The game of Panch Kone or Nakshatra Vilayattu as it is called in Tamil is a single-player game. It has two levels one more complex than the other that require the player to focus and each time better his previous performance. The first version involves removing game pieces from the board while the second involves placing nine game pieces on the board each time following a certain set of rules.
There is no opponent, and therefore no external forces that influence the outcome of the game. The single-minded focus to achieve the result of the game or excellence as it were, is the critical strength of the successful player. To shut out everyone and everything and completely focus on the goal is a challenge in today’s world cluttered with noise and the bombardment of the senses.
If one can still do bring strengthen the mind and bring focus to the task at hand or the goal one desires, we can almost reach a state of meditation. For what is meditation but a practice in which an individual focuses the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.
A quick glance at the array of Golu dolls brings my attention to Andal. The only female Alvar among the twelve Hindu poet-saints of South India, she was posthumously considered an avatar of the goddess Bhudevi, a consort of Vishnu and the Goddess of the earth. An Alvar, is who is “immersed” in the depths of enjoyment of God, the omnipresent mysterious One.
In a festival that celebrates the strength and power of the feminine, Andal is a familiar element in many Golus.
The story of Andal is a fascinating one. Even as a young girl, she wanted to be united with the Lord and brought her entire energy, devotion and concentration to focus on this single goal. She was found by a devotee who used to string garlands for the Lord under the Tulsi plant in answer to his prayers for a child. The story goes that she used too wear the garlands first before offering them to the Lord. She was remonstrated for this, but her depth of focus and devotion for the Lord was so high, he is believed to have requested that only the garlands worn by her must be used. The practice is followed during modern times when the garland of Andal from the Srivilliputhur Andal Temple to the Tirumala Temple for theGarudotsavam during September – October. Finally she was united with the Lord at Srirangam.
The story of Andal, her power of purpose and strength of focus is truly inspiring even today.
Ripples Of Life and Time 