I slipped into a furious state of overthinking.
How can they say that?
How can they break away from the tradition?
Did the national politics enter my village already?
Did a loudmouth force his campaign into the temple?
Every year women from every household visit the temple. For nine days, they pour oil into the lamps allotted to them in specific slots in the racks. The temple shines, adorned with thousands of those lamps.
Even inside the sanctum there used to be rows and rows of lamps all these years. But this year, no. They excluded the sanctum with the warning sign that said women aren't allowed inside.
In the backdrop of Sabarimala temple and its a ban on entry of menstruating women. I thought the question of purity invaded even my village.
My bias against right-wing politics added tadka to my emotions. This made me take a pic of the warning board- to make noise about the same on Twitter.
But before I could post, I thought of enquiring about it first. And when I asked my father about the same expecting an answer I wanted-
His answer was more flabbergasting, to my shock and surprise. He said-
Because a new idol of the goddess has been installed. Women are prohibited, as they often touch the idol with oily hands. They've restricted the entry for nine days to prevent a mess.
Such a face-palm moment. Sometimes the problems are more basic and practical. That's why logic, reasoning, and intellectualism should always be backed with facts.