COGNITIVE ANECDOTES

An effort to recapitulate and share my ideas,views and thoughts in words...


It’s the festive season in my village; the temple is all set for welcoming the oracle. Dressed in bright red and holding the holy sword, the oracle starts his day with energy and vigour, likely to get more intense as the day progresses. Few local villagers accompany the oracle to collect rice grains and money from the houses that lie in the vicinity of the temple. It is intended to benefit the temple workers and the poor.

The festival means a lot to the villagers. It is meant to bring prosperity and good luck to the village and so, the oracle is considered to be a person through which the mighty goddess conveys her blessings to the people [Oracles are usually associated with temples that worship goddesses].
Anxious people await the oracle to arrive in their houses and bless them. Tension is always in the air when the oracle arrives at the house. He runs around the house maneuvering him through the narrow corridors throwing rice grains. This ritual is believed to purify every corner of the house. Children hide desperately, too afraid of the oracles enthusiasm with the sword in his hand. The long hair, dark skin and bright red clothing with an enterprising sword in his hand make a fearful prospect for the kids. The blessing ceremony is traditionally done by placing the blunt end of the sword on the devotees head, often turns out to be a nightmare for the younger members of the family. This marks the end of the oracles duties, now the family head shows his gratitude by offering the oracle rice grains and money. The oracle is now all set to move on to next house and repeat the rituals.

The oracle finishes blessing the houses by dusk and starts his venture towards the temple along with the local villagers who accompanied him to the houses.
The jingle of bells as he walks on vigorously cuts through the tranquility prevailing in the village. His energy levels now begin to increase in an exponential fashion as he approaches the temple. It reaches its maximum on arrival at the temple. The people greet him with prayers. The deafening sound of instruments and the mystic smell of holy smoke create an atmosphere that sets fire to the dynamite waiting to explode in the oracle and he bursts into dancing and jumping vigorously. A strange energy runs through his blood, he cuts his head time and again and blood pours out like lava overflowing from a volcano. The temple now would have definitely evoked a sense of chaos in a young individual. The oracle continues to dance in the bedlam. Villagers pray with desperation and after several minutes of self-mutilation, the oracle calms down. The people cover his wounds with turmeric powder to check the overwhelming bleeding. The oracle sits exhausted.

The villagers believe God himself incarnated into the oracles body as for he knew no pain when he cut through his head. The oracle was in another world for several minutes, where he had no family, no belongings, no emotions, not even a body of his own. The power of faith in the goddess, the rigid feeling that the goddess will bless the village through him made his soul imbibe an energy that is alien to the world of science.
It has been a long day for the oracle, his deeds done, mission accomplished. Now he walks back carrying his humble share of rice grains and money through the murky night to his home, where his family awaits for his selfless soul.  



4 comments:

BLASTED, friend..This post came more like a surprise on a Sunday evening when I got up after an afternoon nap. Had it not been for the scrap, I would have missed the opportunity to post the first comment.Thanks for inviting me to read your blog, I think more of our friends will visit this space soon.
As for the new template, I liked it very much, It gives me the feel of a typical Kerala village(although villages are extinct in Kerala nowadays).I should say that i was wonder stuck when it was opened on my browser..Even wondered if it is YOUR blog..
Coming to the post, I'd say this is EXCELLENT. You have adopted a very different style this time, and I like it this way.I guess that Pulappatta is your native village..I dont have any idea about oracles, since I belong to a community where this kind of rituals are practiced.Now, you say that this is a short story, but I'd call it a writeup, since there are no elements of a story in it..
Looks like you are not afraid of oracles. If you were, you wouldn't be able to observe him in this detail( I have seen oracles only in movies:))Thanks for giving the readers an insight about the life and ways of an oracle..And keep bringing up such nostalgic posts..Being native to Palakkad, you'll have a lot of experiences related to temples and ceremonies, I guess.
If you have written a post of this depth, I'm sure that you'll reach great heights..I'm happy that my efforts to make you a blogger didn't go waste..Keep 'em coming..
One more thing, while using images, make sure that the image you are inserting is not a copywrited one. If it is a copywrited one, it cannot be displayed without permission.

Blogfully yours,
Netha.

Thanks for the comment,Ill definitely try to improve next time around and as for oracles,I am afraid of them... Don't misunderstand,the fear actually made me peep into their lives and of course my blog does have an element of fiction.

Thanks for inviting me to ur blog...Wonderful dear....although i experienced the same fascinating factor of oracles in my childhood days, but its been putup in words as excellent as it immensely visualies the picture of every factions of oracle in a elegant manner, at the same time we should appreciate the fact of how close a man can get into the god..,is this the extreme of spiritual devotion.. perhaps still a long way to find the indepth of such an inexplicable act of human kind...

Thanks Deepa,Glad you appreciate my Blog,I'd like to visit your profile,I see you have some privacy settings on.

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The images you see in this blog are executed by my sister , Sreevidya P.A...

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