இன்னுமொரு பயணக் கட்டுரை - பகுதி 2

11.11.2015

முதல் நாள் இரவில் நெல்லை ஜங்ஷனில் ஒரு லாட்ஜில் அறை எடுத்துக்கொண்டோம். இரண்டாம் நாள் அதிகாலையில் குளித்து முடித்துவிட்டு நேராக திருச்செந்தூர் செல்வதற்கு புறப்பட்டோம்.  பாளையங்கோட்டையைத் தாண்டுவதற்குள் என்னுடைய மாருதி 800-ன் இடது பின்சக்கர டயர் பங்க்சர் ஆகி விட்டது. எனக்கோ டயர் மாற்றத் தெரியாது. முயற்சியும் செய்ததில்லை. அதிகாலை வேளை. டயர் பங்க்சர் பார்ப்பவர் யாரும் கண்ணில் படவில்லை. ஒரு ஆட்டோ, டாக்சி, வேன் டிரைவர்கூட தென்படவில்லை. அரை மணி நேரம் அங்கும் இங்குமாக அலைந்ததுதான் மிச்சம். அதிர்ஷ்டவசமாக ஒரு வேன் எங்கள் பாதையில் வந்து கொண்டிருந்தது. அதை நிறுத்தி அதன் டிரைவரை டயர் மாற்றித் தருமாறு கேட்டுக்கொண்டேன். நல்லவராகத் தெரிந்தார். முகம் சுளிக்காமல் ஐந்தே நிமிடத்தில் மாற்றிக்கொடுத்தார். நாலு வழிப்பாதை மேம்பாலம் தாண்டியவுடன் ஒரு கிலோமீட்டர் தூரத்தில் டயர் பங்க்சர் பார்க்கும் கடை இருப்பதாகக் கூறினார். அவருடைய சிரமத்துக்காக பணம் கொடுத்தபோது வாங்க மறுத்துவிட்டார். ரொம்பவும் கட்டாயப்படுத்திய பின்பு வாங்கிக்கொண்டார். பணம், பணம் என்று அலையும் இந்த உலகில் இன்னும் இப்படி சிலர் இருக்கிறார்கள் என்பது ஆச்சரியமாகத்தான் இருந்தது. காரை ஓட்டிச்சென்று முதல் வேலையாக டயர் பங்சர் சரி செய்துகொண்டோம்.

இரண்டு நாள் முன்புதான் என் மனைவி மதுரையிலிருந்து திரும்பி வரும்பொழுது உடன் பயணம் செய்த ஒரு பெண்மணி மூலமாக ஒரு முக்கியமான தகவலைத் தெரிந்துகொண்டிருந்தாள். அந்தப் பெண்மணி கடைய நல்லூரில் வசிக்கும் அகில இந்திய அபங் பஜன் புகழ் ஸ்ரீ துக்காராம் கணபதி மஹராஜ் அவர்களின் துணைவியார். பார்ப்பதற்கு மிகவும் எளிமையான தோற்றம் கொண்டவர்கள். ஸ்ரீ துக்காராம்ஜி அபங் பக்தி பாடல்களைப் பாடி உள் நாட்டிலும் வெளி நாட்டிலும் மக்களை மகிழ்வித்தவர். அவர்களுடைய குழுவிலிருந்து எல்லோரும் நடையாகச் சென்று ஐப்பசி மாதம் ஏகாதசி அன்று திருச்செந்தூர் செல்லும் வழியில் அமைந்திருக்கும் விட்டலாபுரம் பண்டரி நாதரின் கோவிலில் பஜனை செய்வார்களாம். விட்டலாபுரம் பண்டரிநாதன் கோவிலைப் பற்றி நாங்கள் தெரிந்திருக்கவில்லை.  எங்கள் கார் டயர் பங்க்சர் பார்த்துக்கொண்டிருந்த நேரம்தான் அந்தக் குழு நடையாக பண்டரிநாதனின் பெயரை பாடிக்கொண்டு நடையாகச் எங்களை கடந்து சென்று கொண்டிருந்தது. எனக்கும் அந்த பண்டரிநாதனின் கோவிலுக்கு போக வேண்டும் என்று தோன்றியது.

