“The temple bells ring with a zing!
The chanting of mantras make you sing!
The lights a little dull and little bright!
The village temple is a delight!”
I am just back from a visit to my father and mother’s vilage and visit to our family goddess called the Chittur Bhagavathy and the constant Kerala rain bought back memories like the flood held weakly by emotions which suddenly gives way…
Now in many ways, the village roads and the Old houses of dad’s village made my kid’s eyes wide open in wonder!
I have actually gone to those places when we were young and stayed a couple of days! That used to be fun!
Not the iPad or tablet fun but real outdoor fun!
Seeing and trying to milk the cow! Or going to the nearby small river stream for a bath with elder cousins! Or the sitting on the courtyard and listening to the temple bells!
How everyone used to switch off the lights and close the doors and gates by 7 or 8!
And now we finish our work by 9 if lucky!
During the days of visit to our village the dinner was done and finished at 7! It was usually what was made for lunch and we all kids were promptly sent to sleep!
I still remember my old uncle who would have his own room and get food there itself! He would not come out much and though young I understood that he was old and unwell. He was the one who taught me how to play patience with a deck of cards!
Now my kids may not have patience for that!
The beauty of the whole setting was that the village was still more or less the same! Of course some roads have got some make up and some new houses are there where previously you used to have open fields but the feel and the nostalgia is there!
With every corner and every street my dad would scream in enthusiasm and delight and a memory association with that place would come!
While visiting some old house or place if he finds an acquaintance then it’s lottery! The whole sequence of nostalgia starts again!
I especially like the Chittur temple since it looks so old! The smell of the oil lamps and a little rain outside is simply amazing to me!
The main centre of the temple is usually in the centre and in most Kerala temple it’s not really visible! That makes its even more challenging and nice!
I actually don’t want the village or the temple to change much! The sanctity which triggers the nostalgia must remain! The sanctity and legacy of birthday celebrity Pingali Venkayya who designed the Indian flag also will remain for a long time!
Shubh Ratri!
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