It amazes me how each individual approaches his or her ista devata or favorite deity or God and Goddess or guru for that matter. My wife, me, and my daughter too it seems were fruit peddlers on the grounds of the Papanasam temple in one of our former births. We showed our love for him by placing the fruits before Agathiyar's statue at the temple daily. Our daughter would bring it to his mouth and asks him to eat.
We had a devotee of Agathiyar, Malar, come by and pray at AVM. She would touch Agathiyar's nose and make a sound doin, doin! That was how she showed her affection for him. Today Agathiyar just as he beat the odds and arrived at my home back then in 2010 as a bronze statue, again beat the odds by reaching out to those receptive to him, manipulating time, and in changing the game, made his way into her home as a small granite statue too.
Another devotee Malathy expresses her love for him in a unique way too by always teasing him. Nevertheless, Agathiyar's love for her knows no bound too. Agathiyar calls her the Playful Siddha or Vilaiyaathu Siddhar.
Then we had Yuvarani create a Whatsapp group by adding her husband, only to remove him later and speak to Agathiyar.
Here is where we at AVM again differed from others as everyone was given the freedom to worship Agathiyar in whatever way they wanted, just like Tavayogi told me that the soul should be given the freedom to explore life and to express itself. There was no fear but only love towards him. AVM Agathiyar too traveled to their homes and spent some time with them and their families cementing the bond further. This would definitely not be allowed elsewhere or in temples.
Just like them, we must learn to drop the fear of God and instead begin to love him. We know about Radha's love for Lord Krishna. We know about Meera's love for him too. The saints of the past gave us many renderings and songs that expressed their divine love for God too. Bharathi saw God as Kannama and gave us many wonderful songs. Ramalinga Adigal expressed his love for God whom he saw as Arutperunjothi. Here are some beautiful love stories and songs between the devotee and God.