ഇൻഡിപെൻഡൻസ് ഡേ സെയിലും, സ്കൂളിലെ പയറ് കറിയും!

'ഇൻഡിപെൻഡൻസ് ഡെയ് സേൽ' എന്ന പേരും പറഞ്ഞു സൂപ്പർമാർക്കറ്റിൽ ഇങ്ങനെ കറങ്ങി നടന്ന്, വർഷം മുഴുവൻ വിൽക്കാതെ കെട്ടിക്കിടന്ന് ഇപ്പൊ അമ്പതും ആറുപതും ശതമാനം വിലക്കുറവിൽ കിട്ടുന്ന എന്തേലും ചവറ് വാങ്ങിച്ചുകൊണ്ട് വരുന്ന ശീലം കുറേ വർ വർഷമായിട്ട് ഉണ്ട് എനിക്ക്. ഇന്നലേയും ഒന്ന് കറങ്ങി.. വാങ്ങിയ ചവറൊക്കെ കുറച്ച് കഴിഞ്ഞു ചവറ്റ് കോട്ടയിലേക്ക് തന്നെ പൊയ്ക്കോളും.

അപ്പോൾ പറഞ്ഞു വന്നത് അതല്ല. അങ്ങനെ സൂപ്പർമാർക്കറ്റിൽ ഇന്ന് വീണ്ടും കറങ്ങി നടക്കുമ്പോൾ കുറച്ചു നല്ല മട്ടയരി കിട്ടി. പിന്നെ ഒട്ടും വൈകിച്ചില്ല.. ചാറ്റൽ മഴ ഇങ്ങനെ പെയ്തു നിൽക്കുന്ന ഇന്നത്തെ ഈ രാത്രിയിലെ ഭക്ഷണം മട്ടയരി കഞ്ഞി.. കൂടെ ഇത്തിരി പയറും. ഒരു ഹോട്ടൽ ഭക്ഷണത്തിനും വീട്ടിലെ പലഹാരത്തിനും തരാൻ കഴിയാത്ത ഒരു സുഖം ഉണ്ടതിന്.. ഒരു സാധാരണ മലയാളിക്ക് മാത്രം മനസ്സിലാവുന്ന സുഖം!

ഇതിന് ഇത്തിരി നൊസ്റ്റാൾജിയ കൂടി ഉണ്ട്. പണ്ടത്തെ സ്കൂൾ ഉച്ച ഭക്ഷണത്തിന്റെ അതേ മെനു ആണിത്. സ്കൂൾ വീടിന്റെ അടുത്തായിരുന്നത് കൊണ്ട് എൽപി സ്കൂളിൽ ഉച്ച ബെല്ലടിച്ചാൽ ഊണ് കഴിക്കാൻ വീട്ടിൽ പോവും. അത് കൊണ്ട് സ്കൂളിൽ ഉച്ചക്കഞ്ഞി കുടിച്ചു ശീലം ഇല്ല എങ്കിലും ആ പയർ ഇഷമായിരുന്നു. അതറിയാവുന്ന ചില കൂട്ടുകാർ ചില ദിവസം അവർക്ക് കിട്ടുന്ന പയറിൽ കുറച്ച് മാറ്റി വെയ്ക്കും.. നോട്ടുബുക്കിന്റെ പേജിൽ പൊതിഞ്ഞു അവർ മാറ്റിവെച്ചിരുന്ന ആ പയറിന്റെ രുചിയൊന്നും ഈ നോൺസ്റ്റിക് ചട്ടിയിൽ വേവിച്ച പയറിന് ഇല്ല. എന്നാലും ഇന്നത്തെ ഈ പയർ കറി കണ്ടപ്പോ കാലം മായ്ച്ചു തുടങ്ങിയിരുന്ന ചില മുഖങ്ങൾ വീണ്ടും മനസ്സിൽ തെളിഞ്ഞു വന്നോ എന്നൊരു സംശയം..

ഒ എൻ വി കുറുപ്പ് എഴുതിയ ഒരു സിനിമ ഗാനം പോലെ.. "ഓർമ്മകൾക്കെന്തു സുഗന്ധം.. "

നോട്ടുബുക്കിന്റെ പേജിൽ പൊതിഞ്ഞ ആ പയറിന്റെ സുഗന്ധം!

"കനലാടി" : മുച്ചിലോട്ട് ഭഗവതിയും പെരുവണ്ണാനും കുറച്ച് ചിന്തകളും

അങ്ങനെ.. കുറെ പ്രശ്നങ്ങള്‍ക്കും ആശങ്കകള്‍ക്കും ഒടുവില്‍ പറക്കോട്ടുകാവ് താലപ്പൊലി ഇന്ന് വെറും ചടങ്ങ് മാത്രമായി നടന്നു.. 2-3 പഞ്ചവാദ്യവും വെടിക്കെട്ടും കാണാനുള്ള അവസരവും നഷ്ടമായി. നാട്ടിലേക്കുള്ള ടിക്കറ്റും ക്യാന്‍സല്‍ ചെയ്തു ഞായറാഴ്ച കാലത്ത് ഉദ്യാന നഗരത്തില്‍ വെറുതെ ഇരിക്കുന്ന നേരത്താണ് കൂട്ടുകാരന്‍ അനൂപിന്‍റെ ട്വീറ്റ് കാണുന്നത് - ഇവിടെ അടുത്ത് ഒരു സ്ഥലത്ത് തെയ്യത്തെ കുറിച്ചുള്ള "കനലാടി" എന്ന ഡോകുമെന്ററി പ്രദര്‍ശിപ്പിക്കുന്നു. പിന്നെ കൂടുതലൊന്നും ആലോചിച്ചില്ല. "ഞാന്‍ ഇപ്പൊ വരാം" എന്ന് വീട്ടില്‍ പറഞ്ഞു ബൈക്ക് എടുത്തു നേരെ വിട്ടു. ഉച്ചക്ക് ഒന്നരക്ക് ആയിരുന്നു പ്രദര്‍ശന സമയം. തുടങ്ങാന്‍ കുറച്ചു വൈകി. പക്ഷേ ആ കാത്തിരിപ്പ്‌ വെറുതെയായില്ല എന്ന് തന്നെ പറയാം.

അതിയടം മുച്ചിലോട്ട് ഭഗവതി ക്ഷേത്രത്തില്‍ പന്ത്രണ്ടോ അതില്‍ കൂടുതലോ വര്‍ഷങ്ങളില്‍ ഒരിക്കല്‍ മാത്രം നടന്നുവരുന്ന പെരുങ്കളിയാട്ടം ആണ് ഡോകുമെന്ററിയുടെ പ്രമേയം. 2013-ല്‍ നടന്ന പെരുങ്കളിയാട്ടത്തിന്റെ എട്ടു ദിവസങ്ങളോളം നീണ്ടു നില്‍ക്കുന്ന ചടങ്ങുകള്‍ എല്ലാം ക്യാമറയില്‍ പകര്‍ത്തി അത് ചുരുക്കി ഒന്നര മണിക്കൂര്‍ ഉള്ള ഒരു ഡോകുമെന്ററി ആയി അവതരിപ്പിക്കുക എന്ന ശ്രമകരമായ ജോലി നല്ല രീതിയില്‍ തന്നെ നിര്‍വഹിക്കുന്നതില്‍ സംവിധായകനും സംഘവും വിജയിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു എന്ന് തന്നെ പറയാം.. പ്രേക്ഷകന് ആ തെയ്യം അതിയടത്ത് പോയി കണ്ട ഒരു പ്രതീതി ലഭിക്കുന്നു ഈ ഡോകുമെന്ററി കണ്ടുകഴിയുമ്പോള്‍. ചടങ്ങുകളും ആളുകളുടെ വൈകാരികമായ ഭാവങ്ങളും ക്യാമറമാന്‍ അന്സൂര്‍ മനോഹരമായി പകര്‍ത്തിയിരിക്കുന്നു. A visual treat!

