Kerala

 Kerala

(This is a list.... I might be able to add, if oddities occur. So, this blog might warrant a revisit, if a reader solicits those additions)

Kerala 1)Tantra based instead of mantra 2)Abode for brahmaRaakshas inside temple compound only in Kerala! 3)Tonsure is not a practice 4)Elder brother and a husband addressed alike with "Jeyshta" 5)Deepavali not a festival 6)Bali, though a demon like ravana kamsa etc, worshipped 7)Gates closed at night only after a call "any hungry stomach out there???" 8)Strict dress code for temples, rituals according to deity and not desire of devotees 9)Tuft of hair tied up to the side towards ear lobes, not towards rear of head. 10)Fireworks specific to temple festivals… 11)Benedictions sought, not blessings! 12)Obsequies, 16 days, instead of 13 for rest of India! 13)Vysya as an exclusive class is not conspicuous among known names of classes/groups!  14)No exclusive Vishnu worshippers among Hindus in Kerala. Rest of India has few sects in Hindus, who avoid worshipping Shiva! 15)A priest in a temple is called "shaantiKaaran"( one who induces peace, shaanti), unlike in rest of Bharat, a poojaari . Was it due to taantrik styled consecration? 😜 16)Rangoli is conspicuously absent, at the entrance of homes in kerala, whereas, it used to be a “wall calendar“, appropriate to an almanac, for rest of Bharat. It is the males, who were initiated into drawing tantric designs, enlivened by certain dots, to convince us that they were better at “rangoli” than rest of us🙂 17)kerala has “adima-kaavu” instead of Kula-devata in rest of Bharat 😜 The very word indicates the level and depth of surrender to personal deity. Kuladevata is usually a male deity, though goddesses too are regarded thus. Whereas, adima_kaavu is invariably a godess! ( ‘kavu’ itself is indicative of a godess!)

18) kerala gifted its children with the most sensitive tongue among all other places!  A simple dish, with just a little salt as the only spice or addition, adorns almost every big feast in kerala. Ashgourd slices gently cooked with salt, not even needing water is called “Olan”.  19) only kerala had prosperous Brahmins ( namboothiris) ! Otherwise, all purani stories begin “once upon a time, there lived a POOR Brahmin (etc)...”( Most educated were Voluntarily poor😜) This “19” has connection with “13th” item, related to absence of Vysya in Kerala 😜 20) sensitivity ‘enabled’ civic_sense, I could notice, glaringly visible in Kerala ( till 1960).

Ofcourse, the civic_sense was just a residue of the abundance of ancient times.

Removing a dry thorn on a narrow path in thorny bushes is not that_important( though vital) as…..leaving unused herbal leaves on the steps of a public pond for the use the next unknown person's bath . Soap wasn't popular yet.

Sensitivity at an admirable level was, when a temple visitor carries home the surplus sandal paste, instead of leaving it for the next unknown devotee😜. Tantra based lifestyle ‘educates’ the person about the permeated karmic residues in one person to be prevented from polluting into another devotee inadvertently via the leftover sandalwood paste 🙏. Sensitivity deepens the sense of Discrimination 🙏. Not to belittle the neighbours in adjoining state, the devotees shed excess of holy_ash into a common receptacle, beCause ash doesn't transmit karma😜, though it can_transmit pranic energy 👍🙏🙏🙏. So, leaving excess ash/vibhuti at the temple is perfectly

👍. 21. Kerala temples are reluctant to automate the drums and bells sound 😂

( They seem to prefer traditional ways, not waiting for the wisdom to dawn in self😓)

Even electric lights are still not adopted in the sanctum 🙏😰. ( Without a subtler levels of perception, it is escapism to “call” it mysticism)

A keralite in-me, yours

psn(7th Sept., 2024)