Swamy Ayyappan, Sabarimala PO
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As in 2022
Dec 24, 2022: The Times of India
They come in all sizes and shapes – plain postcards, squat envelopes, the sky blue ‘inland’ letters, all addressed to Swamy Ayyappan, Sabarimala PO, 689713. The post office, established way back in 1963, is open only for a little over two months a year during the Mandala-Makaravilakku festival held from November 16 to January 20.
Postmaster Arun P S says the post office situated beside the famous hilltop shrine deep in the Sahyadris, inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, still receives 100-150 letters to Lord Ayyappa daily. It’s a far cry from the thousands of letters the office used to get daily before online booking and payments made snail mail almost extinct.
Arun obviously can’t read what’s inside the inland letters and envelopes but he often can’t resist the temptation to browse the postcards. Most of them are plaintive appeals from people across the country seeking Ayyappa’s blessings to alleviate ailments or financial woes. Those sent as an invite to a wedding, a child’s naming ceremony or a housewarming have a grateful tone. There is also the occasional fervent plea to the powerful brahmachari deity seeking his intercession in love affairs. All letters are placed before the idol of Lord Ayyappa before being handed over to the temple authorities.
The post office staff are on deputation from other postal divisions. Currently, besides postmaster Arun there is a postman and two multi-tasking staff. All four stay in a room attached to the post office and will go home only after the festival season. The two multi-taskers take turns to go down the hill on alternate days to fetch letters and other postal material from the post office located at Pamba.
The deity also receives money orders ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 5,000. The aravana prasad distributed in the temple can be booked online from any post office in the country, and the post office at sannidhanam (the shrine complex) dispatches it within seven days of receivingthe online order.
K K Devis, director postal service, headquarters, Thiruvananthapuram, told TOI that till a few years ago the post office used to receive thousands of rupees daily as money orders from devotees for conducting various rituals. “Now such rituals can be booked online, which has resulted in fewer money orders,” he said. The pilgrims can also withdraw money from any bank across the country through India Post Payments Bank.
The unique seal of this post office with the Sabarimala Ayyappa idol and the temple’s 18 golden steps embossed on it was introduced in 1974. It is also an attraction for pilgrims. Many post letters and postcards to their near and dear ones from here to give them a memento with the impression of the seal that they can treasure all their life. When the post office closes after the pilgrimage season, the seal is moved to the locker of the Pathanamthitta postal superintendent.
Postmaster Arun is an ardent Ayyappa devotee, and had worked as a postman here in 2018. “Once I got promoted to postmaster, I wanted to come back to this post office,” he said. Arun opted for the duty and has been posted at Sabarimala this year.
