Lakshmi

Chapter 9 Marigold and Jasmine

Moment the escort and Karuppiah had arrived at the king's horse stable, Karuppiah expressed the need for his room to be built near the stable, than  at the present room. The escort greatly agreeded to his request, and promised that the need would be looked into.

Escort also gave him few gold coins for the needs of Karuppiah, as his advance salary. Escort advised Karuppiah that  the coins  could be exchanged at the market and get converted  into smaller coins to facilitating purchases if any. In his imagination,  before the eyes of Karuppiah was standing only Lakshmi, the girl in her peacock colored petticoat.

To the surprise of Karuppiah, the masons had arrived at the dawn  on the next day with needed materials, together with the building materials, cut granite stones, and the  timbers for making doors and windows. They ensured the nearby pond got renovated. And organized a subterranean canal dug out  from the temple, so he could access plenty of water for him and to the horses. Masons promised the building would be ready in ten  days of maximum as they were using an improved technics on the construction.

Karuppiah as usual got up early, like the sun. He heard the temple bells jingling, so the chanting of mantras. He did not smell neither fragrance of marigold, nor the delightfully charming scent of jasmine, originating  from  Lakshmi.He only saw the priest coming out of the temple,after the puja. He was sad that Lakshmi was absent today.

He was not aware that Lakshmi was in her women's issue of reproductivity, and that therefore she could not turn her over to the temple for next four days. He was also not aware that the kitten was communicating with her through mind debates,  relating to  the Dwarf Galaxy ethical codes of describing both mortality and immortality. Though the kitten was not showing herself to Lakshmi, it induced ethical dreams in her subconscious mind.

Karuppiah would have surprised if he had known the Kitten's efforts in teaching Lakshmi in a methodology of telepathy instruction, helping Lakshmi to rewind her readings and enabling her to critically look at the history, on the ethical and non ethical poems, and on the puranic epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata, and other stories built around the gods and goddesses in India, which the vedic priests constructed to dominate the innocence of the society.

The kitten had ensured herself to stay with Lakshmi, perching herself on  Lakshmi's  house potio, observing  Lakshmi's body languages related with  Karuppiah. "Karuppiah is truly blessed with this  intelligent and extremely beautiful girl", mused the Kitten within herself. She also saw the exuberance, and ebullience in Lakshmi in these days. Kitten felt that Lakshmi appeared more youthful, and pink and pale, these days.

Kitten observed the adrenaline of Lakshmi  more increasing causing her deep breaths, in extreme delight. Kitten knew the future of Lakshmi and Karuppiah, hence began its contented sleep on the loft of Lakshmi's room for next few days.

Karuppiah was delighted that his room, which he named as K, was getting completed, in the last few days, painted with the lime. To his astonishment, the masons had made a staircase adjacent to his room, and ensured a spacious roof top over his room, adorning it with the coconut thatched leaves, while graciously organizing several quality wooden furniture inside his room and on the roof top; a beautiful Upper Room. Karuppiah got delighted at the column wooden soft beams, on the roof, with a nice bamboo mat ceiling with the bamboo rafters holding the thatched leaves  

He saw a handful of  roof top chairs, which  were necessary in case if the king or the escort wanted to have a private meeting among them  in case, or with the priest. He was delighted that the entire building was in pearl white. While he was in the consideration of these thoughts, he observed two heads of the fort managers on the cannon roof, observing him. 

Karuppiah  rewinded himself to be ready for his meeting with the priest. He these days saw the priest was frequently coming alone or with his subordinates to organize the festivity of Perumal deity in a grandeur. He felt so. Karuppiah prepared himself to meet the priest, straight away from the stable. He organized himself to meet the priest, when  the priest was alone  at the  doors of the temple.

The priest  observed the standing  young man through his keen eyes. He knew that this man was  the new care taker of the stable near the temple,  who was at their house premises yesterday. The priest got wondered at this young man; his ability of accompanying the prince in disguise, mounted upon in one of the king's horse. He felt the danger in it, but prayed to Perumal to leading the boy ever in happiness and in bliss.

The priest had understood from the escort that Karuppiah was the grandson of the deceased - yet knowledgable- but highly learnt- former care taker of the stable, but he never expected a handsome, hardworking, intelligent and skilled person at this young age. The priest got amazed at  the continuance of friendship by the king  now was extended to the grandson as well. The dignity that this young man had at this small age had also pleased him. Priest said that he could offer the prasada or the gift from the god Perumal, provided Karuppiah had completed his ritual morning bath. 

