Vel Vel The Sound Of Drums And Lessons On Hinduism

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For Muslims, it is the holy month of Ramadan now. Christians, too, commenced their 40-day period of Lent this week on Ash Wednesday. Lent is a season for contemplation, prayer, fasting, and alms-giving.
It is also a time of preparation and penance leading up to Easter, while similarly, Ramadan is a time of heightened spirituality and purification leading up to the appearance of the Syawal moon and the celebration of Hari Raya Aidil Fitri or Eid as it is known in the Muslim world.
Regardless of these differences, both seasons provide opportunities for Muslims and Christians to deepen their spiritual connection with God and grow closer to their faith.
Regrettably, ugly narratives are flying across the nation over the desecration of the Hindu acclamation “vel vel” by three staff members of Era FM during these auspicious seasons. As I share my thoughts here, let us retreat into our own inner wellsprings while the authorities deal with the issue.
We are aware anything that revolves around the 3Rs (race, religion, and royalty) is a tinderbox that could spark an ugly flashpoint within our very fragile multicultural social fibre.
Pointedly, I say, we must not share these types of TikTok script and footage during these holy days of our calendar. My thoughts here revolve around interfaith bonding, the goodness it holds, and my first lesson on Hinduism from my Catholic father, the late Joe Sr.
Catholics on Ash WednesdayMy thoughts go back to the decade of the sixties while I lived at a British plantation in Johor. Joe Sr was the medical assistant in charge of managing the hospital in the estate, where Hindu Tamil rubber tappers were largely his patients.
There was a celebration in the estate temple one day. I was told there were many activities coinciding with the celebration, including prayer rituals, the carrying of kavadis, and a fire-walking ceremony. Being just a boy of four or five, the thought of people walking on burning coal was bizarre to me.
The distant sound of temple drums beat all day long and I felt a sense of foreboding. I did not like that feeling. I was also told that there would be a chariot procession in the night. Evening came as the sun set.
‘Do not be afraid, they are just praying’
I could sense the sound of the temple drums getting louder and seemingly getting closer. Joe Sr was just getting ready to go to the hospital located in front of the house for his evening ward rounds.
Then I got a first sight of the procession. It was still far away, but standing at the top of the staircase I spotted the moving tide of devotees coming closer to my house. Large groups of people were walking in front and behind the gaily lit chariot. The sound of the drums got louder and louder as the procession drew nearer.
There were also men holding long poles with a fire burning at the top. I was scared and made a run to hide in my room, but Joe Sr saw me trying to escape the din outside. He stopped me, but I told him I was scared.
He held my hand firmly, saying “do not be afraid, they are just praying.” Gently he led me down the stairs to our compound, right up to the split bamboo hedge that served as our front entrance.
People were singing and dancing and once in a while someone would go into a trance and demand to be pierced by the sacred vel – a smaller replica of the spear of Lord Murugan, given to Him by his mother, Goddess Parvathy, to fight the demon, Soorapadman.
Other people, perhaps, the temple elders tried to calm down persons going into a trance by splashing holy ash on their heads. Some people chanted “vel, vel” in an attempt to calm down devotees entering into a trance - as the piercing of skin and flesh was already accomplished during the morning rituals.
As the drums beat, the clarinets and trumpets lent fervour to the chorus of sacred canticles being chanted that night. Joe Sr, a staunch and fervent Catholic, gave me a running commentary on all that was happening.
It was there, right before the radiantly glowing Chitra Pournami chariot that my dear late father inculcated in me my first lesson on the Hindu faith!
In those days, moral lessons were inculcated by parents. Respecting other people's religions is one of those lessons considered morally important and “gently taught” to children because it promotes tolerance, understanding, and peaceful coexistence.
In all that Joe Sr spoke that night, amid the drum beat and the trumpet’s brassy intensity, there is one line that still sits at the back of my mind till today - “do not be afraid, they are just praying”.
In that line, I see a vault of “unspoken wisdom” that Joe Sr has unwittingly “spoken”; respect the religion of your neighbour, do not mock what he or she believes in, and most of all - God does not belong to one religion, but all religions belong to God. - Mkini
JOSEPH MASILAMANY is a veteran journalist residing in Borneo. Very much an interfaith person at heart, he upholds the teaching of his Church: “The Catholic Church does not reject anything that is ‘True’ and ‘Holy’ in non-Christian faiths. It has high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts and doctrines which, although differing in many ways from its teaching, nevertheless often, reflect a ray of that ‘Truth’ which enlightens all men and women”. (Nostra Aetate, Vatican Council II, 1962-1965).
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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