It is the second Saturday of Purattasi, and the temple is thronging. When I reach the temple around 730pm, Desikar was on the first round of his ul-purappadu. He was rounding the north-eastern corner at the Anjaneyar Sannadhi, which seemed to take an eternity. The procession was slow, perhaps deliberately, perhaps due to the crowd. Either way, whenever Desikar did move a few steps, he was sailing over a sea of people, much like the street procession last week.
I go home and return later in the night to find Desikar on his unjal. He was carried earlier by a sea of people, and is carried now by a sea of music. The unjal is on the northern prakara, right outside his sanctum, facing East. Facing him, a little distance away, is a troupe of musicians, with a Veena at the centre. The music is electric, and reaches consummation at the end of a jugalbandi by the percussionists. It is a beautiful closing to the Desikar Utsavam, before the final Panaka Puja tomorrow.