But the mind of Karuppiah was on the other things. He now closely observed the physical stature of the  priest, his future father in law. The priest must be around sixty of years, and appeared too skinny, and frail. The absence of Lakshmi to him, this morning at this temple door inflicted  a vacuum of feeling. He could not see the old woman, the girl's mother as well.  He thanked the priest, and said that he would ensure himself with better hygienic practices, and requested the priest whether he would be allowed inside the temple from the next day.The priest smiled in approval.And he wished blessings to Karuppiah.

 On  the next day, Karuppiah got up too-too early in the morning, completed his works at the stable, did his morning exercises, and prepared himself to enter the temple. It was his first attempt to enter the fort temple, that also at the temple of Perumal, the  preferred deity of the king. He wished to see the face of Lakshmi. 

-------

While Karuppiah was in his happy thoughts, back at  the Ramanathapuram city, the conspiracies plotted by the illegitimate claimants for the throne of Ramanathapuram,and their attempts to assassinate the king at the earliest were doubling.  

The king having understood the conspiracies from his spies, prepared a plan for next five years. He felt the need to meet both his son Kattayya, and the deputy army chief Sasivarnam from the Sivaganga sub territory. 

The king had already ordered the soldiers and all the  officials at all the forts, as not to divulge any information out of the forts relating the movement of him, or his subordinates at the forts.

Officials of the forts knew the king, and his usual practices of entering into the forts always at the wee hours in disguise, with one or two bodyguards with him, while traveling at the territory on any inspection. The king was constantly visiting the periphery areas frequently to check fort officials and revenue officials. 

They were aware that the king would  tour the inland area almost ten days in a month, and he practiced himself a stay at the head quarters for ten days. The king had ensured spies at each revenue village in the territory, and at every military points. He was constantly therefore getting relevant information on his governance. 

------

Now to Karuppiah!   About ten days before the full moon day, prior to the visit of the king to the fort, Karuppiah could observe the arrangements for the festivity of Perumal deity was in progress. He saw the priests and the other subordinate priests were busy at cleaning the temple, and arranging for the darshan tour of Perumal deity outside the fort, near the east gate, to the benefit of the general  public worship. Once in a year this ceremony would happen. The priests had ensured the wooden eagle car meant for the deity, to mount upon also made,  ready, in fresh red colour.

The barracks were also busy. A full cleaning of the fort was taking place, including that of the weavers community. Karuppiah ensured the stable and his horses intact. Ron and Seeta-he observed were maintaining close friendship with him, and the friendship was shown to him by their nosing on his body in nuzzle often. The horses  enjoyed their exercises inside their exercise ground. They wished Karuppiah to take them a small ride with in the fort. They also saw an appearence of jubilation on the face of Karuppiah.

Karuppiah took the holy bath on the fifth day, at the first cockle- o- doo of the rooster. And now he  was ready to meet the priest and his family. He was preparing himself to looking at the interiors of the temple for any evidences of knowing the entrance of the  treasure cave. Also, of course, he was seeking deeply in heart the opportunity to be nearer with Lakshmi. Two minds. One to unveil the mystery of the cave. The other his passion towards his beloved.

He ensured seeking  the priest on that day;  so early in the twilight, he waited for the priest to arrive the temple from his house, at the door of the temple. In fact Karuppiah was sitting on the stairs to the gate of the temple, and instantly he smelled marigold and jasmine. His mind got alerted. He saw the priest arriving at the temple, accompanied with his wife and his daughter Lakshmi.

He shook both of his hands in reverence to the priest and to his wife. Priest showed his happiness to see the young man in the holy appearance, and blessed him. The mother of Lakshmi was wondering at this boy, and after realizing who he was, she smiled at him, and extended her right hand and blessed him touching on his forehead. 

Lakshmi got perplexed and confused to see the appearance of Karuppiah, his debut and his unveiling. Karuppiah  was not presenting himself to her parents, in fact to her only,  she sensed, not as the worker from a horse stable, but in a safe disguise of a devoted young man from the family of priests. She was imagining a sacred thread on his body hanging on his young muscled chest. 

