A Dalit woman as a priestess

A Dalit woman. Twin disadvantages of caste and gender. Shantha Kumari overcame all that to do what she believed was right. This is her story. A CNN-IBN exclusive.

A woman priest for Lord Ayyappa

Priyanjana Dutta

CNN-IBN
Bangalore: Lord Ayyappa is yet again amidst controversies.
After Sabarimala, it’s now the turn of Ayyappa temple in Kolar district in Karnataka to face trouble.
There was a great uproar after Kannada actress-turned-producer Jayamala had claimed to have entered the sanctum sanctorum of Sabarimala and touched the feet of the idol of Lord Ayyappa 19 years ago.
In the Kolar temple, Lord Ayyappa is being worshipped by a woman priest, and a dalit at that. She is Shantha Kumari.
"When God is with us nobody will raise objections," says Shantha Kumari, priest of the Lord Ayyappa temple.
Shantha Kumari is a strong and confident woman who wears many hats. She is a Karnataka Administrative Service officer and a self-proclaimed priest of the temple that she and her husband have constructed.
The Shantha Malai Ayyappa Swamy temple in Kolar district, about 100 km from Bangalore would have been like any other were it not for the fact that it was built by a dalit woman who is also its chief priest.
"After our return from Sabarimala he (Lord Ayyappa) came to me in my dream and he asked me to construct the temple he's my family member," says Shantha.
Built on a 4-acre plot, the temple is like a virtual fortress and has been around for 6 years.
Shantha Kumari says she built the temple on her own and not only does she manage the temple's affairs but also performs all the pujas in the sanctum sanctorum everyday.
"We didn't take the services of anybody like priests, vastushilpis (craftsmen) and engineers. I constructed the temple with the services of ordinary labourers and with the instructions of Lord Ayyappa, my husband and myself. I have taken the role of a mother. I not only do the pujas but also all the other work of the temple."
The Shantha Malai Ayyapa Swamy temple proudly proclaims that the Lord Ayyapa is the third son of Shantha Kumari and her husband.
Which is one of the reasons, Kolar residents believe, that Shantha Kumari has decided to do away with man made rituals like prohibiting women inside the temple.
And while this temple allows everyone including women, it isn't all that egalitarian.
"Every time women enter our temple, they will have to take permission. All the Sabarimala rituals and practices are followed," says Shantha.
But her views are not shared by all.
"The sanctum sanctorum where Ayyappa is placed is more revered place and the other temples have come up after that because of the cult of Ayyappa. Though I am an advocate of women's rights, but I feel these kind of traditions should not be broken," says an artist Yusuf Arakkal.
Hundreds of devotees throng the little known temple even as the debate around the Sabarimala controversy refuses to die down.
It’s ironical that women aren't allowed in Sabarimala while at Shanthamala, it's a woman priest who holds fort.