They could jump in, immerse their heads in, and bathe in it on wet days. It was sacred water for the elderly persons who managed to limp, stagger, and drag themselves to that area. They’d yell, ‘Don’t get into the water!’ They had to climb over it to a bare rock surface that was devoid of any vegetation. On that bare rock, no tree, bush, or creeper could grow. That’s where they could feel the wind’s intensity. Wind has greater strength than anything else. It has the ability to destroy anything in an instant if it sets its mind to it. They could only climb after respectfully begging the wind’s permission. They had to carefully set their feet, grip tenaciously and firmly like an iguana, and concentrate on climbing one step at a time. In some places, crawling over the rock like a creeper was the only way to get around. And there was nothing that the euphoria of youth couldn’t overcome. The Pandeeswarar temple appeared to be a little lookout on top of the hill from that vantage point.
There was a stone as tall as a human being right next to it. The varadikkal, or barren rock, was that. Someone appeared to have chiselled a semicircle out of the slope on the other side of the rock. The task at hand was to navigate that semicircular course. You’d start trembling with terror even if you bent over a bit, your soles would sweat, and you’d fall and disappear down the steep mountain. Performing exploits on that spot was a sport for them. Several people had perished while attempting to walk around the varadikkal in the hopes of getting their wishes or prayers granted. A British guy had built a wall to barricade the stone because of the rising death toll. But could anyone change a religion that had stood the test of time? The wall, in fact, made it much more easy. One may grab the wall’s edge and rapidly cross to the other side. Then, using the rock’s coarse surface as a guide, one might cross the semicircle and reach the opposite side. After then, you can grab on to its edge and continue on your way. You could go around it in the blink of an eye if you were used to it. This was something Kali and Muthu had done before. Men, on the other hand, do not profit from this prayer. Women are the only ones who do it. Ponna was told this by a short old woman who had come to weed their groundnut crop one day. If a woman went around the barren rock, she would be blessed with a kid, she claimed. She went on to say that she, too, had conceived in this manner. Before departing for the temple with all she needed to make a pongal offering, Ponna listened closely to everything. She was deafeningly deafeningly deafeningly deafeningly de She didn’t want anyone to know where they were heading. They may dissuade them from attending. Everybody would have a point of view. Even if someone advised, ‘Be careful! Be careful!’ it could be distracting as you began to wander around the desolate rock. Ponna might also return without walking around the rock if she was terrified when she first saw it. If someone came along at that time, it might give them something embarrassing to talk about. ‘She claimed she’d go around the stone, but she took one look at it and didn’t,’ they’d snicker for hours. People were always looking for something to talk about. They went on a day when the hill was not very crowded. Ponna had never been to the top of the mountain, where the varadikkal was located. People had pointed to the Pandeeswarar temple and the stone that appeared like a raised finger and told her that was it, and she had noticed it. She was accustomed to wandering through the fields. Her sari was the only thing keeping her from navigating a bare rock with no steps. But, as no one seemed to be around, she tucked her sari in and climbed with ease, lifting her saree up to her knees. Kali pointed out the barren rock to her as they arrived at the cave. It appeared to her as if someone had propped up a massive, flat rock with a small knot of hair on top of it. Ponna, who sat and lazily gazed at the stone, was tightly embraced by Kali. Like a goat boy, he yanked the sari away from her breasts and buried his head between them. When she lowered her face to his head knot and murmured, ‘Maama, are you afraid I could fall while walking around the stone?’ he nuzzled her fiercely. Is that why you’re handing it on to me now, as if it’s the last time?’ In horror, Kali released go of his embrace. Tears trailed down her cheeks. The hills’ altitude, the trees’ shade, and the flat area there had piqued his interest. His need was heightened by her sari, which had now reached her knees, and the material covering her breasts, which had fallen undone in the wind. The sacred thread caressed her neck, and the taali glistened with enticing radiance. He couldn’t seem to get enough of making love within the limits of a confined place. He enjoyed wide open areas. He needed to look up at the sky.