When the Queue Becomes the Teacher: Reflections from Sabarimala

Whenever I have to start my day in the wee hours, I become an alarm for the alarm. This time was different since there was no dependency on public transport, and any delay would only affect the departure and return journey, leading to lack of sleep.

Since there was no dependency on public transport, I slept well but remained conscious that I needed to get up at 3 am. After getting sound sleep initially, I started awakening intermittently. When I pressed the button on my watch to check the time, it was 1:40 am on November 18th, 2025. Thereafter, I waited for it to become 3:00 amvthe time we had planned to get up, take a quick bath, and depart for Sabarimala. Just before the alarm, I fell into a good sleep and woke up on the stroke of 3 am. I got ready, and by 3:45 we started our journey to Sabarimala.

Akamala Temple

Like every year, we stopped at Akamala Temple for our Kettu Nirakkal: the process of preparing and filling the Irumudi, called "kettu nirakkal" or "palli kettu." The Irumudi is a sacred, two-compartment bundle carried by devotees during pilgrimages, most famously to the Sabarimala temple. The munmudi(front compartment) contains offerings for the deity like a ghee-filled coconut, and the pinmudi (back compartment) holds the pilgrim's personal necessities. Carrying an Irumudi requires observing a 41-day fasting period and is mandatory for ascending the 18 sacred steps at Sabarimala. This ritual was completed by 5:15 am much earlier than we expected.

Our first stop was Sree Vadakkumnathan Temple, where we prayed from outside. We were all

Vadakkumnathan 

to cover four temples and Vavar's mosque, which is our routine before starting the trek to Sabarimala from Pamba river. Though our first stop after Vadakkumnathan was Chottanikkara Bhagavathy Temple, it took more time than usual, being a Tuesday, which is considered Bhagavathy's day. The other three temples were Shiva Temple Vaikom, Kaduthuruthy Mahadeva Temple, and Ettumanoor Shri Mahadeva Temple. This was a rare occasion when all these temples were open during our journey to Sabarimala. In my 25 years of making this journey, only three or four times have I had the honor of taking darshan when these temples are open.

We continued our journey with one more stop: Vavar's mosque. Devotees visit the Vavar mosque before Sabarimala to honor the legendary friendship between Lord Ayyappa and Vavar, and to symbolize religious harmony and unity between Hindus and Muslims. According to legend, Vavar was a Muslim warrior who became Ayyappa's loyal companion after being defeated by him, and Ayyappa instructed his devotees to visit Vavar's shrine in Erumeli before making the journey to Sabarimala.

While leaving home, there was news about Sabarimala witnessing unprecedented crowds. Normally, the crowd at Erumeli is an indicator of what the crowd will be like at Sabarimala. We calculated there would be less rush unlike our initial calculation, we assumed that being the second day after the shrine opened, devotees would be coming back and we'd have a less crowded darshan.

After completing all the temple darshans we take before going to Sabarimala, our next stop was Pamba, where the trek begins. We were cruising smoothly but got stuck when there was an accident ahead. After waiting for an hour, we resumed our journey. After 45 minutes, vehicles were crawling like snails. This gave us an indication that it was not only crowded but very much crowded, as officials were letting vehicles through only as proportionate vehicles came down. Finally, we covered the 25 km to Pamba in two hours.

We got down, took our Irumudi, and walked towards the bridge, which made us realize it was more crowded than we thought. The scene at the banks of Pamba and the bridge looked like colorful honeybees swarming. To ensure we reached Sabarimala at the earliest, we did not take a bath, we just washed our hands and legs, sprinkled water on our heads, and rushed forward. We saw multiple halls created on the banks. It had started raining, and we thought devotees were taking shelter in these halls because of the rain. We had decided to continue our journey despite the rain so that we could start our return journey two to three hours past midnight. Then we realized these halls on the banks of Pamba were created to manage the queue. We passed through eight such halls to reach the steps of Pamba temple. It took us one hour to cover a bit less than 500 meters. After we did a quick darshan of the cluster of temples in Pamba and scanned our virtual queue bookings, we quickly started our trek to Sabarimala.

While trekking, there was a crowd, but we felt it wasn't as crowded as what we saw in Pamba. In one hour, we were just about 3 km from Sabrimala Temple, and the time was 7:30 pm. The temple closes at 11 pm, and since we were just 3 km from Sabarimala, we were hopeful we'd complete darshan, though unlike other times, we'd be able to have darshan only once. Unfortunately, the line was moving slower than a snail. I don't know if "crawling" is even the right word.

We managed to climb the 18 holy steps, or Pathinettampadi (at the Sabarimala temple, these represent a

18 holy steps, or Pathinettampadi

journey through various stages of human consciousness. The steps symbolize different concepts, including the five senses, the eight virtues/vices, the three gunas qualities of nature knowledge, and ignorance, guiding pilgrims toward enlightenment and spiritual purification).

Most devotees decided to pause their journey and resume only after the temple reopened. We decided to continue, which helped us climb the 18 holy steps peacefully. After climbing the holy steps, we quickly deposited the ghee we were carrying in the collection area, bought prasadam, and were back in queue by 2:30 am to take darshan of Ayyappa once the temple opened. When the temple opened at 3 am, the line was moving extremely slowly. I realized that if this continued, it would take much more time. I started pushing my way forward and was able to get darshan by 4:30 am. After breaking the coconut near the 18 holy steps, we started our descent. Within an hour, we reached Pamba and began our way back home.

For the first time in 25 years in fact, for the first time in my life I have seen such a rush. It took us 11 hours to get the final darshan of Lord Ayyappa. While standing in the queue, I never felt the anxiety that leads to frustration, wondering when I would get darshan. It never crossed my mind that I would never come to Sabarimala again. In fact, I am even more determined to come back, though we might time it differently and be better prepared for such situations.

Conclusion: The Lesson from the Queue

Standing in that endless queue taught me something priceless. Life, too, is a series of queues, some short, some painfully long. Sometimes things come to us quickly, sometimes after long delays. But the only way to move forward whether in a queue or in life is with patience, faith, and a calm acceptance that everything will come at its own time. Just like the darshan, the destination is never in our control, but the attitude we carry through the wait always is.