അമ്പല മുറ്റത്തെ ചെമ്പക മരം ഭഗവതിയായി കഥ പറഞ്ഞു തുടങ്ങുന്നു.. നമ്മള്‍ക്ക് പരിചിതമായ പ്രവീണയുടെ ശബ്ദത്തില്‍. വാദപ്രതിവാദത്തിലൂടെ കെണിയില്‍ പെടുത്തി ഭ്രഷ്ട് കല്‍പ്പിക്കപ്പെട്ട ബ്രാഹ്മണ കന്യക ജീവത്യാഗം ചെയ്യുകയും അതിനു ശേഷം മുച്ചിലോട്ടു ഭഗവതിയായി മാറുകയും ചെയ്ത കഥ പറഞ്ഞ് തീര്‍ത്ത ശേഷം പിന്നെ പോകുന്നത് ഇപ്പോഴത്തെ ചടങ്ങുകളിലെക്കാണ്. തെയ്യം കെട്ടുന്ന കോലക്കാരനെ തിരഞ്ഞെടുക്കുന്ന രീതിയും, അതിനു ശേഷം കോലക്കാരന്‍റെ ചിട്ടയോടെയുള്ള ജീവിതവും, ചടങ്ങുകളും എല്ലാം വിശദമായി കാണാം.

ചടങ്ങുകളുടെ ദൃശ്യങ്ങള്‍ ഏറെക്കുറെ കഴിഞ്ഞ ശേഷം, ഡോകുമെന്ററി തീര്‍ന്നു എന്ന് പ്രേക്ഷകന് തോന്നിക്കുന്ന നേരത്താണ് ഇതിലെ വളരെ പ്രസക്തം എന്ന് എനിക്ക് തോന്നിച്ച അവസാന ഭാഗം വരുന്നത്. പ്രകൃതിയെ കുറിച്ച്..  ഭഗവതിയിലും ഭക്തിയിലും ഒതുങ്ങി നിന്ന് പോകാമായിരുന്ന ഒരു ഡോകുമെന്ററി വളരെ വ്യത്യസ്തമായി സമകാലീന പ്രശ്നമായ പ്രകൃതി ചൂഷണതിലേക്ക് ശ്രദ്ധ തിരിക്കുന്നു. പെരിഞ്ചെല്ലൂരില്‍ നിന്ന് ഭ്രഷ്ട് കല്‍പ്പിക്കപ്പെട്ട ബ്രാഹ്മണ കന്യക നടന്ന വന്ന വഴിയിലെ പാടങ്ങളും ജലാശയങ്ങളും നേരിടുന്ന നാശങ്ങള്‍ മുതല്‍ തെയ്യകോലത്തിന് ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്ന കാട്ടുപൂക്കള്‍ വിരളമാവുന്നത് വരെ പ്രതിപാദിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു. സ്ത്രീകള്‍ക്കെതിരെ അക്രമങ്ങള്‍ വലിയ വാര്‍ത്തകള്‍ ആവുന്ന ഈ കാലത്തെ പോലെതന്നെ പണ്ടുകാലത്തും സ്ത്രീകള്‍ക്ക്  നേരെ അടിച്ചമര്‍ത്തലുകള്‍ നടന്നിരുന്നു എന്ന സത്യം മുച്ചിലോട്ട് ഭഗവതി തെയ്യം എന്ന സാധാരണക്കാരന്‍റെ ദൈവം നമ്മളെ ഓര്‍മിപ്പിക്കുന്നു. ആ വിഷയം പ്രേക്ഷകനിലേക്ക് പകരുവാനും ഈ ഡോകുമെന്ററി സഹായിക്കുന്നു.  

തുടര്‍ച്ചയായി മൂന്നു തവണ മുച്ചിലോട്ട് ഭഗവതി തെയ്യം കെട്ടിയ കോലക്കാരനായ അതിയടം കുഞ്ഞിരാമന്‍ പെരുവണ്ണാനെ കേന്ദ്രീകരിച്ചാണ് ഡോകുമെന്ററി മുന്നോട്ട്‌ നീങ്ങുന്നത്‌. കോലക്കാരനെ തിരഞ്ഞെടുക്കുന്നതു മുതല്‍ ഉള്ള അദ്ധേഹത്തിന്റെ ജീവിതവും, ഈ കളിയാട്ടം നടക്കുമ്പോള്‍ തെയ്യം കെട്ടിയ അദ്ധേഹത്തെ കാണാന്‍ വന്ന ഒരുപാട് ആളുകളും ഭക്തിയും.. പിന്നീട്  ഈ പെരുങ്കളിയാട്ടം കഴിഞ്ഞശേഷം നാട്ടിലെ അതെ ആളുകള്‍ക്കിടയിലൂടെ ഒരു തിരക്കും ഇല്ലാതെ അധികം ആരും ശ്രദ്ധിക്കാതെ സാധാരണക്കാരനായി നടന്നു പോകുന്ന അദ്ധേഹത്തിന്റെ ജീവിതവും നമുക്ക് കാണാം. വിവരണം ശ്രീ. കുഞ്ഞിരാമനും മറ്റൊരാളും (ക്ഷമിക്കുക, ആ പേര് ഞാന്‍ കുറിച്ചു വെയ്ക്കാന്‍ മറന്നുപോയി) വളരെ നല്ല രീതിയില്‍ ചെയ്തിരിക്കുന്നു.

സംവിധായകന്‍ ശ്രീ. വി. കെ. അനില്‍കുമാര്‍ പ്രേക്ഷകരോട് സംസാരിക്കുന്നു

വെറുതെ പാഴായി പോകുമായിരുന്ന ഒരു ഞായറാഴ്ച ഇങ്ങനെ നല്ല ഒരു അനുഭവം സമ്മാനിച്ച 'സെന്‍റര്‍ സ്റ്റേജ്' എന്ന കൂട്ടായ്മക്കും ഡോകുമെന്ററി പ്രദര്‍ശനത്തിനു മുന്‍പും പിന്‍പും അതിനെ കുറിച്ചു സംസാരിക്കാനും കുറെ അറിവുകള്‍ പങ്കുവെക്കുവാനും സന്മനസ്സ് കാണിച്ച സംവിധായകന്‍ വി. കെ. അനില്‍കുമാറിനും നന്ദി.

കുറിപ്പ്: മലബാറിലെ തെയ്യങ്ങളെ കുറിച്ചുള്ള എന്റെ അറിവ് പരിമിതമാണ്. ഒന്ന് രണ്ടു തവണ മാത്രമേ നേരില്‍ തെയ്യം കാണുവാന്‍ എനിക്ക് അവസരം ലഭിച്ചിട്ടുള്ളൂ. ഈ പോസ്റ്റിലെ വിവരങ്ങള്‍ എല്ലാം ഡോകുമെന്ററിയും സംവിധായകനും പകര്‍ന്നുതന്ന അറിവിനെ അടിസ്ഥാനമാക്കിയുള്ളണ്. എഴുതിയതില്‍ തെറ്റുകള്‍ ഉണ്ടെങ്കില്‍ പൊറുക്കുവാനും ചൂണ്ടിക്കാണിക്കാനും അപേക്ഷ. നന്ദി.