A  small chuckling  got flared up from out of her  mouth, and she giggled richly, to be chided and scolded  by her parents, for her unruly behavior before an innocent young man, and making the young man get ashamed. Her cheeks took the pink red in blush. She knew she was getting much attracted towards Karuppiah. She sensed the cunning smile from his eyes. Kitten was watching all the events from the roof top of the temple. It was in smile.

The priest invited him and others into the temple. The priest opened first the main gate of the temple, and there appeared another small yet a wider gate. After opening it, they encountered a large interior with, several roof top ventillation gaps to send out the hot air. Karuppiah saw the bright light being reflected by the sun, now entering in abundance  through the  side windows from the tower. The windows were narrow in size, and made the interior cool and bit damp. 

Karuppiah also saw a series of tasman bell jar pendant lamps at the periphery of the interior hall, and priest now started to inflame these lamps through the aid of a flame launcher. At the centre of the interior hall, there was hanging a big chandelier which also required flames. 

The priests started to ignite flames on all the lamps, and the interior became highly illuminated and their reflection on Lakshmi enhanced her beauty thousand times. Karuppiah was in another world with Lakshmi singing a glorious angelic song in a fine music of Indian string instruments. 

He came back to the world and saw the priest lighting the golden lamp at the sanctum samctorium, where he was only permitted to enter. There stood at the sanctum, an oiled statue carved out of a granite rock as Perumal. His consort was on his bosom, though standing. Both the statues were in nude above their waists. Priest now started to wash the statue with turmeric water, and attired the statue with best silken cloths and adorned the statue with gold and diamond ornaments, and with marigold flowers.

The lighted golden lamp inside the sanctum samctorium together with the pendant inflamed lamps, and chandelier made Karuppiah journeying into a different world, if the mother of Lakshmi had not patted  the shoulder of Karuppiah. Her patting was followed by the effervescent giggles by Lakshmi, who was keenly observing Karuppiah from the moment he saw him in the fort. A great bliss engulfed her as a Tsunami.

Karuppiah sensed the loud jingling of the bells, and chanting of mantras, while both Lakshmi and her mother were facing the statue, in a standing posture, observing and listening to activities in the sanctum samctorium, the holy of the holiest, in utmost reverence and awe.

The priest brought the blessed flame towards Karuppiah and others. And he smeared the vermillion powder mark of the deities on each of their foreheads. He gave flowers to both the women. And gave one blessed  banana with a coconut pulp to Karuppiah.

Karuppiah could experience a different atmosphere in the temple worship. But his mind was wandering about the treasure inside the temple, about the star symbol near the stone stairs, and the symbol of five headed snake on the rock crevice. He had determined to explore the crevice. 

He also wished to tour inside the temple to see the different rooms. The priest was honest to take the three first into the temple kitchen adjoined with the temple as annexe, then he showed the varied paraphernalia associated with the decoration of the deities for the festive days, and the wooden eagle carrier car that would take the deity into procession. He started to explain about the way the temple functions. 

Karuppiah's ears were hearing, but he was literally off from his ears, as he was standing next to Lakshmi, brushing her shoulder accidently and inadvertently, and was sensing a great mix of fragrance of marigold with jasmine, making his living senses made. He saw Lakshmi's amazingly designed ear rings dazzling on the flaming lamps, and he noticed  her neck was adorned with  a silver pendant. He saw Lakshmi the goddess of wealth, power, and prosperity not on the statue, but as a real person with blood and flesh, in youthful elegance, nearby him at the closest of all distances.

After the priests and his family had left the temple, Karuppiah went out of the temple to  scan the rock crevice, and noted the symbol of the five headed snake. He saw the crevice so narrow in size, giving a way for only one person to enter at a time. He wanted to explore by inserting his body into the crevice, and experience the granite tube that had been carved by nature. And he looked forward to that appropriate time.

As he returned to his horses stable, a soldier brought a news that the king shall be visiting the fort in four days time, well ahead of the festival of the  Perumal deity.

Karuppiah felt the need for going to the market, perhaps visiting the Krishna Achari who formed the Ayyanar statue in his hamlet, and perhaps buy a small golden chain with pearl pendant for Lakshmi as his gift for the forthcoming festivity. In the evening, a news came to him. His mother, and his sister had arrived  at the house of Krishna Achari. He thought of Sarasu for a brief moment. Only Lakshmi was growing up as a gigantic angel in  his heart, no other.

----