The religious dancing of the Ambalappuzha and Alangad teams at Erumeli, marking a high point of the Sabarimala pilgrimage season, has come under a cloud, thanks to the rift within the Alangad team which has taken a turn for the worse.
The Alangad team represented by the Alangad Yogam Sabarimala Swamy Bakthajana Sanghom, led by Periyon Ambadath A.K. Vijayakumar, who had been taking up the Thullal for the past many years, said the Travancore Devaswom Board had been issuing conflicting orders. It was alleged that the present crisis was the result of the efforts of a board member to intervene in the affairs.
The Alangad team had been facing schism for long resulting in a legal battle. Another group had staked claim to be the Alangad team and exerted its right to perform the Thullal. According to Yogam president M.N. Rajappan Nair, the 2013 verdict of the Kerala High Court was in favour of the Yogam. However, some of the TDB officials had gone against the spirit of the court verdict. They submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister to help sort out the issue. The authorities have called a meeting of all stakeholders in Kottayam on Monday, January 9.
Meanwhile, the authorities are moving ahead with the arrangements for holding the Petta Thullal on January 11. The Thullal by the two teams representing the maternal and paternal lineages of Lord Ayyappa and an expression of his victory over Mahishi, the demon princess, marks the victory of the good over evil. It also celebrates communal bonhomie as the devotees would pay obeisance to Vavar, the trusted lieutenant of Lord Ayyappa.