பாளையங்கோட்டையைத் தாண்டினால் முதலில் வருவது க்ருஷ்ணாபுரம். அங்கே 18-ஆம் நூற்றாண்டில் திருநெல்வேலி பகுதிகளை ஆண்டு வந்த குமரப்ப க்ருஷ்ணப்ப நாயக்கர்கள் காலத்தில் கட்டப்பட்ட பழமையான ஒரு வெங்கடாசலபதி கோவில் இருக்கிறது. திருவேங்கடநாதர் என்பது மூலவரின் பெயர். இந்தக் கோவில் சிற்பங்களுக்கு பெயர் பெற்றது. பல நுண்ணிய வேலைப்பாடுகளுடன் ஒரே கல்லில் செதுக்கப்பட்ட ஆளுயர சிலைகள் இங்கே பல உள்ளன. கர்ணன், பீமன், தர்மர், கரும்பு வில்லை தாங்கி நிற்கும் மன்மதன், ரதி தேவி, வீரபத்ரர் போன்றவர்களின் முழு உருவ சிலைகள் அர்த்த மண்டபத்தில் பிரம்மாண்டமாக காட்சியளிக்கின்றன. சிலைகளைப் பாதுகாக்கும் பொருட்டு சிலைகளைச் சுற்றி வேலி அமைக்கப்பட்டிருந்தது. இன்னொரு சிறிய சிலையில் யானைக்கும் பசுவுக்கும் ஒரே தலை. ஒரு பக்கத்திலிருந்து பார்த்தால் யானை, மறு பக்கத்திலிருந்து பசு போல் தோற்றமளிக்கிறது. புராதன கோவில் கட்டிட, சிற்பக் கலையில் ஆர்வமுள்ள எல்லோரும் பார்க்க வேண்டிய கோவில். தை மாதம் கும்பாபிஷேகம் செய்யப்போவதாகச் சொன்னார்கள். ஆனால், அதற்குள் வேலைகள் முடிந்துவிடும் போல் தோன்றவில்லை. கும்பாபிஷேகத்துக்காக மூலவரை திரை போட்டு மூடியிருந்தார்கள். அதனால் உற்சவரை மட்டுமே தரிசனம் பண்ண முடிந்தது. புகைப்படங்கள் எடுக்க அனுமதியில்லை என்பதால் என்னால் புகைப்படங்கள் எடுக்க முடியவில்லை. பல முறை திருச்செந்தூர் சென்று வரும் வழியில் இந்தக் கோவிலில் தரிசனம் செய்ய முயற்சித்திருக்கிறேன். ஒவ்வொரு முறையும் நான் போகும் நேரத்தில் இந்தக் கோவில் நடை அடைத்திருந்தது. சுமார் 55 ஆண்டுகள் முன்பு பள்ளியில் படிக்கும்பொழுது இந்தக் கோவிலுக்கு போய் வந்ததில் மிகவும் சமாதானம்.

