| Prakash, Siva Prakash, Sabari, Mohan, Kesavan and Prasanth, Chavalakkara, Palakkad |
To a true devotee, gold as well as a piece of earth should evoke the same sentiment. When Ayyappa devotees Prakash, Siva Prakash, Sabari, Mohan, Kesavan and Prasanth from Chavalakkara in Palakkad saw a bag containing gold ornaments in a bag by the roadside near Chalakkudi, they knew what they had to do. They handed over the abandoned bag to the nearby police station and continued their pilgrimage on foot.
The marriage of Rose from Kollam was to take place at Tumkur in Karnataka. The family was proceeding there on a vehicle, when they had to make an unscheduled stop at Chalakkudi to feed an infant in the group. The feeding bottle was kept in the bag that contained the gold ornaments and dress for wedding and so it was taken out while feeding the infant by the roadside. After the impromptu stop, every one got back into the vehicle and speeded off, forgetting the bag that was unknowingly kept on the parapet of a culvert.
On seeing the bag by the side of the busy national highway, the Ayyappa devotees picked it up. They then made a detour from their scheduled route to the police station. After handing over the bag, they continued their pilgrimage.
By the time police could locate the rightful owner of the bag through clues of the jewellery shop and so on, the wedding party had reached Pollachi. Soon they were alerted and the bride’s brother returned from Pollachi to reclaim the lost valuables.
Courtesy: Malayala Manorama, January 8, 2013
