Ludhiana: Unlike previous years, the Keralites missed all celebrations related to Makkar Sankranti or Makkaravillaku this year, which they used to do at Sree Ayappa Temple as per their traditions. This year, a procession will be taken out in a simple way without performance by special artists, who used to come all the way from Kerala just to take part in these celebrations.
The organisers even refused to provide traditional langar at the kitchen of the temple and rather devotees would be served food in north Indian style outside the temple. They blamed Covid-19 for holding them back from holding big celebrations and keeping it on a low scale.
Usually, Keralites celebrate this day with great fanfare, where in a temple over 101 diyas are lit up and food is prepared in the kitchen of the temple and is served on banana leaves. But due to Covid-19, the members of the temple committee decided not to organise things on a grand level and rather keep celebrations subdued so that nobody should face problems. Only 21 diyas will be lit up inside the temple this time just to keep the tradition alive.
Artists used to come from Kerala to perform ‘Chendamelam’ (Kerala’s traditional orchestra), but this time only five people would be called for performance inside the temple. The organisers claimed that they had organised the celebrations just to keep their traditions alive and they should not miss it this year due to Covid-19.
The secretary of committee of Sree Ayappa Temple, Jamalpur Biju Krishnan, said, “We are keeping everything on a very small scale due to Covid-19. The devotees have been told not to become part of the procession as less than 100 people will be there in procession. Instead of bringing elephants for bringing Lord Ayappa towards the temple, we are bringing him on our hands.”
He said they organised all such functions just to remain connected with their old rituals and their younger generations could learn something about traditions, but now they have to pay attention towards the safety of people as well, so no large-scale celebrations this year. “Though the temple is open for devotees, we have not started the kitchen yet, so, this time instead of traditional food, the people will get to eat north Indian style langar with dal, pulao and roti,” he added.