This morning was the Mattaiyati Utsavam here at Nanguneri. It was great fun, and I enjoyed everyone’s laughter. The premise is that the goddess is mad at Vishnu for going out without informing her, and she suspects the worst. When he returns, she’s barred the temple doors to him. He tries to sweet-talk his way in, to no avail, until the Alvar (here Tirumankai) has to intercede to patch them up.
There’s much that one can say about this festival, and a whole host of questions about it as well. But what I was excited by was the mirror. Totally unexpected. There it was, tucked into the palanquin for Devanayakan to see himself in, all the while that the goddess will not see him.
There is one photograph that I took that is I think a once in a lifetime shot. It is the moment, when Devanayakan has shown up to find that the first door is barred to him. In this photograph, you see a tiny bit of the back of the god, the door he faces, behind which is the angry goddess, who refuses to see him, and in the mirror you see the god, and most awesome of all, a donor figure, with his palms pressed together.
All photographs taken in public spaces or during public processions with the permission of the temple authorities.
