Guruvayur - Where Grace Met Gratitude
On 6th May, Kerala Restaurant And Hotel Association declared a strike to protest against the LPG crisis. That was the day we left for Guruvayur.
Luckily we could still have our breakfast at the resort in Munnar but we had no idea about how we were going to manage the other meals. There were three children in the group and four senior citizens too.
Help came in the form of Brahmana Samooham Community in Guruvayur. My father called up the community and requested for lunch arrangements for our group of 12 people. The community members told us that lunch would be served until 2.30 and if we could make it on time, our lunch would be ready.
Our driver drove as if possessed. That there were no tea/coffee stalls open enroute only made the journey faster, otherwise we would have stopped for breaks.
We reached Guruvayur at 1.30 and rushed to the community hall, just in time for a fresh batch of food being served. We are with gratitude and relief. Guruvayurappan, the presiding deity of Guruvayur and a form of Lord Krishna, had ensured that we didn't skip lunch.
Once we had our lunch, we went to a hotel to check-in. At around 4.30, we left for the temple for Darshan.
The senior citizens joined the special line for their age-group and the rest of us went for paid Darshan. The guy who had arranged for our quick Darshan led us to a point and told us to enter the temple through the same. We rushed inside, averting our eyes from the long queue of people who were standing for general Darshan. It would take them hours. Their patience and resilience shamed me. I couldn't meet them in the eye.
In just a matter of few minutes, we got our Darshan of Guruvayurappan in all His splendour as a boy/child. The idol is small and the time given for Darshan is extremely limited. But the joy! Oh, the joy of finally seeing Him!
Dear reader, visit Guruvayur at least once in your life. It will be an unforgettable experience!
Guruvayurappan blessed the kids with us in His special way. My three nieces each got a peacock feather from the attendant standing near the sanctum sanctorum. The girls happily clutched the beautiful feathers ,- unexpected and unasked gifts from Guruvayurappan Himself.
While our paid Darshan took very little time, it was a long queue for the Senior citizens that day. Usually the special line for them isn't very long but that day there was too much rush.
By the time everyone came out of the temple, it was evening. Now loomed the question of dinner. The restaurants and hotels were still closed.
We bought packets of bread, butter and jam. At the hotel where we were staying, we made a meal out of these. Everyone are bread-butter-jam sandwich for dinner!
It was an unforgettable day - the strike of hotels, timely lunch at the community hall, beautiful Darshan of Guruvayurappan and bread jam for dinner. As each of us went to sleep, we heard the gentle pitter patter of raindrops outside.
A fitting finish to a memorable day.
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