The first thing I wanted to find out after reaching Kancheepuram was whether the arrest of the Sankaracharya had any effect on the electorate of Kancheepuram.

We decided to go inside the Mutt first. After depositing the cameras, mobile phones etc, at the counter, we went inside. The Mutt was totally desolate with not a single visitor. Both the Sankaracharays were at the Kalavai Mutt, and so the Kanchi Mutt was devoid of any visitors, an old man told us. We saw a couple more old men there reading books.

Once outside the Mutt, I decided to go to a tailoring shop which was located opposite the Mutt. The moment the man inside the shop saw me entering, he pointed his finger at me and shouted, ‘get out.. just get out.’ I was so shocked by this rebuke that I jumped out. ‘How dare you come to my shop in chappals?’ he shouted again. As I was walking back, feeling humiliated, the man shouted, ‘What do you want?’ I walked away without answering his question.

What a way to start my day in Kancheepuram! I thought.

I moved to the next shop but stood outside safely as I did not want to be insulted once again. When I asked him whether the Sankaracharya’s arrest would have any impact on the elections, he said, “I have no idea. We don’t discuss politics here.’ But he was polite. I thanked God for that.

A group of people waiting for the bus to come, also had the same reaction; that they don’t know anything about politics.

When I saw several autos waiting in a corner, we walked towards them. “Where do you want to go?” They surrounded us. “Yes, I would like to go and see the weavers’ colony but we have a vehicle.

Slowly, I started a conversation with them and then asked about the Sankaracharya. The moment they heard the word Sankaracharya, they clammed up. I had always found that auto drivers were the most willing and enthusiastic ones to talk about local politics but these people were so different. ‘Sorry, madam. We don’t know anything about that. We don’t know politics.’ They withdrew from the scene.

That was when a man came forward offering to take us to the weavers’ colony. He was Kamal; he worked as an agent for a private silk shop. As we moved away from the Mutt, he said, “It is a very sensitive issue here. If you had asked someone on some other road, they would have answered but you were standing right next to the Mutt.’

But he added that the arrest of the Sankaracharya is not an issue at all in Kancheepuram. “The majority of the population here are non-Brahmins, and since they have nothing to do with the Mutt, they are simply not bothered. The Mutt never encouraged non-Brahmins to go anywhere near them too. Naturally, people are least interested in the affairs of the Mutt.’

Instead of the weavers’ colony, he then took us to a shop and said, ‘please come and see what the shop has.” But I had to politely decline the offer, ‘I am very Sorry. I have not planned any shopping,’ He was terribly disappointed because unless I visited the shop, he would not get any commission from the shop.