கிருஷ்ணாபுரத்திலிருந்து கொஞ்ச தூரம் தள்ளி வருவது செய்துங்கநல்லூர். அங்கிருந்து பிரிந்து செல்லும் ஒரு கிராமப்புற சாலை வழியாக சுமார் 3 கிலோ மீட்டர் தூரம் உள்ளே போனால் வருவது விட்டலாபுரம். பண்டரி நாதர் கோவிலுக்கு மிக அருகே எங்கு பார்த்தாலும் ஆடுகள் கூட்டம் கூட்டமாக சாலையை மறித்து உட்கார்ந்து கொண்டிருந்தன. காரின் ஹார்ன் கொடுத்தும் பயனில்லை. காரை விட்டு வெளியே இறங்கி அவைகளை விரட்டிய பிறகுதான் மேலே போக முடிந்தது. பெரிதுமில்லை, சிறிதுமில்லை என்பது மாதிரி ஒரு அருமையான கோவில்.  சுமார் 500 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பு விஜயநகர சாம்ராஜ்யம் காலத்தில் கட்டப்பட்ட இந்த கோவில் தக்ஷிண பண்டரிபுரம் என்றழைக்கப்படுகிறது. ருக்மணி சத்யபாமா சமேத பாண்டுரங்கர் இங்கே காட்சியளிக்கிறார்.  விஜயநகர சாம்ராஜ்யத்தின் தளபதியான விட்டலராயர் திருவிதாங்கூர் பகுதிகளின் மீது படையெடுப்பதற்கு ஆயத்தம் செய்து கொண்டிருந்த சமயத்தில் பாண்டுரங்கர் அவரது கனவில் தோன்றியிருக்கிறார். பாண்டுரங்கரின் ஆணையின் படி செய்துங்கநல்லூருக்கு வந்து பொருணை நதிக் கரையில் (தாமிரபரணியின் இன்னொரு பெயர்) புதைக்கப்பட்டிருந்த பாண்டுரங்கரின் சிலையை கண்டெடுத்து நாட்டார்புரம் என்றழைக்கப்பட்ட ஊரில் (இன்று அதன் பெயர் விட்டலாபுரம்) அதை பரதிஷ்டை செய்தார் என்று இந்தக் கோவிலின் தலபுராணம் சொல்கிறது. விட்டலராயர் பின்பு தென்புறமாக கன்னியாக்குமரிக்கு அருகேயுள்ள சுசீந்திரம் நகரை வந்தடைந்திருக்கிறார். அங்கே திருவிதாங்கூர் மன்னருடன் போரின்றி ஒரு உடன்படிக்கை செய்துகொண்டு ஒப்பந்ததில் கிடைத்த எல்லா செல்வங்களையும் பாண்டுரங்கர் கோவிலின் பூஜைகளுக்காக ஒதுக்கிவிட்டு திரும்பிச் சென்று விட்டார். விட்டலாபுரம் கோவில் மிக அமைதியாக இருந்தது. சிறிய ஊர். கோவிலைச் சுற்றி வீடுகள். அமைதியான ஊர்.

விட்டலாபுரத்தில் பாண்டுரங்கனை தரிசித்துவிட்டு, நேராக திருச்செந்தூர் சென்றோம். திருச்செந்தூர் வளர்ந்துகொண்டே இருக்கிறது. கோவிலில் அன்று கூட்டமில்லாததால் நிம்மதியாக தரிசனம் செய்ய முடிந்தது. அன்று மாலைக்குள் பாப நாசம் செல்லவேண்டும் என்று திட்டமிட்டிருந்ததால் உடனேயே திரும்பி விட்டோம்.

மதியம் லாட்ஜில் சிறிது நேரம் ஓய்வெடுத்துக்கொண்டு, நெல்லையில் சில தின்பண்டங்களை வாங்கிக்கொண்டு பாபநாசம் கிளம்பும்பொழுது மாலை மணி 04.30. பேட்டையில் ஏதோ ஒரு பாலத்தை சரி செய்து கொண்டிருந்ததால் மாற்று வழியில் எல்லா வாகனங்களையும் திருப்பிக்கொண்டிருந்தார்கள். நாங்கள் அது தெரியாமல் ஏதோ சின்ன  சின்ன முடுக்குகள் வழியாக காரை எடுத்துச் சென்று ரொம்பவே சிரமப்பட்டுப் போனோம். பேட்டை தாண்டியும் பாதைகள் பல இடத்தில் குண்டும் குழியுமாக இருந்தது. எங்கேயும் வேகம் எடுக்க முடியவில்லை. கொஞ்சம் பாத சரியாக இருக்கிறதே என்று நினைத்து வேகம் எடுத்தால் எதிர்பாராமல் ஒரு பெரிய பள்ளமோ அல்லது ஒரு  வேகத்தடையோ எதிர்படும். மிகக் கவனமாக ஓட்டிச்செல்ல வேண்டியிருந்தது.

