A Hindu Pilgrimage

On the train from Kottayam to Mavelikara, in my attempt to find the "Ladies Bogie," I found instead the bogie filled to the brim with excitement: two Christian politicians from the local Panchayat and a hoard of Hindu pilgrims to Sabarimala. The 90-minute ride was action-filled. The pilgrims chanted and burned incense while the politicians hounded me with questions and advice on where to travel. As the pilgrims, all men dressed in black, left the train I wished them a safe journey to Sabarimala and they smiled in surprise. Little do they know, and better that they do not, I purchased an orange lunghi for myself, one of the typical outfits of a Hindu pilgrim.

When Mary Kochamma, the head warden of the hostel, saw my orange lunghi for the first time she laughed. The lunghi is reserved for men only and is quite the scandal for me to wear even around the hostel where I live. It is a long piece of fabric (cotton) wrapped around the waist like a long skirt. Perilously loose, men comfortably re-tie and tuck their lunghi constantly. The idea of a woman wearing so "little" and the possibility of the lunghi coming loose make it inappropriate for women. I reserve my lunghi for the evenings at the hostel.

Kochamma immediately untucked my lunghi and re-wrapped it the way older, Christian women wear something similar. It involves much less freedom of movement and a cute little tail of pleats hanging from the backside. She said, "Women cannot go to Sabarimala because of our periods." She proceeded to say, "You could dress like a man...hair up."

Sabarimala is a temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, protector of the forest. The temple is located in the Periyar Tiger Reserve. We are in the middle of pilgrimage season, where Frontline estimates that about five million pilgrims will visit.

There are new programs in place to ensure care of the nature reserve during pilgrimage season, which is a valid concern in a country where disposal of plastics is so difficult. Among new laws and regulations is one program I found particularly reassuring on many levels during a long bout of frustration for the Dalit community (the lowest caste who often live in colonies or "slums"). Several groups of Adivasis (people indigenous to India, often very poor) who lost their ancestral land when the Mullaperiyar Dam (1895) and later the Tiger Reserve (1978) were established were alloted space for eco-friendly shops, rent-free. The expectation is that they will be "guardians of the forest", keeping the pilgrimage paths clean, being careful of waste and using rubber trees supplied by the government for fuel rather than using trees from the reserve.

Pilgrim season will come to a close soon, but I will continue to wear my orange lunghi and never again will I sit in the boring "Ladies Bogie!"

*Factual information about Sabarimala and the Nature Reserve were taken from Frontline, December 15, 2006, "The Journey is the Destination").
*The lunghi is similar to the white wrap Gandhi was known for wearing.