A chosen thread maker, but wallows in penury!

KOCHI: It was 1.30 am on a chilly December night when V K Venugopal received a phone call that apparently changed his life forever.It was a call from the administrative officer of the Guruvayur Devaswom Board,” recalls Venugopal. “I said ‘wrong number’ and was  about to keep the receiver down when the officer said, no, the call is for you Venugopal. Can you do a favour for Lord Krishna? Will you make the sacred rope to hoist the temple flag during the annual festival?Venugopal’s family has been supplying the rope for many years to the Ganapathy Temple at Panangad here. “Different families have the rights to supply the sacred rope to different temples. The family which used to supply the rope to the Guruvayur Temple had to stop the tradition owing to lack of family members to undertake the task. So the authorities at the Guruvayur Temple held a devaprasnam which suggested our family to supply the rope. We were fortune to receive such a sacred opportunity,” said Venugopal.Now a retired employee of the Kerala State Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC), Venugopal has many honours and awards to his credit. During his 30-year-long service at the KSINC, his dedication for service had won him the greatest of civilian honours, the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak from the then President R Venkataraman. As the lascar and later the boat master at the KSINC, he had saved the lives of many from capsized boats and from the waters near Vypeen island. But, unfortunately, life has never been easy for him. The recipient of the President’s medal has been denied his service pension by the government. Today he does not know where to knock to meet the day-to-day expenses. “Till recently I had a job. But now it is different. But God will show a way forward,” said Venugopal. Nevertheless, making a sacred rope is no ordinary task. Venugopal, who has just returned after offering a 55-metre long sacred rope for this year’s festival at the Guruvayur Temple, has already started working on the next year’s rope.“The tender coconut husks for the sacred rope have to be soaked in water for at least eight months. After which they will be beaten up by women past their menopause. This is followed by twisting 16 individual strands together to make the one-and-a-half-inch-thick rope.   “As soon as one is involved in the making of the rope he/she must abjure from eating meat or involving in carnal pleasures,” said Venugopal.