Gulikan
Theyyam (Contd.)
We proceeded to the Theyyam
arena. There in front of a small temple, two artists were performing Thottam
Pattu. The two had no massive headgear, only facial make up, that too not very
intrinsic. They resembled the famous pair of Abu Abraham in his popular cartoon
strip in Indian Express – “Private View”. One lean and tall whereas the other was
short and pudgy.
They were singing the folklore
about the birth of Gulikan. I didn’t understand a word about it but I tried
hard to decipher the lyrics.
After giving all ears to the
duo, I could decode just two lines
“Ezhu
pravasikkathavarundo paril
Ezhupathukazhinjal
chakathavarum…..”
Which could be translated
roughly as,
Is
there anybody on earth who does not give birth to at least seven children?
Is
there anybody who is not dead after seventy?
In the meantime, someone
connected to the temple (I guessed), approached the duo with a kindi (kettle like metallic vessel with
a curved outlet) and poured out some potion. It must have been a heady stuff,
something sterner than toddy.
 |
| Gulikan Theyyam in his habitat |
Marakandeya as you’re probably
aware, is an evergreen hero perpetually aged at sixteen years, intelligent,
knowledgeable as well as humble. He is hence called “Chiranjeevi”. No death for
him. The status was bestowed on him by none other than Lord Shiva. Markandeya’s
parents, Mrukundu and Marudmati were childless and they prayed intensely to the
Lord. Impressed by their devotion Shiva appeared before the couple to give them
the boon as is customary.
Mrukundu asked an offspring, a
son. However, instead of granting it with an immediate “Tadastu”, Lord Shiva
put a poser,
“Do you want a righteous son
with a short life-span or a child of low intelligence with long life?”
(Usually Shiva or any other
God immediately grants his/her Bhakta’s wish without any sort of strings
attached. In this particular case, we should remember that Mrukundu was a Rishi
and he should not have fallen into the trappings of ordinary house-holders.
He was supposed to have no
desires!)
Mrukundu opted for the first
choice. Markandeya was born.
The young one grew up as a Shiva
devotee and learnt all Vedas and Shastras from his father.
He was humble too and liked by all. On the day when he turned sixteen, Yama’s (The Lord of Death) servitors presented themselves before the teenager but could not approach anywhere near him. Marakandeya was doing Pooja sitting in front of the Shivalinga at the nearby temple. (Some say that Thrippangode Shiva Temple in Kerala was the place).Yama’s hirelings beat a hasty retreat and informed their master. The Lord of Death got furious and he himself set out atop his black buffalo with the life-taking device, a long rope with a noose.
 |
| Guikan Theyyam with the headgear |
Markandeya was already
clinging to the Shivalinga but Yama
threw the noose anyway. Aimed at the boy’s neck, it was slightly off the mark
and got entangled with the Shivalinga too alongwith Markandeya. Yama pulled the
rope harder and the linga was disengaged from its base. Lord Shiva emerged out
of it and instantly killed Yama with His trident.
Turning to his young devotee
He blessed the ardent worshipper with deathlessness and eternal youth.
However, the death of Yama had
its negative after-effects. The whole world was so full of old creatures
including human-beings and it was not in the best interest of Mother Earth to
get overloaded. The sustainability was to be maintained. So all wise men, the
Rishis & sages prayed to Lord to make Yama back to life!
Thus Yama re-emerged from the
big toe of Lord Shiva’s left leg.
Yama had been purified in the
Gulikan form. He is an auspicious
presence in all well-meaning ceremonies.
As is common to all theyyams,
people approach Gulikan with their personal problems and a remedy is offered
per say with lots of blessings!
Panikker and I too were beset
with troubles of varying kind but we didn’t go near Gulikan just because of
coyness.
Or, we were over-confident,
rather!
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