Sabarimala temple of Lord Ayyappa

SABARIMALA: Several women, mostly activists, visited Sabarimala temple following the historic Supreme Court order that allowed the entry of young women also in Sabarimala. For pilgrims coming from places outside Kerala, like Mangalapuram, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi, disembarking at Kottayam railway station is the most convenient stop followed by Thiruvalla and Chenganur for easy access to Sabarimala.

With the gates set to be opened for the first time since the Supreme Court last month lifted the centuries-old ban on women in the 10-50 age group and allowed women of all age groups to enter the shrine, 20 kilometres (km) from Nilackal and about 225 km from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala waited with bated breath amid ominous warnings of "mass suicides" and threats of disruption.

The woman is in her late 20s and if she climbed the hills, she would be the first woman from the menstruating age group to visit the Sabarimala temple of Lord Ayyappa after the Supreme Court order permitting women of all age groups to enter the shrine.

Some political analysts note that the mob violence appears to be orchestrated by right-wing Hindu nationalist groups such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), considered the parent organization of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which helms India's central government.

Bindu, a college lecturer and CPI(ML) activist from Kozhikode district's Koyilandy, and Kanakadurga, a civil supplies employee from Angadipuram in Malappuram, had come to Sabarimala on December 24 last year after 11 women activists of a Chennai-based outfit were prevented from reaching the shrine and chased away by devotees chanting Ayyappa mantras.

In some good news for devotees worried about fakes of iconic temple prasadams including 'Sabarimala aravana', Travancore Devaswom Board , Kerala's apex temple body, is gearing up to obtain a patent for the offerings at famous shrines managed Sabarimala Temple by it. For the first time in its history, the TDB is planning to obtain patent for the unique and sought-after prasadams like 'Ambalapuzha palpayasam' and 'Kottarakkara unniyappam' and 'aravana', offered at the famous shrines managed by it.

Women journalists were heckled, their vehicles smashed and young female Ayyappa devotees turned back as hordes of Hindu right activists besieged the road leading to the Sabarimala temple whose gates open for women of menstrual age Wednesday evening for the first time after the Supreme Court's verdict.

Police have clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code, which restricts a gathering of more than four people, since Saturday night, said state police chief Loknath Behra, adding the temple and surrounding areas are under a three-tier security ring.