Author: Mouneshwar Sonnad
Publication: Times of India
Date: December 6, 2010
Introduction: The deity at the Lakkamma temple
had a fight with a goldsmith, who threatened to cut off her nose. So, the
idol kneels down with its back toward the devotee, as if to avoid him. Years
later, a poor devotee who had nothing to offer to the goddess, gave away his
chappals. It's been a tradition ever since.
Even to imagine footwear hanging right outside
a temple would be blasphemous. But at Goddess Lakkamma temple in Gola village,
25 km from Gulbarga town in Karnataka, this is an age-old practice.
The image shows the goddess kneeling down with her back to the devotees. Mythology
has it that the goddess once asked a goldsmith to make her a nose-ring. Days
later when he hadn't finished the job, an argument ensued between the two.
The angry goldsmith is said to have chased her, wanting to cut off her nose.
The goddess knelt down, almost digging her nose.
Then on, an idol of Lakkamma was enshrined in the temple on the outskirts
of Gola village. Years later, a poor devotee who had nothing to offer to the
deity, gave away his chappals. For over a hundred years later, this has continued
as a practice, says Rajashekhar, an old-time resident.
Only a fortnight ago, villagers celebrated the annual November fair where
devotees gather to offer chappals. Flip-flops in all hues are hung right outside
the entrance to the shrine. Sensing business, a clutch of shops come up near
the temple during the fair. Some like Ambavva who travelled from Sholapur
in Maharashtra, though, bring their own new pair of chappals as offering.
"The shops here sell footwear at an exorbitant price. I'm glad I brought
these from my town," she said.
Priest Lakshman Pujari says every year hundreds of pairs of chappals are strung
outside the temple. These are removed a couple of days before the fair and
one can see pairs and pairs of slippers strewn a little away. And it's not
too long till the new ones are strung.