பாபநாசம் அருகே இன்னொரு பாலம் சரிசெய்துகொண்டிருக்கிறார்களாம். அதனால், அம்பாசமுத்திரத்திலிருந்து ஆம்பூர் பாதை வழியாகப் போகவேண்டும் என்று போர்டு வைத்திருந்தார்கள். சுற்று வழி. பாதையோ மிக மோசம். எப்பொழுது வேண்டுமானாலும் மழை பெய்யலாம்போல் இருந்தது. பாபநாசம் சென்றடைந்தபோது மணி 6.00. மழையும் பிடித்துக்கொண்டது. கோவிலில் எங்கள் பிரார்த்தனையை முடித்துக்கொண்டு கிளம்பும்பொழுது மழை பலமாகவே பெய்யத் தொடங்கியது. பல  இடங்களில் மின்சாரம் இல்லை. எங்கும் இருட்டு. ஆண்டவனைப் வேண்டிக்கொண்டு கிளம்பிவிட்டோம்.  வழியில் ஒரு சில இடங்களில் சிறிய பாலங்கள் உடைந்திருப்பதற்கான அறிகுறிகள் தென்பட்டன. எதைப் பற்றியும் யோசிக்காமல் வேகமாக பாபநாசத்திலிருந்து ஆம்பூர் வரை வண்டியை ஓட்டிக்கொண்டு வந்து விட்டேன். ஆம்பூர் வந்த பிறகுதான் மூச்சு வந்தது.

இரவு நேரத்தில் இப்பொழுதெல்லாம் வண்டி ஓட்டுவது மிகச் சிரமமாக இருக்கிறது. எதிரே வரும் மோட்டர்சைக்கிள், லாரி, கார் யாரும் ‘டிப்பரை’ பயன்படுத்துவதில்லை. கண்ணைக் கூச வைக்கும் வெளிச்சம். இடதுபுறமாக ரொம்ப ரிஸ்க் எடுத்துத்தான் ஓட்டவேண்டியிருக்கிறது.

மீண்டும் சொல்லத் தோன்றுகிறது. தமிழ்நாட்டில் எந்த பாதை போட்டாலும் ஒரு மழைக்கு மட்டும் தாங்கும்படியாகத்தான் பாதை போடுகிறார்கள். வாகனங்களை ஓட்டிசெல்பவர்களுக்கோ அல்லது பயணிகளுக்கோ எந்த வசதியும் அரசாங்கம் செய்துகொடுப்பதில்லை. அல்லது அப்படி செய்துகொடுக்கும் ஒன்றிரண்டு இடங்களையும் மக்கள் சரியாகப் பயன்படுத்துவதில்லை. அதிகாரிகளே வெறுத்துப்போய் பராமரிப்பதில் ஒரு பலனுமில்லை என்று விட்டுவிடுகிறார்கள். இந்தக் கதை பல்லாண்டுகளாக தமிழகத்தில் தொடர்ந்துகொண்டிருக்கிறது. என்ன சொல்ல?                                             ….. நிறைவு

Episode 2/Chapter 17: What, If our Dreams Come True! An Uncommon Meeting With Lord Siva

Chapter 17

One night, we all huddled into the temple and burnt the midnight oil. Our strategy was drawn and we all committed ourselves to the cause of constructing the dam. We were growing confident by our swelling kitty and the continuous flow of money for the project. Now, money seemed to be the lesser of our concerns. The world was full of noble-minded people, willing to support genuine causes.

In the next several days, one could regularly see labor colonies springing up near three dam sites we identified. Yes, we decided to construct not just one big dam, but three smaller check dams across Tamirabarani, which would hold water in good days and also provide water for agriculture. We were convinced that check dams would meet the requirement of the region better than big dams. Flash floods would become a thing of the past, we were repeatedly assured by Mr. Krishnamoorthy. He had had his engineering degree at a prestigious university from England and had worked both in England and in India, for the British. He was one of our important brains and he was actively involved in planning for the dam. Lakshmana Iyer was the one to initially contact Mr. Krishnamoorthy through one of his students who was distantly related to him. Nearly three thousand laborers moved into these colonies located at different places up the hill. Forest clearances could not be avoided, but we kept it to the minimum so that some of the wild animals for whom the hills were the regular habitats were not disturbed.