Namma Metro: 22 minutes on the Purple line

  A long cherished dream.. to see the Bengaluru Metro rail @ Namma Metro running its commercial operations through the Underground Section between MG Road and Magadi Road stations, thus connecting the missing segment of the East - West Purple line in Phase 1. It was opened for commercial operations yesterday (Apr 30, 2016). Like any other Bangalorean, I was also thrilled to take a ride on the Metro and get a feel of the new Underground section.

Being a Sunday, I decided to go and try it today. My actual plan was to travel the full Purple line - from Baiyyappanahalli to Mysore Road station and then return. In a last minute change of plans (due to some relatives visiting my place) I had to reduce my trip time and I traveled between Indiranagar Metro and Majestic (Kempegowda) stations.

The Indiranagar Metro station which usually wears a deserted look on a Sunday afternoon was busy. There were lot of people waiting for tickets. To add the woes, there was only one ticket counter which was open. Since I was not sure about the fares to the new stations, I also stood in the queue to recharge my Metro Travel Card (cost 50₹). It took me 10 minutes to reach the counter. Recharged the card and proceeded towards to the platform. As soon as I reached the platform a train towards the Mysore road arrived. It was almost full. More people squeezed into it from Indiranagar. The train was full. Yes, it was the first time in last 5 years.. that I was traveling in Namma Metro without sufficient space even to stand. The train reached MG road in approx ten minutes. The most awaited stretch was beginning.. The train crossed Anil Kumble Circle and started to descent. It entered the tunnel within few seconds and the excitement was visible in the faces of the passengers - majority of whom were the first time passengers in the new underground section.

The tunnels are not fully dark, they are lit on one side. The train reached Cubbon Park station and it was looking really good. But the shine was missing in the stations that followed since there are some more work to be completed in those stations. The platforms at Cubbon Park, Vidhana Soudha and Sir M Visvesvaraya stations are on the Right side. At Kempegowda station, the platform is on the left. The train took just 22 minutes to reach Kempegowda Metro station (Situated under the old Inter-State Bus Stand at Majestic). I got down and walked around a bit in the platforms to get a feel of the new station. Then climbed the long and tall steps towards the concourse. Escalator was there, but I decided to climb :). Swiped my card at the exit gate after a bit of waiting and it blinked 18.50 or 18.60.. (this is fare after 15% discount for the card). So for almost the same fare of a ordinary BMTC bus, I reached Majestic in an air conditioned metro train that too in less than half the time what the bus usually takes (45-50 minutes in non peak hours). That's just Awesome!

Routes from Majestic / Kempegowda Metro station

Next time when my friend who lives in Vijayanagar invites me to his home for lunch or dinner, I need not find an excuse to skip it due to the 2 hour ordeal I have to face on the road while driving. I can take a metro and cross the city to reach Vijayanagar in 30 minutes.. what a welcome change!! **Happy**

 

**Update** 03 May 2016

Monday evening I had to go to Bengaluru City Railway Station to receive a relative who was visiting us. Without second thoughts, I took a metro from Indiranagar station at 7:35 PM. The 'Tourist" crowd was missing, therefore entering the train was not difficult. The train was full, but there was some space available for standing. Till the train reached Vidhana Soudha, more and more passengers kept boarding the train but the number of people who got down was less. It is a proof of the fact that long distance travelers and passengers who want to travel to the other end of the city have started using the metro line on the first working day after its inauguration itself.

Compared to Sunday, this Monday evening run was quick. This train reached Majestic (Kempegowda) station in 16 minutes and only 18 minutes to reach City Railway Metro station from Indiranagar. I was new to this area - City Railway Metro station. It has 2 exits. One towards Magadi Road and another to the City Railway station. The exit at the City Railway station end opens to a narrow road behind the City Railway station. This narrow street is not well lit and looked deserted even at 8 PM. There is some construction going on. That looks like a Ramp being built to connect the Bengaluru City Metro and Railway stations. Hopefully that ramp should help passengers to avoid that narrow and deserted road. Till then this metro station / road is worth avoiding.

Another issue is, there is no ticket counter at the rear end of the City Railway station - where Metro station is situated - for buying platform / passenger tickets. On a day when your luck is really bad, be ready to be caught by the ticket examiners when you are walking towards the other side of the Railway station for purchasing the ticket. next time If I am going to City Railway station, I will get down at Kempegowda Metro and walk towards the City Railway station - till the ramp construction is completed and a Railway ticket counter is setup here. Else there is no use of this so called City Railway "Metro" station.

Listing down a few things which I felt which was good, bad and that can be improved about the Metro Service.

 

 

Positives:

 

• Time saving - The best advantage of the metro is the time it is going save for the public. There is no other  alternative than Metro for traveling within the City without the fear of traffic blocks.

• Neatness - Even after 5 years of operations of the Phase 1, the coaches, stations and the platforms look neat. A major positive by Indian standards.

• Less Pollution -  The current 3 car train can easily accommodate 250 passengers. Even if it helps to keep 100 vehicles off the roads, that will help to reduce the emission and reduce air and sound pollution in the City.

To improve:

 

• Ticketing - Even after starting the full operations on Purple line, many stations are having a single ticket counter. Causing much delay in getting a ticket. Ten minutes at ticket counter for a ten minutes travel is not acceptable.

• Queue system - Unless forced to stand in a queue, we Indians will never stand in a queue. This is exactly the problem at metro stations now. No railings or ropes at counters. Everyone wants ticket first. Chaos at Peak time!

  

  Crowd at Kempegowda station ticket counter, on Sunday

• ₹ Change - Another reason for slow ticketing is that everyone is flashing a 500₹ note at the ticketing counter. Though the Metro cannot do much about this, this remains as a challenge to be addressed.
  
  Tip: If you want to skip the queue, an easy work around could be buying the metro card - the fee of 50₹  will break even in 7-8 trips with the 15% discount the card offers

 

• Frisking and Luggage scanning - Every station has mandatory frisking and Luggage scanning. Good for Security. But.. there is not enough security staff to do the checks and there is plenty of space on the sides so that if someone wishes to.. can skip these 2 steps and board the train. The crowd must be squeezed through the security check area. More scanners are needed. Security guards simply looking into the bags at the stations where scanners are not functioning is not really going to help.

• Sound of the Whistle - If you ask me what is that one thing which I find irritating at the Bengaluru Metro ever since it started operations, I can answer it without any doubts. The continuous sound of Whistles at the platform.

  

  Crowded Platforms

  There is nothing more irritating that this. Most of the platforms on the elevated section are approximately 5 feet wide and half of it marked as "No Standing" zone to keep the passengers away from the rails. When such a narrow platform is crowded, passengers don't have a choice but to walk through the section marked with the yellow line. The next moment we can hear a series of whistles.
  
  
  If Metro authorities wants to keep people away from tracks, they should put barricades at all platforms by leaving gaps only at the places where the door opens (which is usually the same spot for every train) similar to what they have placed in new stations and for heaven's sake - stop the Whistles.

 

Barricades at new stations

Negatives:

• Escalator and lifts - One thing common with all the metro stations - Pathetic design. Makes people walk a lot. A rapid transport system should help people to move quickly - Not just on the tracks, but on the station and platforms also. Most of the stations doesn't have an escalator for descending - even at stations with plenty of space (Example: M G Road station, on Boulevard side). People are forced to walk down from the platform. Since we cannot expect everyone to walk at the same speed, it causes 'traffic jam' at the steps and this is definitely a pain point. Lifts are there at most stations, but are not easily accessible at many stations. At some stations, Platform to Concourse lift is in one corner and Concourse to ground floor is at the exact opposite corner. Such a pathetic design. The Senior citizens who can walk around but not for too long or the who are not comfortable with steps are finding this difficult. Metro cannot be only for the active office goers. It should be friendly to Senior Citizens and Children too.
  
