Lakshmi

Chapter 4 The Oracle

Karuppiah sat on the floor facing the Ayyanar statue. He was in absolute silence more than an hour, thinking, assessing, considering and reviewing what all had happened in his life, in his hamlet and in the life of the deceased grandfather.

He crossed his legs with  reverence.  He looked at the ferocious, but yet graciously looking eyes of god Ayyanar. He lifted up his eyes  at the statue in awe.  The sun now had set down. A half moon was lighting up the environment at thirty degrees above from the horizon. Two oil lamps lit by the priest were hanging in front of the statue, on the holders of the heighted  lamp stands; they were further illuminating the statue and the nearby areas. 

He turned his eyes towards the huts, towards the window where Sarasu had been living. He could see the face of Sarasu, his to be betrothed possibly in two years, as per the wish of his mother, watching him. She ought to be standing near the window of her hut,  for a long time, surveying  him. Now he could see her face in the dim light emanating from the oil lamp. She used to lit the oil lamp upon the window sill each day.

Karuppiah did not feel any love towards Sarasu. To him she was a nice looking, youthful girl; five feet three  inches in height, yet for his big dreams, and for adventures, he thought, she might not be an apt companion to his life. Being beautiful, or handsome would not be a qualification to becoming one's wife, or one's husband.  

Sometimes the  beauty of Sarasu, and the way of her conversing with his mother and Saroja had showed a bit of intellectualism. Yet she may not be his partner for life. 

He wanted  some one to fulfill his dream. He knew that Sarasu was  few years younger than him, but not educated. She had proved herself a hard worker on the field. A good girl to take care of  his aging mother and sister. But not for his dreams.

While Karuppiah was in the track of kindling  his future life, he heard the voice of the priest of Ayyanar approaching him. Once the priest was near, Karuppiah greeted him, pulling himself to the  standing posture.

The kitten, now hiding behind the legs of the mud horse, knew what events, from here,  would proceed. Yet she did not show herself to them. She continued to hide herself. She waited patiently.

The priest and Karuppiah had a walk around the pond. Karuppiah told him the immediate need for going to Thirumayam fort, shortly,  as it was the order of the king. He told the priest his wish to visit the Thulaiyanoor hill, specifically to meet the Buddhist  monks for a brief time, and  perhaps to stay with them a day. He also told the need to pay a reverential worship at the feet of the goddess Lakshmi in the bunyan grove, before he would pack up his needed things to go to the fort.

The priest suggested first to have the good Oracle from the goddess Lakshmi, before Karuppiah was set to go into  the business of the king. Priest promised that he would make arrangements for the Oracle in two days. Agreeing to the proposal, Karuppiah said farewell to the priest, and once again resumed his walk to the lamp stands of Ayyanar statue.

Having come near the statue, Karuppiah bowed himself prostrating  before the statue. He wished a happy and good life to all in the hamlet, and prayed his life had to be useful to many in his generations, if there was any. He took his towel and made it as his breech cloth, and wore it while removing his waist dhoti. 

The moon was shining bright. It reflected its image all over the pond, on the waters  and on the pink lotus flowers.  Karuppiah could now hear the splashing of few fishes living in the pond, perhaps striking their tails on the water. He knew there lived  some cat fish mostly. There could be silver carp. He was not aware of them. But he loved the  cat fishes for their great bravery. They to him were of  great  strength. He loved their  long  dancing whiskers.  Of course they were attached with stings, of bit venomous too.The fishes must be enjoying the moon, he thought.

He plunged into the pond at a place where the lotus had not extended its tall stems. He knew the lotus had deep roots from which numerous tall stems arise to tangle any one coming on it's way. 

Moment he plunged into the cool water, he saw the water started to  dazzle and glitter,  making his eyes temporarily blind for few seconds, also at every time he took  up a handful of water. It was  a new phenomenon he had ever experienced. He also saw the lotus flowers turning into pure white from their pink colors, and it was amazing. 

He also saw the cat fishes turning gold in color. Amazing sight, indeed. Were  they his imaginations or facts? Karuppiah struggled in debate. Suddenly the lotus came back to their pink. Water stopped its dazzle. There was no appearance of the goldy cat fishes. Kitten was now sitting on a tree, closer to the bank of the pond, smiling inside it's small kitten purse lips, watching Karuppiah.

Karuppiah stayed in the water upto his waist. He then removed his breech cloth. He wringed it. Then used it to dry his head and body. He made it once again as breech cloth. Stepped out of the pond. Wore the dhoti, while carefully removing the breech cloth between his thighs.  

He then headed towards his hut, and he saw Sarasu moving also towards his hut. His mother and sister were ready  with the ragi porridge,  which was a left over after the community meals. He drank it remembering his grandfather, a noble man. Deep sleep occupied him, while he was chatting with his beautiful loving sister and his respectful mother, while Sarasu was listening. His mind however thought over the Oracle process at the bunyan grove. Sarasu saw him into sleep. She sat near his feet for few minutes. Touched his feet and left for her house quietly.

Early morning, Karuppiah walked towards the graveyard of his grandfather. 'Tiger' was with him, watching him praying to his grandfather, for community health and good food to all. Karuppiah heard and saw his sister and his mother approaching him with handful of flowers. Few minutes after, Tiger was using its nose to smelling the flowers that were on the graveyard. It barked twice  staring at the graveyard, which neither Karuppiah nor his family noted of it.

On returning back into the hut, Karuppiah started to unpack the big  bundle of his grandfather, which had been stored at the corner of his hut. As long as the grandfather was alive, no one in the hut were dared to unpack it. Moment  Karuppiah had opened it, to his bewilderment he saw a large rectangular brass box, duly tied with banana ropes. 