Everything went on silently. One day, the Government woke up and was surprised at the massive accumulation of labor at the dam sites. They came down heavily and slapped a notice on us that we were indulging in unlawful occupation of government owned land and that we should vacate within a week. We were equally adamant in not vacating the place until the construction work for the dam started. We came to know later on that a few politicians who were very jealous of Devendran and his growing popularity were at work, determined to scuttle our dam project.

A week later, a strong police force landed in all the sites and they issued an ultimatum for vacating the place. At the same time, a negotiating team from the government too landed at our place, to avert any serious confrontation, especially when such a massive build up of the labor force had taken place at the dam sites. We decided to make a tactical retreat. We felt we had made the first impact. We woke up the government. We vacated the camps near the dam sites and some in the government thought we had buckled under the pressure.

But we decided to surprise them the next day. Five thousand workers and their families were assembled in front of the office of the District Collector in Tirunelveli and went on a mass hunger strike. We declared to fast unto death. It was a massive show of solidarity. A popular daily newspaper covered our Movement very widely and news flashed all over Tamilnadu the very next day. The Collector of Tirunelveli was in a fix. Our protest was ‘satvik’, peaceful and silent. There were reports and comments for and against the project as well as our pressure tactics to force the government to our way of thinking. A section of public thought anarchy would reign in if everyone resorted to such tactics to force the government to take decisions and that there would be no government at all. Many others commented that it was a people’s project and they had every right to have a say in this project. But soon our project and our struggle caught nationwide attention and the government started feeling the heat. They were frantic to find an end to the problem, but without giving up their conditions on a number of issues.

 

Devendran shuttled between the higher-ups in the government and our management team. He was caught in a dilemma and he used all his might in convincing both about the need to have a compromise. Our fast entered the eighth day without much progress. Many frail participants were forcibly removed to hospitals as they fell terribly ill and there was a fear of contagion and infection among the remaining.

I was becoming restless, as summer heat started scorching everyone, adding to our woes.

“Oh, Lord Siva, you brought me here. What are you doing now?” I cried out, one night, in silence.

His answer came in the next twenty-four hours.

*****

The very next day, the Sun disappeared in the early morning in the sky covered completely by gray clouds. It was mid-May during what is known as ‘Agni Nakshatram’ period (In Sanskrit, Agni is fire and Nakshatram means a star). It is usually unbearably hot for about three weeks every year during this time, as summer peaks out in South India. But that day, the Sun decided to play hide and seek and as the day progressed, reports started flowing in about heavy cloud formations in Southern Tamil Nadu over the Western Ghats and specifically those areas around Podhigai hills. By the early evening, it started drizzling in scattered areas over the hills and by the early night, it turned into rain. Then it continued into whole night and became torrential, before the next morning. River Tamirabarani swelled and breached almost every bank on the way.

When it rained, a few smaller rivers that were tributaries to Tamirabarani in the upstream flowed down the slopes with tremendous force, carrying with it heavy soil and rocks, uprooting trees and plants on the way. When they joined the mainstream of Tamirabarani, they inundated lands, fields, gardens, villages and towns. There were flash floods in the entire Tirunelveli district. Not many check dams were there on its path and even the few existing ones were poorly maintained.

The government was in shock, caught unaware and completely unprepared to meet the devastations. Several thousand acres of paddy fields went under water and the crops were damaged, several huts and houses were washed away along the banks of the river, cattle and birds reportedly floated along the river. For the first time, water entered several towns even. The people were panicky and feared a repeat of earlier calamities.

The only miracle was if that was any solace, no human loss was reported anywhere. It was unbelievable but was true. It appeared Lord Siva decided to spare humans this time.

The District Collector of Tirunelveli came to us, with folded hands and requested us to withdraw the hunger strike that we were determined to continue despite the flood situation. He promised action in the next few days. Realization dawned at least at his level about the urgent need to have smaller dams - as many as possible – to effectively divert flood water through a number of channels. He exhorted us to support the administration’s flood relief efforts.