  Imagine passengers walking down the steps for another 50 feet from Purple line to Green line at Kempegowda station interchange. It is going to be tedious.

Kempegowda Station - Now escalator towards platform

• Streamlining the crowd movement - Many stations are not designed in such a way that a passenger who is new to the place follows a line / direction and reaches the platform without losing the way. The ticket counters are in one corner and the luggage scanners are in another corner. The entry gates are somewhere else. A perfect setup of more Chaos during rush hour.

• Exit gates - Most of the stations have 4 or 5 exit gates - to drop/swipe the ticket and go out of the station. Some stations have only 2 or 3 exit gates. At peak hours, especially when we don't have the habit of following a queue - this makes you wait to get out of the station. Another issue with the gates is that, the coin should be inserted without going close to the gates. There is a sensor. Many of the passengers who are new to Metro are yet to get the knack of this, thus adding to the delays.

• Parking - Considering the fact that the Metro is passing thru some areas where parking space cannot be even dreamed of, Metro should use its space effectively at stations outside the main city to enable parking of vehicles. With the proposed frequency, the BMTC feeder services are not going to be really effective or helpful. Only if there is parking space available, the public who stay away from the metro stations will be able to use the Metro effectively. For example, the parking space at Swami Vivekananda Road looks haunted even at 7pm. In the eastern side, only Baiyyappanahalli station has a decent parking facility.

This post is written based on my experience and knowledge. I might be wrong at certain places. Corrections / Suggestions / Criticisms are welcome :)

കണ്ണീരിന്റെ കൈനീട്ടം..

ഇന്ന് മേടം ഒന്ന്.. വിഷു. ലോകമെമ്പാടുമുള്ള മലയാളികൾ രാവിലെ കണികണ്ട് സന്തോഷത്തോടെ ആഘോഷിക്കുന്ന ദിവസം. എന്നെ പോലെയുള്ള ചിലർക്ക് വിഷുവിന്റെ മധുരം ഇരട്ടിയാക്കുന്ന ഒന്നു കൂടിയുണ്ട്.. പൂരത്തിന് വേണ്ടിയുള്ള കാത്തിരിപ്പ്‌. മേടമാസത്തെ പൂരം, പൂരങ്ങളുടെ പൂരം.. തൃശൂർ പൂരം!

നേരത്തെ പറഞ്ഞല്ലോ, വിഷുവിന്റെ പ്രഭാതം സന്തോഷത്തിന്റെയാണ്. അതിൽ ഇത്രയും വർഷനിടയിൽ ആദ്യമായി സങ്കടം തോന്നിയത് അഞ്ചു വർഷം മുന്നേയായിരുന്നു. അന്ന് കാലത്ത് പത്രത്തിൽ കണ്ടു.. കേരളത്തിന്റെ വാനമ്പാടി ചിത്രയുടെ മകൾ മരിച്ചു. ടിവിയിലൂടെ കണ്ടറിഞ്ഞ, ഒരു നല്ല ഒരു മനസ്സിനുടമയായ ചിത്ര ചേച്ചിക്ക് അങ്ങനെ ഒന്ന് സംഭവിച്ചതിൽ മറ്റ് മലയാളികളെ പോലെ എനിക്കും ഒരുപാട് വിഷമം തോന്നി. കാലം കടന്നു പോയി. നമ്മൾ 2016ൽ എത്തി നിൽക്കുമ്പോൾ വീണ്ടും ഒരു വിഷു പ്രഭാതം. കാലത്ത് എഴുന്നേറ്റ് കണി കണ്ടു, പ്രാർത്ഥിച്ചു. പക്ഷേ അഞ്ചു വര്ഷത്തിനു ശേഷം ഇന്ന് വീണ്ടും ഒരു സന്തോഷമില്ലാത്ത വിഷു പ്രഭാതമാണ്‌.

ഇന്നത്തെ സങ്കടത്തിന് രണ്ടു കാരണങ്ങൾ ഉണ്ട്. പ്രധാന കാരണം ഇക്കഴിഞ്ഞ ഞായറാഴ്ച ഏപ്രിൽ 10ന് കൊല്ലം പറവൂരിൽ ഉണ്ടായ, അല്ലെങ്കിൽ അശ്രദ്ധ കൊണ്ടും വിവരക്കേട് കൊണ്ടും വരുത്തിത്തീർത്ത പുറ്റിങ്ങൽ വെടിക്കെട്ടപകടം. രണ്ടാമത്തേത് അതിന്റെ ചുവടു പിടിച്ച് നല്ല രീതിയിൽ നടന്നു വരുന്ന, തൃശ്ശൂർ പൂരം അടക്കം സകല ഉത്സവങ്ങളെയും ഇനി എക്കാലത്തേക്കും വെറും ഓർമ മാത്രമാക്കി മാറ്റിയേക്കാവുന്ന ചില നിയന്ത്രണങ്ങൾ. അതറിയാൻ ഇന്ന് കാലത്ത് പത്രം നോക്കേണ്ടി വന്നില്ല, ഇന്നലെ രാത്രി തന്നെ അറിഞ്ഞു.

Courtesy: Malayala Manorama

തൃശ്ശൂർപൂരം കേരളത്തിലെ മാത്രമല്ല ലോകത്തിലെ തന്നെ പ്രസിദ്ധമായ ആഘോഷങ്ങളിൽ ഒന്നാണ്. കപട ജന്തുസ്നേഹത്തിന്റെ പേരിൽ നേരിട്ടും അല്ലാതെയും പലരിൽ നിന്നും പൈസ പിരിച്ച് അത് മുടക്കാനായി വിവിധ സംഘടനകൾ സോഷ്യൽ മീഡിയയിലൂടെയും ഇന്റർനെറ്റ് വാർത്താ മാധ്യമങ്ങളിലൂടെയും ശ്രമം തുടങ്ങിയിട്ട് നാളുകൾ ഏറെയായി. അവരുടെ പലരുടെയും പിന്നിൽ ആരാണെന്ന് അവർക്ക് സഹായം നൽകിയവരുടെ വിവരങ്ങൾ ഭാരത സര്ക്കാരിന്റെ FCRA വെബ്സൈറ്റിലെ വിവരങ്ങൾ പരിശോധിച്ചാൽ മനസ്സിലാകും. അതിൽ നിന്ന് തന്നെ അവരുടെ ഉദ്ദേശവും വ്യക്തമാണ് - ജന്തുസേഹത്തിന്റെ മുഖംമൂടിയണിഞ്ഞ് നല്ല രീതിയിൽ നടക്കുന്ന പൂരങ്ങളും ക്ഷേത്രോത്സവങ്ങളും മുടക്കുക. ഇതെല്ലാം പരസ്യമായ രഹസ്യമായിരിക്കെ, ഈ ദ്രോഹികളെ സഹായിക്കുന്ന രീതിയിൽ നമ്മുടെ നാട്ടിലെ ചില ആളുകളും സർക്കാർ സംവിധാനങ്ങളും പ്രവർത്തിക്കുന്നത് തികച്ചും അപലപനീയമാണ്.

