UJJAIN, JUNE 22: When the presiding deity loves his liquor, his devotees can’t be denied their share of high spirits.

Therefore, followers of Kal Bhairav, Madhya Pradesh’s liquor deity, have found in their heady devotion a way out of a Government order that prohibits sale of liquor near temples in a city declared Pavitra Nagari (holy town).

Liquor is a major offering made to Kal Bhairav, a fierce manifestation of Lord Shiva — a unique offering that has made it famous far and wide.

Apart from the deity, the ancient tradition kept devotees and liquor suppliers happy till a Government scheme put a question mark on its very survival.

Once a town is declared Pavitra Nagari, the sale of liquor, eggs and meat is prohibited in the vicinity of temples, or so the scheme intends. Half a dozen other towns, including Omkareshwar, Maheshwar, Multai and Panna, have also been declared holy cities.

While it was easier for the administration to enforce the prohibition at other places, Kal Bhairav temple was a challenge because the god is himself believed to promote liquor. All the administration could do was ask the vendor who has the official contract to sell liquor in the area to remove his shop and set it up a few kilometres away.

While there was no question of stopping the tradition — even a suggestion could have led to trouble — the administration hoped it would be able to control the illegal liquor trade that proliferated using the tradition as a shield. The shop has moved away but the contractor, devotees, and tipplers have found a way out. Small liquor bottles are sold along with flowers and other materials. Besides, two varieties of desi liquor are sold for Rs 40 and Rs 50 per bottle. Shops even sell IMFL.

Part of the liquor is offered to the god in a plate and the rest is returned to the devotee as ‘prasad’.

“It’s a question of demand and supply. If you try to choke the supply of a commodity, it becomes available from several other sources,” explains Raju Maharaj, a relative of the temple priest.

“It’s a private arrangement done for the benefit of devotees. If it’s not made available here, they will have to go far to get it.”

No wonder, “daaru ki bottle” is the only mantra chanted outside the temple located near the Shipra river. Inside, devotees exhort the priest to make the idol drink every bit of the liquor poured in a plate for convenience.

Manager Viresh Upadhyay says to get around the problem of illegal trade, the temple administration committee proposed to the Government that it be allowed to sell liquor in very small quantities right inside the premises. “It would have ensured a steady source of income for us,” he said

But the proposal was never accepted for obvious reasons. According to a committee member, the official contract for sale of liquor runs into excess of Rs 50 crore in the town.

Excluding such a large area from the sales territory would affect the contractor a lot.