SFV Kalyanothsava 2023

To conduct a puja in one’s own home like I did the other day, or my neighbour more recently, is no big deal. But to organize one of the magnitude of Kalyanothsava 2023 is stupendous. And that is what Panindra, Vasuki, Navin, Ishwar Dutt, Surendra Acharya and a host of front-runners did yesterday with moon-landing precision. No amount of praise is too much for them. Kudos to the entire team.

The blueprint was drawn long before. Behind the curtain activities were in full swing - quietly. A Dharmik group, Sri Vari Foundation, Chamarajpet, specializes in performing Kalyanotsava, replicating the Tirupati style. This is its 624th performance since inception twenty years ago. The group consists of about 25 young and vibrant people, each an expert in his own form of art, a la a drama troupe. The purohits among them rendered slokas with the diction and intonation prescribed in the scriptures. The young among them elevated the mood of the audience by singing and dancing - sometimes holding the idol, sometimes inviting the audience to participate. The anchor, acting as sutradhar, held the thread of events intact with captivating narratives. It is on this occasion that I said to myself, “if only I had learnt Kannada a little more than I did…” Consequently, more often I applauded or laughed after the rest of the audience had – like I did when I watched English movies in Rivoli in my twenties.

When the organizers allotted us a slot to chant the Suktams, we, the SFV Vedic Group, were both appreciative and apprehensive. Appreciative for their gesture, and apprehensive for the fear if our fine-tuning would justify our four years of practice. Luckily the scholarly group from the Foundation came to our rescue. We were only to play second fiddle to their reverberating rendering – our voice to be in the forefront only when they stopped for breath or to adjust their vocal chords to prevent tonal lapses. Escaped unhurt, some of us said to ourselves.

Earlier the ladies were given the floor to render Tiruppavai. Needless to add, they did a good job.

These preliminaries aside, the prime time of the event was between 11.30 and 1.30 when the team kept the audience spellbound, giving them occasional goosebumps – aho bhagyam. They gave opportunities to as many of the audience as possible to perform some part of the ceremony – such as token fanning the Lord and Goddess, paste on the forehead sandlewood or Kumkum, or hold the divine umbrellas. And the way flowers were showered on the deities in platefuls instead of handfuls, I wondered if  half of City Market’s flower market had descended on MPH 1. The entire flow of events transported us to the celestial world for its duration. For a while I felt if by chance the best art director of the film industry was in town the previous evening to mount the elegant but befitting sets.

It was perhaps for the first time that I could see the crowd not slipping in to the lounge area towards the end, to be near MPH2 where prasadam counter would open. Instead, they were still thronging around to get from purohits' hands flowers, haldi, Kumkum, or sandlewood offered to deities. 

There was perfect order in MPH-2 where prasadam was being distributed. The elderly had no longer to play their Senior card to get prasadam ahead of others. And, truth be told, when the word “Prasadam” gets appended to food, it acquires a special taste. No doubt about it.

It was 5 pm, and time for SFVians to return to Club House after a brief rest at home. The procession of the bedecked deity was ready to be taken around all the blocks. Some regular Gym-attendees were seen holding the bars carrying the deity around. An enthusiastic crowd overflowed from all directions. In the morning the acumen of the Nadaswaram group was never in display. Their role was limited to filler roles or playing ‘sakala vadyam’ when signalled, or when the next recorded music was getting ready to play. But now in the procession, they had a free hand, and we could enjoy some of familiar numbers, Jagadhodarana…, Venkatachala Nilayam…and the duo percussionists taking it to the next level with their inherent one-upmanship. 

Sorry folks who could not make it. This is for you - but with a rider. What you missed is way more than I could portray here to the best of my poor ability.