കൊല്ലം ദുരന്തം ഉണ്ടായ ഉടനെ അവിടെ ഉണ്ടായ അധികൃധരുടെ വീഴ്ചയിൽ നിന്ന് ശ്രദ്ധ തിരിച്ചുവിടാൻ വേണ്ടി തൃശ്ശൂർപൂരത്തെ കോടതി കേറ്റി മുടക്കുക എന്ന പൊറാട്ട് നാടകം കണ്ടാൽ ഇവിടത്തെ ജനങ്ങൾക്ക്‌ തിരിച്ചറിയാം. എല്ലായിടത്തും ഓബി വാനും കൊണ്ട് ചെന്ന് എക്സ്ക്ലൂസിവ് ലൈവ് ന്യൂസ്‌ പടച്ച് വിടുന്ന, ആനയുടെ വാല് ഏതാ കാൽ ഏതാ എന്ന് തിരിച്ചറിയാൻ കഴിവില്ലാത്ത, കടുത്ത വാർത്ത ദാരിദ്യം അനുഭവിക്കുന്ന നമ്മുടെ വാർത്താ ചാനലുകളും അവസരം പാഴാക്കിയില്ല. ആവശ്യത്തിനു മാത്രം എടുത്ത് പ്രയോഗിക്കുന്ന ചില മഹദ് വചനങ്ങളും കൊണ്ട് ആനയെയും പൂരങ്ങളെയും പഴിച്ച് അവരും നാലഞ്ചു ദിവസം തള്ളിനീക്കി. അപകട ഭീഷണി എന്നത് ആനയും വെടിക്കെട്ടും ഉള്ള സ്ഥലത്ത് മാത്രമല്ല അത് എപ്പോ എവിടെ വേണമെങ്കിലും സംഭവിക്കവുന്നതാണ് എന്ന് എല്ലാവര്ക്കും അറിയാം. ഇതിനു പ്രതിവിധി അതിനെ നിരോധിക്കുക അല്ലെങ്കിൽ പറ്റാവുന്നത്ര നിയന്ത്രണങ്ങൾ ഏർപ്പെടുത്തി അതിനെ കൊല്ലാക്കൊല ചെയ്യുക എന്നതല്ല. എവിടെയാണോ സുരക്ഷാ വീഴ്ചയുള്ളത് അത് പരിഹരിച്ച് നല്ലരീതിക്ക് നടപ്പാക്കുകയാണ് എന്നതാണ്. ഭക്ഷ്യവിഷബാധ ഉണ്ടായാൽ പൂട്ടുന്നത് അതുണ്ടായ ഹോട്ടൽ മാത്രമാണ്. അല്ലാതെ നാട്ടിലെ സകല ഹോട്ടലുകളും അല്ല. അത് പോലെ കൊല്ലം അപകടത്തിന് ശിക്ഷിക്കേണ്ടത് അതിനുത്തരവാദികളായരവരെ മാത്രമാണ്, അല്ലാതെ കേരളത്തിലെ എല്ലാ പൂരങ്ങളെയും അല്ല.

ആനയെ എഴുന്നള്ളിക്കുന്നതും പടക്കം പൊട്ടിച്ച് മലിനീകരണം ഉണ്ടാക്കുന്നതാണോ ഹേ നിങ്ങളുടെ ഇത്ര വലിയ സംസ്കാരം എന്ന് ചോദിക്കുന്ന എന്റെ ഫേസ്ബുക്ക്‌ സുഹൃത്തുക്കളും അല്ലാത്തവരുമായ സഹ മലയാളികളോട് എനിക്ക് പുച്ഛം മാത്രമേ ഉള്ളൂ. സായിപ്പിന്റെ റോക്ക് ബാൻഡിലെ ഡ്രമ്മറുടെ പേരും സകല ബയോഡാറ്റയും അറിയാം, പക്ഷെ  പെരുവനം കുട്ടൻ മാരാർ ആരാണെന്നു അറിയാത്ത ഇക്കൂട്ടരോട് എന്ത് പറയാൻ.. സഹതാപം മാത്രം. "തൃശ്ശൂർ പൂരം ഫുൾ ഓഫ് ഡ്രങ്കാർഡ്സ്" എന്ന് എഴുതിയ വിദേശ മാധ്യമ പ്രവർത്തക സംഗീത അയ്യരും ഇവരും തമ്മിൽ എന്ത് വ്യത്യാസം?



വർഷങ്ങൾക്കു മുൻപ് ആന എഴുന്നള്ളത് നിരോധിക്കണം എന്ന് പറഞ്ഞപ്പോൾ നമ്മൾ ചിരിച്ചു. ഇതൊക്കെ എവിടെ നടക്കാൻ എന്ന് പറഞ്ഞ്.. പക്ഷെ ഈ നിർത്താത്ത നുണ പ്രചാരണം കൊണ്ടും അനാവശ്യമായ പല പ്രവണതകളും പ്രോത്സാഹിപ്പിക്കുന്ന, ആനപ്രേമികൾ എന്ന് സ്വയം അഹങ്കരിക്കുന്ന വെളിവില്ലാത്ത കുറെ ആളുകൾ മൂലവും ഇന്ന് അത് നിരോധനത്തിന്റെ / വലിയ നിയന്ത്രണത്തിന്റെ വക്കിലാണ്. ഈ ആഴ്ചത്തെ ഈ ബഹളത്തിനിടക്ക് മറ്റൊരു തമാശ കേട്ടു. അപകടം ഒഴിവാക്കാൻ ക്ഷേത്രങ്ങൾ പൂട്ടണം എന്ന് യുക്തിവാദികൾ. നമ്മൾ ഇപ്പോഴും ചിരിച്ചു.. ആ പഴയ ചിരി.

ഇങ്ങനെ വഴി മുട്ടിച്ച് ആഘോഷങ്ങൾ വെറും ചടങ്ങുകൾ ആവുമ്പോൾ ജീവിതത്തിന്റെ വരുമാനമാർഗം മുട്ടിപ്പോകുന്ന ആളുകളെ കുറിച്ച് നമ്മൾ ഈ പൂരം മുടക്കികളെ ഓർമ്മിപ്പിക്കേണ്ടതുണ്ട്. വരുമാനമില്ലതായാൽ മഹത്തായ ക്ഷേത്ര കലകൾ നശിക്കും. മേള - പഞ്ചവാദ്യ കലാകാരന്മാർ, ആന ചമയങ്ങൾ നിർമിക്കുന്നവർ, വെയിലും മഴയും വക വെക്കാതെ ആനകളെ കൊണ്ട് നടക്കുന്ന പാപ്പാന്മാർ തുടങ്ങി ഒരു പൂരപ്പറമ്പിൽ നിന്ന് മറ്റൊരു പൂരപ്പറമ്പിലേക്ക് പോയി പൊരിക്കച്ചവടം നടത്തുന്നവർ വരെ തൊഴിൽ രഹിതർ ആവും. ഇവരെയൊക്കെ സഹായിക്കാൻ പൂരം മുടക്കികൾ ഇന്റർനെറ്റിൽ നുണ പറഞ്ഞു പിച്ച തെണ്ടി ബക്കറ്റ് പിരിവു നടത്തി കിട്ടുന്ന പൈസ കൊണ്ടാവുമോ? ഒരു ആനക്ക് ഒരു വർഷത്തേക്ക് പട്ട വാങ്ങാൻ തികയില്ല ആ പണം.

ഇന്ന് തൃശ്ശൂരിൽ ഒരു കൂട്ടം ആളുകൾ നടത്തുന്ന പ്രതിഷേധത്തിന്‌ ഐക്യധാർഡ്യം പ്രകടിപ്പിച്ചു കൊണ്ട്, ഈശ്വര വിശ്വാസം ഉള്ളതുകൊണ്ട് എല്ലാം നല്ല രീതിയിൽ തന്നെ അവസാനിക്കും എന്ന പ്രതീക്ഷ കൈവിടാതെ തന്നെ ഞാൻ നിർത്തുന്നു.. നന്ദി.

