used to meet, pool our resources so that one of us would go score some dope which we would then sit and smoke the whole day in chillums. This gang of Friends has subsequently become the subject matter of one of my stories titled, "The Flower Children".

It was through these dope buddies that I came into contact with a handicapped gentleman who was a Telephone operator in the Commercial Taxes Office which was located in a sprawling Bungalow then located in the exact location where the Writers' Cafe is now located. During the evenings, I would sit with this gentleman who lived most of his life in a three wheel cycle which he pedalled with his hands since he had both his legs amputated. He would sit in his cycle while we sat on the low wall outside the gate of the office building. Since he worked there, the watchman would allow us to hang out late into the night smoking dope in chillums.

It was through this gentleman that I came to know of this temple in Alandur which used to conduct midnight poojas on the night of the Full Moon of Chitra Pournami while all the devotes sat around the Temple smoking dope and singing ancient devotional songs composed by the Tamuzh Siddhars of yesteryears. I do not remember the name of the Temple but can still remember my visits there and how it was located on a small street off the road which connected Guindy to St.Thomas Mount Railway Station. The handicapped gentleman made it sound so glamourous and intriguing that I agreed to visit the temple on the forthcoming Chitra Pournami which I guess was in the year 1977.

On the appointed evening I sat behind on a wooden seat set up in the tricycle of my friend while he pedalled me with his hands all the way from Thousand Lights Junction to Alandur. It was rather embarrassing for me to sit behind while a handicapped Man sweated it out on the pedals and I offered to take turns to operate the pedals but he bluntly refused my offer of assistance. We finally reached the lane on which the temple was located and I was surprised to see the huge crowd gathered at the Temple. The lanes leading to the Temple were completely jam locked with posh cars and other vehicles including horse drawn carriages parked all around.

Since my friend was a regular at the Temple he was warmly welcomed there and due to his handicapped nature was allowed to wheel his tricycle to a convenient location within the Temple compound from which we could watch the entire proceedings. The whole place had a carnival like atmosphere and rich businessmen rubbed shoulders with rickshaw wallahs and jutka (horse carriage) drivers without in the least bit showing that they were from different backgrounds. There were Holy Men from all faiths gathered there. From a couple of Muslim clergy men or Sufis to a couple of Christian preachers I could make out all forms of Faith mingling into the oneness of the divine.

We had reached the place around ten thirty at night and the festivities were already in full swing. A thick cloud of Marijuana smoke hung around the Temple as devotees eagerly sang old Tamuzh songs composed by Siddhars, Sufis and Saints of other religions. As soon as one song was completed another devotee would enthusiastically start another song and the rest of them would join in while striking tambourines and cymbals in rhythm to the tune. The scene will be remembered by me for the rest of my life for nowhere else have I witnessed true integration of religions as I did there.

Since smoking Marijuana is illegal in my country I was worried that we would suddenly be surrounded by cops who would arrest us all. I could therefore not truly enjoy the peace of the environment. My fears were soon realised when I saw a couple of Men in Khaki uniform enter the temple and I tried to hide the chillum I was smoking but my friend calmed me down and said it was the local inspector and sub inspector who had come to pay their respects and offer prayers. The two men in Khakhi then sat down among the devotees and removed their caps which they tucked under their armpits as they received the chillums which came their way and smoked them reverentially.

Exactly at five minutes to midnight the priest commenced his pooja and as the clock struck twelve the temple bells started clanging and everyone arose as the priest performed the Aarthi to the Shiva Lingam situated in the sanctum sanctorum and the delirious devotees chanted "Shambo; Shiva Shambo". Soon thereafter ladoos and sacred ash known as Thiruneeru were distributed to everyone as prasadam and the cops left the temple. The crowd too gradually started dispersing and my friend with myself in tow returned home at around three in the morning.

Thus began my tryst with the temple and I went there with my Friend until 1979 after which my life changed and I made new friends whose annual calendar did not include such visits to temples. However, the Temple remains imprinted on my mind forever as the only place where I saw true national integration happen. Sadly, it was only after politics led to exploitation of religions that such disintegration commence. I still wonder at times if the annual Chitra Pournami Pooja happens these days but I'm old and broken in spirit thanks to all the politics around me.

Hope we could witness such integration every single day but we can't be smoking weed every day; can we?

Image Source / Courtesy: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/pink-supermoon-april