The Yatra Chronicles: The Angry Auto Driver

The plan was to go to a few goddess temples in the morning and attend Herambanathan Sir’s class in the evening. Sinister Dude was our guide for the morning. He tried to push his agenda on us but Saskia was firm and insisted on sticking to her plan. We set out in 3 autos. Our driver had bloodshot eyes that seemed to blaze with anger.  He was clad in a half-unbuttoned, not very clean shirt. Appointing himself gang-leader of the auto drivers, he set off at breakneck speed to an Ugra Kali temple. There were open fields around. The temple was empty, with no devotees, save for us. The Kali was fierce with fangs. An interesting happening: after the priest - who was a non-Brahmin as evidenced by the lack of a sacred thread (Pandaram??) - said his thing, he muttered something to a woman standing near us. She turned on a switch and a nadaswaram - tavil racket broke out. This was modern temple technology, apparently. The switch activated a contraption of a drum with a stick, bells, and other noise-making stuff. A Raja Melam that was an auto melam!