An Autopsy of the Smoke and Dust

Let me begin this post with Pranams to the 100+ victims of the Puttingal fireworks tragedy and prayers for those who got injured and are in hospitals for their speedy recovery.

 

As the people in the nation ( and in many parts of the world ) woke up hearing the tragic news of more than 100 people killed and more than 300 injured in the biggest fireworks mishap that Kerala has ever witnessed.. I too was shocked to hear about the mishap and astonished by the number causalities. Being a Sunday I spent a lot of time in front of the television watching the visuals and at times listening to the (clueless) reports from the spot by the Television news reporters. Facebook and WhatsApp groups were abuzz with discussions about the tragedy.

Before I write further, let me make it clear that I have never been to the Puttingal temple at Kollam. So I don't know much about this particular temple or the fireworks that takes place every year. This post is based on what I saw on Televison, what I heard from friends at Kollam and South Kerala and my experience at the Central Kerala temple festivals.

Because, South or Central Kerala.. the thumb rules for safety remains the same.

As usual, the media is just trying to fill their slots with some content. I felt most of them are not focusing on what caused the accident. Many reports are just focusing on the technicalities - Did the collector give permission or not? Or if the event was a competition or not? etc. The organizers should not have gone ahead if the permission was rejected by the District Collector (As I am writing this, fresh news is coming on TV that there was some other authorities granted permission and those are not confirmed reports). There are discussions going on whether Police should have stopped it or not etc. I am not going to comment on the bureaucratic side of it.

Many people came up with their usual knee jerk reactions and the most popular suggestions among them - BAN. Ban on fireworks is something we get to hear when everytime a fireworks mishaps happens or when Deepavali / Vishu is around and during various other occasions. I do not wish to go deeper into these calls for Ban and make this a lengthy post. Let me try to keep this one shorter. I'd say, Ban is not a solution for anything until the root cause of the problem is found. Unfortunately, no one seems to be interested in finding it either.

Thrissur Pooram is just one week away and Once again it has become a topic of discussion due to this tragedy. Many wanted the Pooram fireworks banned in the wake of this tragedy. The District administration issued a press note suggesting reduction of the sound and making the fireworks more colorful. I have been going to Thrissur Pooram from last 20+ years. The sound of the fireworks has been reduced drastically over the last decade or so. Personally, I do support reducing the sound further considering the fact that a rapidly growing city has come up in last few decades around the Thekkinkad Maithanam, the ground where Thrissur Pooram and the fireworks takes place. There could be few old structures in the city which can be impacted due to the sound. If something happens to one of those buildings, it will be catastrophic at a heavily crowded festival like Thrissur Pooram. 

Without deviating further, let me get back to the main topic. I saw that many people and news reports were focusing on the other aspect - മത്സര കമ്പം - 'Malsara Kambam' which you can roughly translate into "Fireworks competition". They sounded as if this competition is the sole reason for the disaster.

With my limited knowledge, let me try to throw some light into this Malsara Kambam. Unlike many sounded, this competition is not similar to what we have at LOC where India and Pak soldiers shoot at each other (I know, this is bad comparison.. but that's how our news reporters sounded). Malsara Kambam involves few rounds of fireworks display one after another by each Sides / Regions/ Desams / Karas participating in the festival. If Safety is ensured, there is nothing wrong with type of practises. I am finding this almost similar to the festivals of Central Kerala where 2 more Regions/ Desams participate in the Poorams / Velas and there will be fireworks by each of these sides one after other. The only difference I could find in Puttingal is, there is a trophy given to the side which is declared as the winner by showing more variety, color and sound and there no such practise in the festivals of the Thrissur - Palakkad regions. I feel that, the authorities cannot hide heads behind this reason and shut their eyes towards the actual reason that caused the disaster.

In my opinion, there are 3 major reasons that resulted in this unfortunate incident and such a high death toll.

1. Proximity of the Storage area to the Display area

From the videos available on different sources on internet, we can clearly see that the place where the fireworks were lit and the place where they were stored are very close to each other. This is a major violation and shows the lack of experience and careless attitude of the temple authorities and the fireworks contractors. The storage area should be away from the Display area at least by a distance which is more than what a firecracker can travel even if it loses its direction. Here at Puttingal what has triggered the mishap is the colorful firecracker ( which is usually called as "Para" in Central Kerala) which is lit inside large metal pipes ( with 3/4th of it below the ground level to prevent it from going sideways) and that goes very high in the sky and then bursting into beautiful floral designs. When this particular cracker doesn't gain the height it is supposed to, the burning Gulikas (the tiny burning particles) inside the cracker which create the floral designs come down till the ground. This is not unusual. I have seen it happen many times. When there is not much crowd at the area where the firecracker it is lit and if it comes down later, chances of someone suffering even minor burns is very less.

But the whole situation changes when you have a storage of firecrackers right beneath it and it is a perfect stage for a catastrophe.

A Typical "Para"

2. Concrete building for Storage area

Traditionally thatched roof makeshift structures are used to store fire crackers (tin sheets in many places recently). This is not just because the structure will be dismantled after the festival there is another important aspect to this. In case of an accidental fire and blast the structure will not add to the impact of the blast. The palm or coconut tree leaves covering the roof and sides of the storage structure will just burn. They will not act as a missile unlike what happened yesterday. When the blast ripped apart the storage building at Puttingal temple, the concrete beams and iron rods from the building flew even up to one and half kilometers and killed people. We read about the terrorist attacks with crude bombs filled with nails and sharp objects. Unfortunately, the temple authorities and fireworks contractors had unknowingly converted the entire building into a crude bomb by deciding to store the firecrackers inside the concrete structure.
 

3. Storage area was not secluded

By allowing people go nearby and stand around the storage building, the authorities have only helped to increase the number of causalities in this tragedy. Few would have got their lives back if they were not too close to the concrete building where the firecrackers were stored. Usually people are not even allowed to go anywhere near the area where the storage structure is situated. But somehow this was not followed yesterday and the rest is history. It is important that people are not allowed to go close to the storage and display areas. Posting a photograph from Uthralikkavu fireworks. See how vacant the whole area looks. This is one good example.

Fireworks at Uthralikkavu Pooram, Thrissur District

I saw the authorities on Television saying, permission was denied since it was a competition and such practises will not be allowed. But the fact is, a tragedy was always waiting to happen under situations like this even if there was no competition. Hope this incident will act as an eye opener for the authorities and proper law enforcements are done in future to avoid safety lapses and loss of lives.

If a Ban is enfored on fireworks, that would be just an easy way to run away from the actual problem than solving it.

Wake up!

It's Pooram Time!
Wake up, Dear Superficial Elephant Lovers!

It's Pooram Time!
It's time to write, "Elephants belong to Forests"

It's Pooram Time!
It's time say Hindu Temples torture elephants for fun and festival grounds are full of drunkards.

It's Pooram Time!
It's Time to create new pages on social media and shed Crocodile Tears.


It's Pooram Time!
And.. let me tell you dear pseudo activists, 
We have read enough of your nonsense. Your
Crocodile tears cannot dampen our festival spirits..

It's Time for me to write a reply to you!!

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            The rains have stopped.. The early morning chillness of winter and the ever flowing cool winds thru the Walayar Gap have also stopped.. The Summer is here. Harvest season is over and the Palakkadan paddy fields have transformed themselves as the venue to the next major activity - The Festivals. The grounds surrounding the temples in other districts are also  ready to welcome the festivals. Yes, the peak festival season of Kerala has started. Elephants are busy attending and traveling from one festival ground to another. The most of colorful festival among them, The Thrissur Pooram is just less than a month away. 

