Whenever a child was ailing with fever, Hindu parents would rush it to Dargas, where a Muslim priest would tie a talisman to its hand, chanting an incantation to ward off the evil.
Despite Coimbatore once being a haven for social life cutting across caste, creed, and religion, it is sad that any temple procession of a particular religion cannot cross past the worship place of another without heavy police protection today.
With religions being only identities of faith, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity never created a divide between man and man here.
Before the mushrooming of hospitals in the city, only temples, mosques and churches were places for seeking cures to the disease. Those were the days, whenever a child was ailing with fever, Hindu parents would rush it to Dargas, where a Muslim priest would tie a talisman to its hand, chanting an incantation to ward off the evil.
The incidents, which epitomized brotherhood among Hindus, Muslims, and Christians, were common in Coimbatore decades ago.
Of the people thronging St Antony’s church at Puliyakulam every Tuesday, half the devotees are Hindus. It is a common sight that Hindus buy salt from the shops in front of the church, as they believe offering salt to the Holy Mother Mary would protect them from all evils. Some Hindus also believe that such an offering to ‘Madha’ would make warts disappear from the skin.
Moreover, religious harmony is implied even in package pilgrim tours in Coimbatore which include visits to Nahoor Darga, Valankanni and Palani.
However, at a time, when religious processions require strong police protection, Professor I K Subramanian, author of several books on theology and the Assistant Editor of the ten-volume Tamil encyclopedia, recollects a regular incident characterizing fraternity between Hindus and Muslims in Coimbatore.
“Every year, when the car festival of Koniamman Temple passed through Oppanakara Street, Muslims, waiting in front of their ‘Big Mosque’ or Athar Jamath Majeed, would offer glasses of cool buttermilk to the tired Hindu devotees!”