There was a sudden upheaval all over the country, about the lackadaisical attitude and the approach of the government towards public woes. The government was under tremendous pressure. The Central Government decided to intervene and called all parties for urgent consultation.

We decided to temporarily withdraw our agitation, to afford the government a chance to calmly think and come to a fast conclusion. Surprisingly, the Government decided to give in to our demands.

Some of the important conclusions arrived at were:

Firstly, there would be three check dams as proposed by us.

Secondly, there would be a Citizen Committee who would oversee the implementation of the dam project. 

This committee would be headed by Krishnamoorthy and include local citizen recommended by us.

Thirdly, the committee would have substantial powers over the finances for the project.

Fourthly, on our suggestion, a special independent audit team of professionals and a few prominent local citizen would conduct a financial and social audit during the entire period of implementation of the project.

Fifthly, for the first time since the World War II, a technical team consisting of both English and Russian engineers would work together to implement a project. They would combine the older technologies of ancient Southern India along with the modern technology.

Finally and most importantly, the government would bridge any gap in financial arrangements, if there were any.

We couldn’t ask for more. Work on the project started in all earnestness in the next three months. Details were sorted out. The committed labor force moved back to the project site. Old and new technologies melded together and over the next about three years, stone by stone, brick by brick and inch by inch, the check dams emerged at three places over the upper regions of Tamirabarani.

The families and children of the labor force too moved into the site. For the first time, a self-contained society came up there, where everyone supported everyone else mutually. Schools for the children, hospital, post office, banks, playgrounds, gardens, transport, markets and every other facility sprang up around the project sites. This was a tremendous achievement for the people.

On the day the three dams finally got inaugurated by Devendran, I walked alone, all the way to Papanasam, to pay my gratitude to Lord Siva, for the first time in all my seven years of stay in this region. I knew people were searching for me for the inaugural function. But here I was, alone with the Lord at Papanasam. He sat inside the magnificent temple on the banks of Tamirabarani down the slope. I went down the twenty and odd steep steps to the river and stood in the water. As the cool water washed my feet, a large swamp of green colored fishes surrounded my feet. I remembered to bring a bag full of ‘rice pori’ for them. As more fishes joined, I sat on a small rock nearby, listening to the tantalizing music coming from the gushing water, tearing down on its way the small and big rocks.

‘Don’t thank me. Thank Lord Siva for sparing you and your species in the process of building dams across the river?’ I seemed to be telling the fishes.

I happily fed those fishes with more and more of ‘Rice Pori’. A sudden flash of memory reminded me about the visions I had in the dark cave at Courtallam and it struck me that those visions were, in fact showing me the things that lay ahead for me. And I lost myself, sitting on the small rock surrounded by gushing river water.

*****

Episode 2/Chapter 15: What, If Our Dreams Come True!

Chapter 15

I was returning from Manimutharu, a small hilly village, after my yet another failed attempt to get in touch with Jhia.

A small crowd had gathered in front of Ambal Cafe, a nondescript restaurant functioning in a small hut, just at the foot of the hills. Seeing the crowd in front of the restaurant, I went nearby. An English man was surrounded by people. He was eating, standing outside the restaurant and trying to get some direction to some place. People looked on curiously when he struggled to eat the spicy food, water flowing down his eyes and nose. He spoke English and no one in the crowd seemed to understand. He waved his hands and gesticulated a lot, as he tried to communicate with people.

I squeezed myself in the crowd and approached the Englishman.

“Is there a problem?” Mine was hardly any English, but the Englishman seemed to be greatly relieved.

“The food here is very spicy. Besides, I was asking for some directions.” The Englishman told me.

“Where do you want to go, Sir?”

Seeing me talking to the stranger in English, the crowd became more silent and slowly dispersed, except for a few who still watched our conversation keenly.

“My name is William Artherton. You may address me as Will. Not Mr. Will, not Mr. William, not William, definitely, not ‘Sir’. Just call me Will. Do you get me?”

I nodded in agreement.

“I just arrived from England a few days back. Do you know Yorkshire?....... I live there. I took a train from Madras to Tirunelveli, changed over to a bus that dropped me at Ambasamudram. I took another bus to Manimutharu. I wanted to go up the hills, but there is no transport.”