And it is that time of the year again.. when the ostensible Elephant lovers and activists emerge from their cocoon and proliferate on National, International and Social media. It is time for them to shed crocodile tears about the pain the elephants are going through and once the Pooram is over, they become dormant till next year's Pooram. This has been going on for last few years (Read my earlier post about these reports here). Recently, some of them have even managed to stay awake even after the festival season and they try ensure that the flow of tears doesn't stop. They are ready to speak, write or do anything, as long as it keeps them in limelight, generates revenue, increases traffic to their website etc..


After reading the above 2 paragraphs, you might have already concluded that I'm one among those few ruthless "Elephant fans" who hire elephants for a day or two paying huge sum, put a banner of a club, locality or place(Desam) on top of elephant ask mahout to make the elephant stand straight holding its head up for long intervals - All this, only to make sure that their Club or Desam win an unwanted and unhealthy competition.. No, I do not belong to the group of those morons either.

I am just a festival goer,
who attends few traditional temple festivals every year.

I am just a festival goer,
who wishes to see my temple festivals in its full glory and glitter.

I am just a festival goer,
who loves elephants and want them to be taken care properly

I am just a festival goer,
who doesn't want any Tom-Dick-and-Harry to dictate what my temples should do

I am just a festival goer,
who wishes to see people understand what is right and what is wrong.

I am just a festival goer,
who is seeking the truth behind these crocodile tears.

If you look closely, the overall festival Elephant rental business in the state is messy. Some amount of cleaning is required before it goes beyond a point where nothing can be done to clean it. At one side, we have temple administrators, elephant owners and brokers and at the other side, there is a set of people who try to use festivals as an opportunity to portray temples as the most cruel place on earth to elephants - The Self proclaimed saviours of elephants, The Elephant Activists. 




In this post, I will give the former a pass and try to express my views and facts about the latter. I am planning to publish another post about the issues faced by elephants soon. No one can deny the fact that the domestic population of elephants in Kerala are facing some problems due to various factors but I strongly feel that these activists are helping only to divert the attention from the core issue and they are not helping anyone than themselves.


Who are these activists? Well, anyone can become an activist. If love towards elephants is making some people raise their voice, it could be some hidden agenda or urge to become popular that makes other few people wail. The good and knowledgeable experts are outnumbered by these new generation social media elephant activists and most of them seem to have little idea about the ground reality. It appears that they are also not so keen on getting to know the ground reality since their main intention is to evoke sympathy by means of posting melodramatic posts on social media or by writing columns on international media with tons of incorrect facts. Their job becomes easy since many readers of pages run by activists also doesn't seem to have much idea about the ground reality. Many readers doesn't even seem to realize that a photo or video can be projected in any manner by adding misleading captions with it.  


So you must be wondering that why am I writing this post about the so called Elephant activists while I agree to the fact that elephants are facing some issues? The sole reason is that I cannot agree with most of the views expressed by them or their major arguments. I strongly feel that they are behind money and fame and their concern is not welfare of elephants.

Let me try to list few of the topics / their arguments here and followed by my views on those topics.

 1. Elephants should be banned

The activists are urging for a total ban on usage of elephants at temples. Well, that is a very good suggestion to save the elephants from heavy workload during the festival season. But I have a question here.. Once the ban is implemented, What are we going to do with the 500+ domesticated population of elephants in Kerala? This is one question i have asked to the people who are in favor of the ban(whom I have met) and whenever the topic of Ban has come up during a discussion. One dumb suggestion that some of these activists often speak about is to release these elephants back to forest; which is not a solution. Once domesticated, these elephants cannot be released back to forest. Many of these elephants have spent decades in temples and captivity and they will find it difficult to adapt to the surroundings which once used to be their home. I have not found a single activist who has answered this question or has a concrete plan for rehabilitation of Kerala's domesticated / temple elephants.


Doesn't this sound like fighting a war for someone else without knowing what they are fighting for?


This war cry for total ban reminds me of something else. During Onam festival, there used to be bull racing (kannu poottu / maramadi) at paddy fields near my home until 2-3 years ago. Those bulls are usually looked after very well and they are used for racing in paddy fields. You can call it farmer's horse racing and a celebration after the harvest. One fine morning some organization filed a complaint and the court banned it citing the practice as very cruel. You can guess what followed. Many of those racing champions were sent to wedding halls. Yes, in the form of Biriyani. This is a perfect example of how a ban should not be enforced / implemented. 

Point to ponder: If a farmer's sport that involves bull is cruel, why people/activists doesn't find Rich man's Horse racing cruel? (It is a different topic altogether, will discuss sometime later)

Only relief in case of the elephants is that they will not become Biriyani. But.. if a ban is enforced without proper rehabilitation plans, they will head to a slow death due to starving and lack of care. That will be cruel than the Chains and sticks - their current problem.

2. Thrissur Pooram and Guruvayoor Temple - The Two Easy targets for activists

Most of the fake allegations are against 2 easy targets - Thrissur Pooram and Guruvayoor Temple's Elephants. Why? May be, the activists know that Publicity can be easily achieved when you make (baseless) allegations against something which is very popular and famous. I had come across one such article that appeared in Daily Mail. Fortunately, Mr. Prem Panikkar wrote a fitting reply to that baseless article and thus proving that all those allegations in that badly written article were totally wrong. You can read that reply here - Peeli.org 

A scene from Thrissur Pooram 2012

Also, these activists come to Kerala and click photos with elephants owned by Guruvayoor, Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu temples, shoot videos when the elephants are having some temporary health issues, caption it with superlative adjectives like "gut-wrenching, shell shocked, stupefied etc." (and most importantly no updates will be provided when the elephant recovers),  then go back and blame that the temples are not looking after the elephants. The activists would then write on media as if they are taking care of the elephants and some of them even collect money from public for that also. Contrary to these claims by activists, these temples own some of the most famous elephants in Kerala and they are looked after extremely well also.

My set of questions to the activists:

•     Will these activists have courage speak or write against some other festival where some unhealthy practices are still ON?

•     Will they write against a private elephant owner similar to the way they write about any of these temples?

•   Will they have the courage to visit any of these non-temple festivals similar to the way they go to Thrissur Pooram and shoot footages and publish it later by adding all sentimental masala?

•  Though elephants are used by all religions in Kerala for their festivals, will any activist ever speak about any religious institution other than a temple?

The answer is a big NO for all these questions and the activists know the reason very well.

It saddest part is, when thousands of people who come to attend the Pooram are standing all over Thekkinkad maithanam watching the Kudamattam ceremony of the Thrissur Pooram, our Government and Tourism department issue passes to these activists (most of whom attend the event as Tourists) to watch the festival from a special gallery and get a good view - Only to go back and write that Thrissur Pooram is the most cruelest festival on Earth. Isn't it time that the Government stop these Wolves in sheep's clothing from occupying the gallery and do harm to the festival itself?

3. They are wild animals, they should be at Forest

Agreed. They are wild animals. Aren't humans all over the world domesticating wild animals? Have you revolted against at least some of them? Now don't give me a ****** reply that, this is the starting point.


Elephants are one of the most intelligent animals on land. They have a counterpart in water too - The Dolphins. Did any of these activists who always dream and scream about 'ആന വിമുക്തമായ കിനാശ്ശേരി' (Kerala without temple Elephants) object any of those Parks in different parts of the world where Dolphins and Seals and made to perform? Why is it not being considered as cruelty? Is it because its just a tourist attraction and not a temple related activity?