Once his hands touched the  box, the fragile banana knots broke, and the box got opened automatically,  revealing  a*****e of ancient writings on several palm leaves. Karuppiah reorganized the writings, and wished the writings to be explained to him from the monk of the  Thulaiyanoor hills. He gave the rugged clothes of his grandfather to Saroja telling her to wash them and preserve them.

The Oracle day had arrived.  It was another dawn. It appeared that the hamlet community was busy. Each one wanted this Oracle Day. Every one in the hut organized their morning work very swiftly. They ensured the animals fed. Birds fed. They washed themselves, and smeared  on their foreheads the holy ash of Ayyanar. Then the entire community of the huts, along with the women and children started to walk towards the bunyan grove. Two bullock carts were carrying the elders and the disabled to the grove. Men were briskly walking, chewing the  betel leaves with arakka nuts. 

Karuppiah was aware, along with the community from the hamlet, that the bunyan grove was not of one single tree, but a bunch of trees so planted on a circular ground, with the bunyan tree at the centre, and other trees were on the edges. The periphery trees were mostly neem, and few were belonging to syzygium java plum or black plum  fruits, and few others were of Casia Fistula which carried ornamental hangings of golden yellow bright. 

However the bunyan tree was at the centre of the ground.  The large bunyan tree had many extended branches, having supported by several aerial prop roots. Its fruits are fig syconium, tiny red with full of tiny seeds.  The tree's breadth and side roots  were capable to provide shade to all belonging to the hamlet. It  was  at the centre of the  open grassy  space which reflected a well cleaned -dry leaves freed ground area. 

There were several smaller platforms for each of the several deities on the periphery of the circular ground. Nearby each platform there stood small trees, with thick leaves, mostly neem trees.

These trees, except the bunyan tree,  provided shade together with medicinal  fragrance of bloomed flowers. Interestingly no birds, or no squirrels had appeared on the trees now. Surprisingly none of them were there. Did they know it was a day of Oracle from the goddess of Lakshmi? Or did goddess Lakshmi instruct them not to visit the grove area until the oracle was over?

On these platforms were erected baked  clay idols of varied female and male deities.But they were not painted. On one corner stood a huge number of mud horses, with  a host of Vellaiyammal Vellaichamy mud dolls. These mud dolls did not exceeded two feet in height. Vellaiyammal and Vellaichamy were symbols of love, Vellaiyammal being the lover girl, and Vellaichamy being the lover boy. From time memorial, the hamlet had approved human love between adult couples.

Of among the platforms for the different deities, goddess Lakshmi had no platform. She on the other hand was believed to be living under the trunk of the bunyan tree. She had no visible symbol of any clay figure. But community believed she lived under the trunk for ages, as the goddess of wealth and prosperity, and more so of bravery of women. It was told that on the full moon days, she takes up swimming in the near by lilly pond. There was a rock on the edge of the pond, where usually Karuppiah would sit to watch at the lilly flowers.

Entire community, from the elders to the young, from small girls to the grandmothers, from infants to playful kids, were all in the ground now sitting, some squatting,  in a circular position surrounding the trunk of the Lakshmi tree, and all their eyes were looking at the top trunk of the bunyan tree, as if some one from the top of the tree would speak to them.

The priest summoned the elders. Discussed with them something. Then he now went closer to the tree trunk, and started to offer myrrh resin aromatic smoke, waving the holy flame before the tree trunk. He called upon Lakshmi to speak to the community by its Oracle. 

The sun had now appeared thirty degrees up from the horizon. Its bright rays now had begun to flash  on the spread of the ragi fields, invigorating the varied insects and butterflies to come out of their night slumber. The lilly pond glittered. The entire scenario was so enchanting. Karuppiah thanked the sun for the provision of life to the hamlet.

Priest summoned the entire  elders of the community to squat near the foot of the bunyan tree. Karuppiah was also invited. Priest loudly prayed. He prayed for good food, good health and good future to Karuppiah. He prayed for the entire hamlet and for the king, and the kingdom. 

But no one had noticed the kitten now hiding and attaching herself on one of the branches. It had made its skin colour same of  the branch of the bunyan tree. The kitten now saw two south indian flying  lizards at a distance. She started to watch these lizards. It saw them having the same skin color of the tree branch, like her.  Camouflage. None of the lizards cried nor played. These lizards were watching each other for hours, with no one saying hello to each other. Kitten too was in silence.

Hours had passed. No one from the hamlet had moved out, excepting the kids. And none spoke. No kids cried. All their  eyes were at the tree trunk. The sun by now had arrived at the mid sky. Heat from the sun started to emanate. Yet  there was  no movement from the hamlet community. The sun now descended to the horizon.And signs of darkness had started to appear on the east. It would soon engulf the area.  Even now no one from the community moved. Not even for nature calls. The community had the practices of going fast for hours, including the kids. Amazing community.

The kitten now saw the flying lizards moving closer to each other in love. They started to hug each other with their hind legs. From among the two lizard, one cried aloud three times. The moment the hamlet community heard the voice of the lizard, although no one in the community could see the lizard, they all rejoiced, and the rejoicing voices of children now exceeded. The priest and the elders prostrated before the trunk, and praised the goddess Lakshmi for her promises through the Oracle from the lizard.

The priest then offered ash to the entire community. Karuppiah watched his community receiving ash with due respect by kneeling before the priest. To the adults the priests offered the ash in their cupped hands. He smeared the ashes on the foreheads of each kids. Kids smiled at the priest. Karuppiah now saw the entire hamlet walking back to the huts. He started to follow the bullock carts where in were sitting older women, and older men and the disabled. He turned his head and eyes towards the bunyan grove. He saw Sarasu standing in a reverential prayer.