Red alert: Pinarayi Vijayan is giving BJP a free pass into Kerala

A few months ago the BJP led a march from Kannur to Thiruvananthapuram. Amit Shah himself came for the padyatra but was shocked to see the lukewarm interest shown by the public. Today thousands are marching under the banner of Save Sabarimala yatra spearheaded by the BJP state president Sreedharan Pillai. And there lies the failure of the Congress and the CPM.

Just think of it. The BJP was, in a way, instrumental in getting women entry into the temple. They needed to show they were fair, especially at a time when they were pushing for laws to ban triple talaq, obviously targeted at the Muslims. Tripti Desai was backed to the hilt by the RSS and the BJP which helped women get entry into the Shani temple in Maharashtra. She also had to take a stand on Sabarimala.

Once the Supreme Court gave its verdict allowing women of all ages entry into Sabarimala, the BJP acted shrewdly. They have conveniently taken a U-turn in Kerala and launched a movement against women’s entry into Sabarimala, while the central leadership has sealed its lips. Whatever else, the BJP has shown they are very good at politics.

Now look at the Congress. They always backed the temple traditions. While in power, the party filed affidavits against breaking the tradition. And now in the opposition, it was caught off-guard, letting the BJP walk away with all the credit for protests.

Now come to the Hindu party of Kerala - the CPM. Its vote bank is essentially the backward castes and a little bit of upper castes, Christians and Muslims thrown in. The Left govt in the state is entrusted with implementing the Supreme Court order. But the party did read the pitch wrong. It is one thing to be progressive, but it is another thing to be blind to the mood on the ground. The turnout in the CPM bastion of Kannur for instance was quite big, enough to make heads turn. By the time the party thought of seeking talks with the protesters, it was too late.

The Kerala CPM, which is pragmatic in its economics, was found to be naive in its politics. One way to blunt religious fervour is to play on other divides like caste, gender. So far it hasn’t worked.

The Sabarimala protests give the BJP a glimmer of hope in Kerala. Almost every Hindu in the state worships Ayyappan. In Sabarimala, the BJP has found a Mandir issue tailor-made for the state. For that the BJP has to be thankful to the CPM.

Day in and day out, CPM’s social media is mocking, taunting believers. The cadres must understand they are not in a school debate, but in the actual business of winning and keeping votes. You don’t win friends by ridiculing them.

So what is it that drives Pinarayi Vijayan? Why didn’t he make any effort to pacify the devotees? Is it out of conviction or arrogance? If it is out of commitment to liberal values, to gender equality, he is a true icon. But if it is pure arrogance, he might be presiding over an irreversible decline of the CPM. Just remember Bengal every now and then.

The flood fighting hero has become the ‘Hindu hating’ villain, at least in perception. Three months is a long time in politics, Pinarayi Vijayan would have learnt by now.

Also read:
1) SC has got its Sabarimala ruling wrong, horribly wrong

2) In love with Ayyappan: The forgotten story of Leela

SC has got its Sabarimala ruling wrong, horribly wrong

There is no reason in religion. As we say in Malayalam, കഥയിൽ ചോദ്യമില്ല.

For instance, was Ayyappan born of Vishnu and Shiva, or as the story goes - of Mohini, a female incarnation of Vishnu? It is a belief that is the very foundation of the Sabarimala temple.

It is the same for all religions.

Will true followers of Islam find virgins waiting for them in heaven?

Does confessing before a priest wash away sins as Christians believe?

Faith is based on belief, how impossible they might sound.

The foundation of most religions are books written centuries ago, in an age women were indeed treated like chattel (to use Judge Chandrachud’s words in another verdict). These texts that prescribe how to live your life are mostly moral codes, scales tilted heavily in favour of men.

If the court were to apply the same rules of rationality to religions, all of them face a ban.

Every temple has a USP. A legend. A myth. A story.

Dharma Sastha, whose incarnation is Ayyappan thought to be, was happily married. He had not one, but two wives - Poorna and Pushkala.

Even Ayyappan in some stories is married to Prabha and has a son named Sathyakan.

The Lord we worship in Sabarimala is a brahmachari. He has a lover in Leela, who is waiting by his side for the day when no newcomer comes to see him. That is when he will marry her, he has told Leela. So he doesn’t even set his eyes on women. (You can read the story here)

As much as it is a story of Ayyappan’s brahmacharya it is also a story of platonic love, love without expectations, love without desire. A story of waiting and longing. A story of loneliness. A story of pain. A story of sacrifice...

