Suggestion for virtual darshan at Sabarimala Ayyappa temple unlikely to get backing

As the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple is gearing up to resume darshan for pilgrims after the Covid-19 lockdown, a suggestion for live virtual darshan has been mooted.

However, the Travancore Devaswom Board that manages the temple and the left-front government in Kerala seems to be not even interested in taking forward the suggestion, possibly sensing a general mood of devotees against this.

A committee headed by Kerala Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta suggested the option of virtual darshan, subject to nod of the 'tantri' (chief priest) and 'melshanti (head priest) of the temple, as part of the modalities for allowing devotees in the post-Covid scenario.

For latest updates on coronavirus outbreak, click here

TDB president N Vasu told DH that it was not even decided whether to have any discussion with the chief priest and head priest on the suggestion for exploring the scope of virtual darshan. Online booking for conducting offerings was already introduced and it would continue, he said.

While the Thazhamon Madom family of the temple tantri was yet to come out with any stand on the matter, a member of the family and a leader of Ayyappa Dharma Sena, Rahul Easwar, said that 90 per cent of the devotees were opposed to the concept of virtual darshan. Pilgrimage to the hill shrine is not a sightseeing trip. It involved experience and many scientific concepts attached to the trekking and darshan. Hence virtual darshan was not at all an alternative. Even the proposal for the ropeway to Sabarimala had met with resistance earlier, he said.

Suggestions for virtual darshan came up during the initial weeks of lockdown also. A section was learned to be pressing for discussions on live darshan options especially since Covid had badly hit the revenue from temples. Of the 1,200 odd temples under the devaswom board, the majority were sustaining from the revenue of a few major temples like Sabarimala. An online offering facility was introduced at major temples like Sabarimala and Guruvayur Sree Krishna temple earlier this year as a step to overcome the revenue fall due to Covid.

The chief secretary led committee had also suggested restricting the number of devotees to 1,000 per day on weekdays and 2,000 on weekends, limiting the maximum number of devotees to be allowed during major events like 'Mandala Pooja' and 'Makaravilakku' to 5,000, permitting only those with Covid negative certificates through the virtual queue system and restricting devotees below the age of ten and above the age of 60. The annual Sabarimala pilgrimage is beginning on November 15.