KOZHIKODE: CPM leader P Jayarajan has asked voluntary organisations to help the believers who flock to make offerings for the dead on the Karkkidakavavu day in order to check the infiltration of ‘those who wear the mask of service to hide their terror face’.In a Facebook post on the eve of the ritual, CPM’s former Kannur district secretary said the rites for the dead have no religion and such customs can be traced back to pre-historical times. “There is an innocent remembrance of the past in the Karkkidaka bali. It has no religion. There is only the human being who has come through the layers of myth and the faith related to it,” he said.
It may be recalled that the CPM had organised parallel Sree Krishna Jayanthi celebrations in Kerala a few years ago in a bid to ‘wean away the children’ who were being attracted by the programmes of Balagokualm, one of the feeder organisations of the RSS. The party-controlled Institute of Rehabilitation and Palliative Care (IRPC) extended a helping hand for the Sabarimala pilgrims in 2015.
Tracing the origin of rituals for the dead, Jayarajan said religions such as Islam and Christianity have their own ways of remembering the dead. “Even the materialists organise similar memorial programmes for the departed. They believe that the dead continue to live through the burning memories they leave,” he said. The ritual related to the worship of the dead were present in the nomadic communities and they continued to survive even in the days of private property.
Recalling the simple nature traditional rituals in the houses in north Kerala, Jayarajan said they were later replaced by ‘temple-centred’ rites. “Those who were kept outside till the temple-entry proclamation are now making a beeline to offer Balitharpan at temples,” he said.