As Malayalis gear up to perform the ‘bali tharpanam’ ritual for paying homage to their ancestors on Thursday, a senior CPI(M) leader on Wednesday put out a social media post elaborating the features of the traditional practice and urged voluntary service organisations to provide help to the devotees for the same.
The ruling party’s Kannur strongman P. Jayarajan, in the post on Facebook, said ‘bali’ ritual did not have any religious connections and it was purely related to the humans who were moulded in myths and the beliefs attached to it.
Humans might have various kinds of beliefs but some people are trying to “confine them in narrow communal compartments”, he said, adding that society should be vigilant about such trends.
The senior Marxist party leader’s Facebook post went viral on social media, as it had a detailed account of the ancient ritual, performed by the Hindu community on the ‘Karkidaka Vavu’ day every year.
“Voluntary organisations should provide necessary services at all places where believers gather to pay homage to their ancestors,” Jayarajan said.
He said such places should not be left only to those “who wear the mask of service to hide their faces of terror”.
The word ‘bali’ means ‘great sacrifice’, the Left leader, who is also the vice-chairman of Kerala Khadi Board, elaborated.
Cutting across gender and age barriers, people belonging to Hindu community perform the traditional ritual on the banks of rivers and seashores across the state.
According to Hindu belief, departed souls attain “moksha” (liberation) if the ritual is performed on ‘Karkidaka Vavu’ day.
