Every country’s got its fair share of bizarre traditions ranging from the humorous to the outlandish. I recently made my way back to our ancestral village in India to witness the Kavadi.

Kumbakonam, located in the southern-Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is considered sacred, with over 40 temples in and around it. It is also referred to as the “Cambridge of South India,” hosting some prestigious colleges renowned for producing great minds like Ramanujam and Swaminatha Iyer. Legend also has it that here is where Shiva cracked the Cosmic Pot containing the essence of creation, giving birth to life, the universe and everything.

How I managed to get here in one piece is even more miraculous than the origin of life. You see, on our way to Kumbakonam from Chennai, our Tempo Traveler (a big, clunky van) blew a fuse, not just any fuse - the master fuse! Which basically meant that all our electrical systems went dead, including our headlights. But wait! Our driver had an ingenious idea.

“Saar, I can drive with the signals on.”

Huh, what the… ? “Oh, you mean the hazard lights?”

We had arrived. I have to admit that our superstar driver had skills - he got us to our destination safely with no lights; although we did break a side-view mirror whist scrapping past a stationary bullock cart, but who needs those anyway. Dinner was at my grandpa’s brother’s home where we were greeted by half-a-dozen dogs including the biggest German Shepherd I had ever seen. After a quick, friendly wrestle with my German friend, I dug into some amazing idlis, vadas, sambar and was later force fed a dozen jaangiris. <burp>

The Kavadi would take place the following day as we’d make our way up Swamimalai (God’s mountain). In my next article, I’ll tell you all about it.