Elephants are widely used in East Asian countries to promote tourism. They make elephants perform various stunts, make it draw paintings, do body massage for tourists and what not? I wonder why this non stop tear shedding activists are still crying about elephants in Kerala only..


And few words to the to foreign media publishing stories about Cruelty against Temple elephants: Currently the number of domestic elephants in Kerala is much lesser than what invaders from your country have used here for fighting wars against different Princely States of India or that they have killed for ivory and for pleasure of hunting. Our government is currently protecting whatever is left is our forests and temples / owners are trying their best to protect the domesticated ones (though there is some scope for improvement). So please try to understand the ground reality before you publish a crap story next time.


Also, we shouldn't forget that no one even cared about the hunting of lions in Africa and the hobby sport called Trophy Hunting (which is legal even now at most parts of the world as per Wikipedia), until the death of the famous lion 'Cecil' recently. There are many countries in world even now where hunting of wild animals is legal. Many in Arab countries have Tigers and Lions as pets. I don't think anyone really cares about all that. May be, they feel killing or hunting an animal is OK but it is an unpardonable crime when an elephant is chained in a temple.

4. "Oh, why there is a chain around him"

The fact is that many mahouts let elephants without chains / use very less chains when the elephant is not participating in a procession. If my understanding is correct, there are strict norms by forest department on how to use the elephants during processions. So chains are must when they are being paraded. Since the idea of blanket ban is not practical, the chains are going to stay.


Another (stupid) argument I have come across many times, is chaining of elephants during its 'musth' period. Musth is usually  found on bull elephants and the elephant will be very aggressive during that period which lasts upto 5-6 months. I have read about some forest camps where the elephants in Musth are allowed to roam free. But that is definitely not an option to consider in case of domesticated elephants. Therefore, the elephants are chained during the musth period. The mahouts routinely attend them even during this period and loosen the chains and  washing away the mud from the chains and legs.  In the case of very aggressive elephants they use a long pole to loosen / move the chains on elephants' legs. It is very sad to see that the activists manage to capture photos and videos of this and portray the mahouts as torturing the elephant - whereas the reality is that the mahouts are trying to help the elephant, at times even by putting his life into risk.


Ideally, the activists should be happy as these chains help them. They showcase the chains as the biggest burden for the jumbos and thus earn sympathy and financial support. These chains provide the activists their bread and butter.. :)

5. Elephants get separated from their family

Oh yeah yeah.. how to miss this point.  This is the best topic for activists where they can add sufficient amounts of melodrama and cook a perfect meal for their hungry fans who are eagerly waiting for stories filled with sorrow about temple elephants every morning (reminds me of housewives addicted to soap operas) and do India and Hindu bashing in the comments section. It is true that elephants live as a group in forests and they are separated from the herd when they get caught or trapped. But we should not forget the fact that the bull elephants are not retained by the herd all the time. Anyway, I am not going into details of elephants' behaviour in the wild since this post is not exactly about that.

Elephant capture is not legal anymore in India. No elephants are caught for domesticating from the 1980s. Ideally, we should not have anymore cases of wild elephants getting separated from their herd due to capture. For the ones which were already separated decades ago, we don't have an option to reunite them too.

Also, most of the domesticated Nadan (term used to mention elephant of South Indian origin) Elephants in Kerala were auctioned by the government itself. The remaining elephants were bought (during a time period when their trade was legal) and brought from various cattle fairs at North India. The stories of elephants missing its herd, Mom, Dad, Uncle or Aunt might help the activists to gather more sympathizers but the fact is, No temple administration or owner has ever gone to forest and caught an elephant themselves. There is no use of blaming the temple for that. This is not like doing fishing in the pond near someone's home. Nobody goes into a forest with a rope in the morning and comes back with a elephant tied to the other end of the rope in the evening. It is time for the activists to put across some better arguments than these lame ones.

6. Mahouts are drunk and cold blooded torturers.

It is very easy to stereotype them in that manner. Doing so might help the activists to get few brownie points also. There could be few mahouts who drink but definitely not all of them. As I said earlier, the truth is that the majority of the mahouts are trying to help the elephant, at times even by putting his life into risk.

There were and there are lot of good mahouts. Without their care and love, these giants would not have survived so many years in captivity.

7. Elephants are scared by Fireworks and Chenda

A wild elephant that strays into human inhabited areas might get frightened when it hears sound of a fire cracker or drums which are usually used to shoo away the wild elephants. But these domesticated ones have been hearing these sounds for months or years. I don't think any of these current domesticated elephants are scared of Chenda Melam. (On a lighter note, some of these jumbos could be big fans of the Chenda Maestros). During their initial days, some of these domesticated elephants might have got scared during the fireworks but this is where the mahout's role comes into play. The mahouts usually stand close to the animal during fireworks, touching its tusks or body and the elephants feel safe when mahouts are around and will not panic. Later on, they get used to that noise too.



The activists also claim that the Vadakkumnathan Temple gets totally damaged in the Thrissur Pooram fireworks every year and how can the elephant withstand such strong sound. Ironically, the same temple has won the top ‘Award of Excellence’ from UNESCO in 2015 for the remarkable conservation efforts. We can be sure that if a temple roof collapses and gets rebuilt every year, it will not even get qualified for the preliminary round of such a famous award. It is not the roof but some clay tiles on the roof that usually get dislocated due to the vibration.


There are many more lame arguments. Not all of them are worth mentioning.


Sharing a set of tweets from 2015 by Mr. Nikhil Narayanan about an organization and the foriegn funds they received. This is the same organization which filed a case in Supreme court against parading of elephants in Kerala. For those who wants to verify the figures mentioned in the tweets, they can verify the data in Government of India's Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) website using the following links https://fcraonline.nic.in/ and https://fcraonline.nic.in/fc3_amount.aspx

 

The SC has sent a notice to the South Indian states -- 8 weeks time to respond. No interim order. #ThrissurPooram 2015 won't be affected.

— Nikhil Narayanan (@nikhilnarayanan) April 24, 2015

An org that has not filed FCRA returns in the recent past is talking about setting our temples in order. Oh, well.

— Nikhil Narayanan (@nikhilnarayanan) April 25, 2015

2007-2008 7.2 Lakhs from Catholic Relief Services(CRS), Baltimore to celebrate I-Day and R-Day. #OK pic.twitter.com/YvZaDGRtNF

— Nikhil Narayanan (@nikhilnarayanan) April 25, 2015

So an org that has received Catholic funding in the past has approached the Supreme Court to get elephants out of Hindu temple festivals.

— Nikhil Narayanan (@nikhilnarayanan) April 25, 2015

 

2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2012-2013, 2013-2014 -- no FCRA filings available. How come?

— Nikhil Narayanan (@nikhilnarayanan) April 25, 2015

The summary of these set of tweets is - An organization which (is 'for the conservation and welfare of wildlife in urban and rural areas' - as per their website) received Lakhs of money from a religious body in a foreign country under ambiguous heads and later on the same organization approached the Supreme Court of India to get elephants out of festivals - which will predominantly affect another religion. 

Since I do not have any other details than what we can see in the FCRA website, I'd prefer to leave it to the readers to reach a conclusion using their discriminatory skills on this.

Before I sign off, few words to the mighty and intelligent Elephant activists:  

Unlike you, I have written this post without any amount of exaggeration. This is just an attempt to speak about what I know, what I have read from your posts, what I have seen you do and speak. If you felt that this post is a baseless one after reading it, it is not True. I'd request you to read this post once again and introspect.. and if you still feel that this post is baseless, you are just getting a taste of your own medicine. Get well soon!