Blessings from Bacchus

Queuing outside the precincts of Baba Bhairon Nath8217;s temple, they unwrap bottles covered with newspapers and towels, before entering the sanctum sanctorum.

And as per instructions on the walls, the seal has to be broken before they offer the bottle to the priest. The latter puts a tilak on the devotee8217;s forehead, offers a small portion to the deity and then stretches out his hand for the next bottle.

Says Rajinder Kumar, Minto Road resident: quot;I don8217;t know why it is so, but my father and his father, both used to come hereregularly. Now that they are not alive, I uphold the family tradition.quot;

Inside temple precincts, there are several signs. While one instructs devotees to pour only liquor in the kunds, others instruct them to break the seal before giving the bottle to the priest which according to the mahant is the time honoured tradition.

With an eye on the Closed Circuit TV installed in his air-conditioned room, the mahant says quite brusquely: quot;The temple was built during the time of the Pandavas. It is dedicated to Bhairon devata, who is considered to be an avatar of Lord Shiva. The tradition of offering liquor has been observed here since time immemorial. And it has not changed over the years as you can see for yourself.quot;

Says Renu Gupta, a devotee who has been coming here for the past 20 years: quot;You can offer whatever you want. We all, however believe that if we want something special then we have to offer liquor. Even I have done it on occasions, though today I have brought foodto distribute among beggars.quot;

But there are very few takers for the food. It is only when the devotees come out with the remains of their offering that all the beggars 8212; men, women and children 8212; bother to make a move. With surprising alacrity, they rush towards the devotee and thrust their glasses, asking and sometimes even begging for a little more. While most prefer to have the prasad there itself, others, especially children, pour it in bottles or polythene bags kept on the side.

Says Neena, a beggar women: quot;My children don8217;t drink. They just collect it so that we can sell it in the evening. There are a lot of jhuggi-dwellers around, who prefer to buy this and we sell it almost half the price.quot;

However, no one wants to talk about the liquor that is collected in the kund 8212; into which the priest pours a little bit from every devotee8217;s bottle 8212; a heady cocktail of all brands of rum and whiskey.

They dismiss the query saying it is quot;too littlequot;. One of the urchins, however, explainsthat it is given to the sweepers and others who work at the temple. quot;Sometimes, they burn it because it starts spoiling and gives off a strong odour. But most of it is distributed among the workers.quot;