By D Suresh Babu

I just got back from my annual pilgrimage to Sabarimala, the 23rd year in a row. When people ask me what draws me every single year to the shrine of Lord Ayyappa, a small temple inside a dense forest, I say those five days are the most exhilirating and I wouldn’t trade that feeling for anything in the world.

It was in 1987 that I was drawn to the idea of going to Sabarimala after a conversation with cameraman Gopal Reddy one evening. As a kid, I had always been fascinated by the idea of donning the black or the orange robes and in fact, found it rather cool ! I thought to myself if my wife Lakshmi got pregnant with our second child, I will visit Sabarimala. And much to my surprise, Lakshmi told me the next morning that she was pregnant. And I thought to myself, this couldn’t be just a coincidence and that this God really was something ! 

I wanted to go to Sabarimala.

The immediate reaction from my father was how will this US-returned boy give up on the pleasures of life and not eat non-veg, sleep on the floor, walk barefoot. That first year was also difficult because MGR passed away and buses were stopped in Tamilnadu, enroute to Sabarimala. 

It was January 1988, when I along with the entire group reached Sabarimala. When I look back, I realise that it is in many senses, an individual journey even though you are amidst a mass of people. It is relative, whether you can do it or not. 

For instance, when the bus stopped near the river Kaveri, the entire group went towards the river for the morning ablutions and I walked the other side with my roll of toilet paper. The concept of going to the toilet in the open was a shocker to me. But gradually, you realise that finally you are so small and it is nature’s way of telling you so. 

I stayed the night in a room cramped with some 40-50 other people. A room that was smaller than my bedroom. But it was a trip where I enjoyed every single moment. I slept on just a mat and bathed just about anywhere. For five rupees, you would get a bucket of water and soap. Travelling through the forest, we would set up our night camps at places like Karimala. We walk some 32 km barefoot through the forest, from Erumely to the sannidhanam.

When you are on that journey, the rest of the world seems almost unreal and disconnected. The realisation I have over 23 years of pilgrimage is that it is easy to be simple and live happily. Material is not what is important and that is my biggest learning. 

Initially there was an awe of the temple, an awe of seeing the Makarajyoti star. But now I realise it is just an exercise to get us there and get us into a frame of mind. The challenge is that even when I am not in maala, I should remain contented and happy. The black robe is just a stepping stone to get there. 

Sabarimala also has changed in the last 23 years. Smoking is banned there but till a few years ago, cigarette companies used to advertise there. So you had `Wills Satisfaction’ hoardings and wall graffiti greeting pilgrims. That has now stopped. The gold covering for the temple has been donated by Vijay Mallya. Ironical that money made by selling liquor is used at a shrine where alchohol consumption is banned. Small-time corruption has seeped in which wasn’t there earlier.

The number of devotees too has seen a huge quantum leap. Earlier, we used to go either around January 1 or 14 but now we have begun doing the darshan in December itself to avoid the crowds.

(D Suresh Babu is a well-known producer and is the Managing Director of Suresh Productions. He is producer D Rama Naidu’s son and actor Venkatesh’s brother)

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