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Had a horrible (and somewhat embarrassing) experience trying to get darshan of #AthiVarathar today. A few friends had told us that the rush isn't a worry as the crowd was handled effectively when they had visited, so we had taken the kids along with us.
But clearly, the number of people visiting, I was told, has gone up drastically in the last 4-5 days. People are coming in groups on tourist buses from all over the state! And the authorities don't seem to have factored in THIS kind of crowd while making the security arrangements
We had started from Chennai by 6am and reached Kanchipuram by 8am. Since cars are stopped a km or so from the temple, we walked to the street where where the queue was. It was about 8.20am. So far so good.
But it was only as we started walking to where we were supposed to join the queue that we realised we were in for hours of waiting. We had to walk 1.5km or so to even join the queue, which was packed. And this was not inside the temple premises, but on the outer street!
The cops had put up barricades only to 1km or so of this stretch, so people kept barging into the queue beyond this point. And there were hardly any cops or temple authorities to regulate the crowd! And the crowd had people of all ages - from 6-month-old babies to 70+ seniors.
Initially, the line kept moving at a decent pace, so we thought this was going to be a breeze. But only after we reached the barricaded stretch did we realise that the solid pace was only because people formed parallel lines (like 6-8 horizontally) in the area with no barricades.
And all these people were trying to fit into the narrower barricaded area leading to uncomfortable pushing and pulling. The ordeal was only beginning as the queue started to move at snail's pace. If we'd covered 500m in 20 minutes, now, it was taking the same time for moving 100m
Soon, the blazing sun (there are no pandhals in this area; they have been put up only inside the premises, I hear) & the coarse road started taking a toll. And people were jumping the queue despite the barricades (and the innumerable protests), cramping the lines to their limit.
If you are going with a kid, then it would be impossible to let them down and walk by themselves. And frequently, you will have your feet trodden on by others (especially the ones who were wearing slippers; we'd chosen to leave them in the car). It was THAT cramped.
So, after standing in such a nightmarish queue, and carrying my daughter for about 1.5 hours, I had begun to feel weak. I hadn't had breakfast. Our cab driver, who was busy fiddling the phone, forgot to stop the car at a restaurant despite being requested!
With the queue hardly moving forward, the suffocation becoming worse and the child growing cranky, the wife and I decided to exit only to be told that we wouldn't be able to leave because of the bloody barricades!
Ultimately, the ordeal ended with me fainting (thankfully, after handing over the kid to the wife), following which some part of the crowd miraculously made some space. I woke up with water being splashed on my face.
I saw my wife asking a cop to help us get out, but he merely handed a water bottle to her - despite being told that I had fainted. Luckily (I guess I can say so), I fainted again! And this time, some people in the crowd pushed aside the barricades a bit so that we could exit.
I think I should consider it a fortunate thing that it was I who got sick at the spot. And it was a minor thing. With the dispensaries located inside the premises, and the jam-packed crowd, imagine the plight of someone, say, a senior citizen, if they had a stroke or something!
From my own experience, I should say this festival is a disaster waiting to happen - if the arrangements aren't improved. We were told later that the crowd thins out after 2pm, so in case you are planning a visit, make sure you schedule it by 3pm or so or go well-prepared.
Another option is to stay in Kanchipuram at night, and get darshan very early in the morning. Be at the temple by 4.30am or 5am. I was told people who had gone at this time manage to get darshan and leave by 7.30am. Even if you go by 6am, the crowd becomes an issue.
