Devotees seek other Ayyappa abodes

CHENNAI: The ongoing row over the Mullaiperiyar Dam has sent pilgrims scurrying across Tamil Nadu in a desperate quest for another abode of Lord Ayyappa to end their penance in a way that would resemble the rites at Sabarimala.“We have been getting a lot of calls every day from pilgrims who ask us if they can offer their irumudi at our temple. We have permitted it. We have not kept track of their numbers. Pilgrims are coming not just from Chennai and its surrounding areas, but also from many other parts of the State,” said Jambulingam, manager of the Ayyappan Temple in MRC Nagar. The temple has drawn a number of devotees as it is constructed in a way that it resembles the temple at Sabarimala, down to the 18 steps leading up to the sanctum sanctorum. Further, it is among the few Ayyappa temples that allow the nei abhishekam.“At Sabarimala, the 18 steps are gilded. Here it is stone and cement. Till the Mullaiperiyar issue blew up, we did not even know that this temple existed. We have spoken to the temple authorities who have consented to let us stay in the temple overnight. We will offer our irumudi in the morning and head to a big Murugan temple, as is our custom,” said S Kanagaraj, a resident of Mayiladuthurai. Kanagaraj and 10 others had set out on a pilgrimage to Sabarimala. They got to Kumili and could not proceed further.While Kanagaraj and another pilgrim came to Chennai, the others are currently attempting to find another route into Kerala. “You can imagine how disappointed we are that petty politics is preventing us from our pilgrimage. We are pilgrims of god, not political pilgrims...” said Kanagaraj.