VILLUPURAM: What’s the price you would pay for a lemon? In the local market, a decent-sized piece doesn’t cost more than Rs 5. Why then would anyone want to buy a lemon for a jaw-dropping Rs 23,000?
But there are people who are prepared to pay the price. For, it’s not any other lemon; it comes loaded with divine powers that can help barren women conceive. Or so the pilgrims to the ‘Two Hills’ Murugan temple at Ottanandhal village believe.
In fact, the temple raised a whopping Rs 61,000 through auction of just nine lemons, the bidders of which were nine couples.
According to a source, the over-a-century-old temple in Ottanandhal village near Tiruvennainallur sits on top of two hills, which people call ‘Two Hills’ Murugan temple. Every year, during the Tamil month of Panguni, a 11-day-long festival is celebrated there.
During the first nine days of Panguni, a lemon would be pierced in the vel (spear) kept next to the temple. Before closing the temple, the lemon would be placed near the deity and a pooja would be performed. Later, at the end of the festival, the fruit would be auctioned off.
On Saturday night, the final day of the festival, rice mixed with dry fish curry was placed before the Idumban idol and a pooja performed. After that, the auction to sell the nine lemons was held in which more than 500 people from Ottanandhal, Villupuram, Ulundurpet, Tirukovilur, Tiruchy, Chennai and Bengaluru took part.
At the auction, Pavadai and his wife Alamelu of Thaduthaatkondur village bought the lemon kept on the first day of the festival for Rs 23,000. The yellow fruit kept on the second day was sold for Rs 5,001 to Manigandan-Parvathi of Vadakurumbur village and on the third day, the fruit fetched the same amount.
The other six lemons were sold for Rs 27,907 and the total amount earned by selling the nine lemons was Rs 60,909, which is the highest-ever, said a villager. He added that childless couples would buy the lemons during the auction and consume it with high hopes. As Saturday was the last day of the festival, there was a scramble as they vied with one another to get the fruit.