Devotees who trek to Sabarimala are Ayyappans themselves. They have no sex for 40 days, they don’t shave, they don’t wear footwear, they don’t eat meat, they don’t drink alcohol, in short they live the life of a sanyasi.

Menstruation is not part of the story. It sneaked in somehow.

The court must be told, women in Kerala don’t go to temples when they menstruate. They don’t even light the lamp at home during their periods. What does the court plan to do about that? Ayyappan had nothing to do with any of this.

Now that women have been allowed entry into Sabarimala, will they still not go?

Of course they will. If not today, tomorrow. The same women who are pledging they will stop any women from going to the temple will at some point give up the fight and join the trek.

Will the activists who fought for women’s entry go? Some will, to prove a point. Most won’t, because they never believed in Ayyappan anyway.

What the court has done is kill the story. Yes, in the next hundred years or so, the story will adapt to accommodate women devotees. But it won’t be as romantic a story as that of Ayyappan and Leela. The Supreme Court has killed the romance of Sabarimala.

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PS: Sabarimala Ayyappan fell prey to a larger political game at play. When the Narendra Modi govt was pushing a ban on triple talaq, people asked questions about gender inequality in Hinduism. Sabarimala too was raked up. The RSS and the BJP advocated women’s entry, welcomed Supreme Court order and now, after sensing the mood on the ground, are protesting the very decision they supported.

In love with Ayyappan: The forgotten story of Leela

(This is an old blog, edited slightly to reflect the current controversy over SC's verdict to allow women entry into Sabarimala)

Manikantan's mind wavered a bit. In front of him stood a beautiful woman. With hair that touched the ground; in the wind that was blowing, it swayed like a wave. Her eyes white, as white as milk. Her eyes enticing, one could get lost it the depth of them. Her eyebrows an absolute arc, as if it belonged to an apsara. She was no less than an apsara.

'Now I know why the devas fight over women,' thought the young prince. As he took in the beauty in front of him, his mind wavered a bit.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? This place is not safe," he said.

She turned her head towards him. She had a smile on her face, and a look of admiration. In awe of the young warrior, she replied, "You do know me. Moments ago you were in a battle with me. I am the Mahishi, the one with the face of a buffalo. You killed me and the devas celebrated by showering flowers on you, by hailing you as the saviour. If you are as kindhearted as they say, if you are the saviour indeed, now is the time to prove that."

"No, you can't be Mahishi. You have such a sweet voice, you are such a beauty."

"Of that, let there be no doubt. I became Mahishi after the gods cursed me. My name is Leela."

"And how can I help you?"

"Marry me, you must. For it were you who saved me from the curse. And you cannot leave me here in the forests, on the banks of the Azhutha, where tigers and leopards roam freely. And death hides in every nook and corner."

Ayyappa stood there in thought. Deliberating. She was asking for the impossible. I have pledged to be a brahmachari. Not for me the pleasures of love and comfort of wealth. I was born a prince, but I will live like a sanyasi. Not even Bhishma did that. And then my mother wants her son to be become the king, not me.

"The Sun rises only in the east. It is a truth that can't be changed. As is my brahmacharya," said Ayyappan, the prince who knows only giving, like Karna of the Mahabharata.

Leela was madly in love with him. She could think of only one life, with him by her side. She begged and cajoled, then she insisted.

"If I ever have a husband, it will be you. My word is as precious as yours. There is no life for me without you," when she said this, her face was filled with sadness, but determination. And that swayed Ayyappan, the prince who knew only to give.

'My birth was an improbability. I had to be born of Hari and Hara, two men. But it happened. Now I have to give a similar boon to Leela, the woman in love with me, whom I can't ditch, for I am responsible for her plight,' so thought Ayyappa.

And then he said, "If I ever marry anybody, it will be you and only you. The year no new devotee comes to see me, I will marry you. Till then you will live here by my side, right next to my hut. My devotees will come to see you as they come to see me. To them you are the Malikapurathamma. And I give you my word, I won't look at any woman other than you."

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Leela is in a bad mood. But she has no one to turn to, no one to confide in. In this isolated hill, she has been staying alone, alongside Ayyappan, for many years now. In solitude, in the hope that one day her love will meet success. But a news has come that troubles her. And she doesn't know whether to believe it or not.

"Lord, have you heard what I heard? All these years I lived trusting your word. Never did I trespass into your quarters. Now, a woman says she came here, and even managed to touch you," Leela blurted out.

Ayyappan was lost in his thoughts. Is his brahmacharya that fragile? A vow of celibacy that will break by the mere touch of a woman. Leela was complaining. And her voice grew louder and louder.

Even the divine are not immune to domestic quarrels.