“Is there anyone you want to meet specifically?”

“No one particularly! My father had owned some tea estates in these hills, I understand.”

I managed to convince the restaurant owner to prepare some food, especially for him, with little or no spice, and our conversation continued in the meantime, as we waited for the food.

Henry, his father had come to India to work for an English Lord who was part of the administration during the British rule. The English Lord had managed to arrogate to himself large parcels of land up the hills near Ambasamudram, by usurping them from many innocent villagers and developed beautiful tea gardens. However, he was seriously hurt during a hunting expedition in the hills and died while being treated in a hospital. Before his death, he gave away all his properties to Henry for no consideration as a reward for his loyalty and honesty. Henry stayed in those estates till a few years after India was declared Independent and left for his country. Shortly thereafter, he fell seriously ill and died, leaving very little information about the tea estates. William, his son, had now come to India to take control of the estates and explore whether he could sell them and realize money.

 

“Now you know why I am here. I don’t really know how I should go about, for selling our land,” he confessed.

William was barely in his mid-twenties and appeared innocent.

“Will, I have heard about these places where the tea estates are located. If you so wish, I can go with you to locate those tea estates.”

“It would be a great help. I am really pleased and relieved. I never asked you your name.”

I told him my name. We were nearly the same age and we developed a liking for each other instantly. Besides, he was only too happy to use me for my language skills, though my own knowledge about the places was elementary.

So, I became his local representative and we together managed to identify the tea estate that belonged to his father. He had some documents that were not complete, to establish his ownership of the land and the estate. The situation was very delicate and there were people everywhere, who were ready to cheat.

While we were making several trips between the hills and the plains, we chanced upon Jhia one day. At Manimutharu, up the hills, there was a beautiful waterfall - not much crowded - and we took a bath there. It was a warm day and William enjoyed the cool waters. All of a sudden, we heard someone shouting for help. Someone had slipped into the water in front of the waterfalls and the place was feared to be almost a hundred feet deep. While William and I looked on helplessly, like many others, we suddenly heard the sound of someone jumping and diving into the deep waters. That someone was a young girl and she fearlessly went under the waters, caught hold of the long hair of the drowning lady, pulled her out of the water with all her might, slowly lifted her and placed her on the flat rocky stones on the other side. Everyone immediately rushed to offer further help and this young girl silently walked away while no one seemed to be noticing.

Could it be Jhia? It just struck me and I went after her.

I found Jhia and quickly I introduced myself. She was very reluctant to speak, but finally gave in. I heard from her own mouth, her story about the flash floods in which she lost everyone in her family. While she took the loss dispassionately, she virtually lost all interest in life and she had been wandering around. She had grown up now and more mature. We managed to persuade her to come with us.

In between, I also met a number of other victims of the flash floods in the hills and every story was equally horrific. But, Easwaran was the only one to repeatedly pray to his Mother to send someone who would build a dam across the rivers to prevent future floods.

*****

One day, a young political leader Devendran from near Madurai visited Ambasamudram area. He was credited to be a dynamic and compassionate leader without any formal education, but predicted to be a powerful future leader.

Rathnam, the former jamindar, his village chief Pazhani, Easwaran, the former priest at the temple, Sudalai, the cremation ground in-charge, Lakshmana Iyer, Ambalam, at Ambasamudram temple and I had all become quite close to each other in our last few months of association. We decided to meet Devendran and put forth our request to press the government to build dams across the wild rivers up the hills in Tamirabarani region.

William joined our team, out of curiosity and accompanied us for our meeting with Devendran. We had to wait for long hours, as many other important people from the town were all there to meet him for various other reasons. When we finally met him, Devendran had already been very tired and he promised to meet us when he visited the place next time. We all came out of the meeting very disappointed.

In between, William’s efforts to find buyers for the tea estate got stuck with documents. Those who were willing to buy the estate were quoting rock-bottom prices, knowing that William didn’t possess all the ownership papers. William was getting frustrated.

