Your Friendly Philosopher & Guide

We had visited the wine shop owner’s house for an Ayyappa puja last year. His house was too small to accommodate the 20-25 people who were present for the puja. This time also I expected the same congested place, where we had to literally sit on each other’s lap to get adjusted. But there was something else in store for us this year.

As we reached the place, the wine shop owner clad in the regular Ayyappa disciple costume, welcomed us with honest folded hands. He guided us to the first floor, but I was sure that his house was in the ground floor. His wine shop was kept closed that day, and I spotted a board hanging which said - A/C Bar Attached!

We reached the first floor – the room was comparatively big, it was clean, and it had A/Cs attached! The place was emptied for the puja, and the photos of Lord Ayyappa and other Gods and Goddesses were being decorated with flowers, fruits, sandal paste, & agarbathis. A screen, which normally is put in all the pujas, was put just behind the photos. Out of curiosity I peeped behind and I could see bottles of beer, rum, brandy and whisky! It was a beer bar where the puja was held.

The puja went on well, and to be honest the 3 hours of bhajan that followed the puja was one of the best pujas I attended so far in this season!

The realizations I had were – if God was omnipresent then he surely should be present in a beer bar too. And if God is for equality – he should bless a wine shop owner the same way he blesses a holy saint!

The irony of the whole episode was a ‘police officer’, also on Ayyappa abstinence, was performing the puja! I was reminded of a beautiful line in one of our songs, which says – ‘Uruvinil illai bedam , ingu yaavum iraiven rupam’ - which means – there is no disparity in looks of people, ALL are different forms of the same God!

Well what scared me a bit later was, what if a brothel owner was on abstinence for Lord Ayyappa and if he had organized a puja?!!