Ayyappa devotees get irumudi shock

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A group of Ayyappa devotees taking the quick route of flying to Sabarimala was in for a rude shock on Monday, with airport authorities denying them permission to carry irumudi (a specially designed sacred travel kit) as hand luggage.

The two-layered irumudi typically contains coconuts, ghee, honey and jaggery rice and incense sticks.

The team comprising doctors and educationists, which was to take an early morning flight to Kochi for a 170-km onward journey to Sabarimala, had to deposit their irumudis as a registered baggage to make the journey.

Airport officials said recent Bureau of Civil Aviation Security instructions prohibited coconuts inside aircraft. They said miscreants could also use irumudi to smuggle prohibited goods.

“By not allowing it [irumudi] inside the cabin, where passengers can have access to baggage, we make sure safety regulations are followed,” the officials said.

A lot of Ayyappa devotees in the city are nowadays taking flights to shorten the Sabarimala trip.
“We used to take one-week leave to visit Lord Ayyappa. Now, we take only 24 hours for the return journey,” said Dr S. Muthukumar.

Planning journeys well in advance helps the devotees get flight tickets cheap and save expensive van travel. “We have booked this trip to Sabarimala and back for only Rs 5,600,” said Mr V. Santhanam, who runs an education trust.