PATHANAMTHITTA: Images and videos of little devotees chanting hymns as they make their way to Sabarimala are an instant hit on social media this pilgrimage season. The posts, showing the tiny tots climbing the holy steps sitting on the shoulders of their relatives or holding their hands, are garnering scores of likes and shares. There has been a significant rise in the number of child pilgrims — boys and girls aged 10 years or below — visiting the Lord Ayyappa temple this season.
As per the details shared by the police, over 1,23,239 child pilgrims have visited the hill shrine till date this season. Last time, the corresponding figure was around 80,000. Saying the number of child pilgrims this year was indeed higher, devaswom special secretary M G Rajamanickam told TNIE that he was not aware of the reason behind it.
A top source in the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) opined a recently-released Malayalam movie on the pilgrimage and some serials featuring Lord Ayyappa may have prompted the children to accompany their families to the shrine and get firsthand experience of the trekking. Konni native Neehara S Nair, 10, who was with her father, told TNIE after the darshan, “It was a good experience. I am happy.”
Meanwhile, Rajamanickam said two children are accompanying each family to the Sannidhanam on an average. “Normally, 70-75 pilgrims can climb the holy steps per minute. However, when more children and elderly people come to Sannidhanam, this goes down to 60 people per minute,” he said.
A police officer said children aged between six months and 10 years were being given wristbands. “Most children are coming from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. On Tuesday, 5,601 of them reached Sabarimala,” he said.
Pathanamthitta district police chief V Ajith said the pilgrimage season has six phases and they were in the third phase. “More children arrived in the second and third phases. The number of elderly people visiting Sabarimala is also high,” he said.
‘30% devotees this year are children, elderly’
“At least 30% of devotees arriving this year are either elderly or children. This is a reason for the slow movement through the holy steps. The police are giving special care to children and elderly pilgrims while they climb the steps,” Pathanamthitta district police chief V Ajith said. TDB president P S Prasanth said they were providing drinking water and snacks to the children waiting in queues. “We have also arranged a special queue for children and the elderly people at ‘valiya nadapdandal’,” he said.