Jhia turned out to be a quick learner and Lakshmana Iyer trained her very well in a number of Gurukulam activities. She also learnt cooking and helped the kitchen in Gurukulam. Easwaran was slowly getting out of his melancholy, thanks to the very powerful and persuasive discourse on ‘karma’ by Lakshmana Iyer. Easwaran was also quickly rehabilitated in the temple as the chief priest. The local villagers were very pleased to have him back in the temple. Lakshmana Iyer helped Rathnam too, by bringing him in touch with ground reality and convinced him that it was possible for him to rise again like a phoenix bird. Rathnam proceeded legally against Shailesh Babu, the money lender for cheating him with high interest rates and for forcing him to part with his assets at incredibly low prices and he was busy with court cases, though he had very little hope that he would get back any of his assets.

William became a very good friend of everyone and he began learning Tamil, while everyone else picked up a lot of English from him.

Though I was the youngest, they looked to me as the group leader and I seemed to have earned their complete trust. They all consulted me in all sundry matters and I in turn, got help from Lord Siva who acted as my inner voice. I seemed to be getting spontaneous solutions to problems and we were all enjoying each other’s company and mutual help.

Something was telling me that our group had come together to achieve a great feat.

*****

After a few months, one fine morning, I was summoned by Devendran to Madurai. William, who completely identified himself with our group, wanted to join me in my trip to Madurai. We huddled in a meeting, trying to guess the purpose of the call from Devendran.

‘Did he get approval from the government to build dams in our place?’ The question was uppermost in everybody’s mind.

With much speculation, all of us went to Madurai, though it was agreed that only I will go if it came to a private meeting with Devendran and that others would be available for any consultation, if needed.

When I entered the small room where Devendran stayed in one of his political associate’s residences, he asked me, ‘Where is your Englishman friend?’ So, William too joined the meeting. Devendran talked at length about the British imperialism and the kind of oppressions Indians had when they were ruled by the British. I acted as an interpreter between Devendran and William.

‘Do you feel offended by my remarks on British ruling our country?’ asked Devendran. William remained silent, trying to decide his response.

‘Luckily, it was the British who ruled India. They were still humane and compassionate, being a democratic country themselves. Had it been the Nazis of Germany or the Communists of Russia, we might have never seen freedom,’ continued Devendran in a pacifying tone.

I was becoming restless at the way our conversation went on, unrelated to the purpose of our visit.

Finally turning to me, Devendran said, ‘Sorry, I haven’t touched upon the purpose of calling you here and I had digressed to other emotional topics ……. Last time, when you met me, you people wanted the government to build dams across some of the tributaries of Tamirabaraani. I had been pursuing this agenda with the government for quite some time. I learn that the government in all earnestness wants to do this. But their hands are full with several developmental projects, industrialization, developing core sector heavy industries in the public sector, generation of electricity, public distribution of essential foods, poverty alleviation and a host of other items. Our Prime Minister Nehruji is working day and night over these projects. But the problem is, they are strapped for want of money all the time. You see, after our Independence from the British, our Republic identified a number of priority areas and every one of them need urgent attention. The government’s kitty is quite small and it is a question of allocating available money to various projects. I couldn’t convince the government about the urgency of the need for dams in your area. I am so sorry!’

We were devastated by his reply. All our hopes were razed to the ground. William and I rose to leave, having nothing else to do with him.

Devendran too rose from his chair, put his arm around my shoulder and said, ‘I know, you are very disappointed. But don’t lose hope. Things keep changing with the government and even priorities change. Stay in touch with me. I am not the one to easily overlook people’s problem and when the time is more appropriate, I would remind the government again.’

When we were about to leave, William abruptly asked me to convey something to Devendran.

“So, money and finances are the most important issues, am I right?”

Devendran nodded his head.

“If money is available, will the government still hesitate to provide support to the project?”

“They may not!”

“Can you organize with someone to buy my estate for a decent price? I will give away all the money to the dam project. The government will then have to worry less, for the balance needed for construction of the dam.”

Stunned, I blinked for a moment. With great hesitation, I found my words and told Devendran what William wanted me to convey.

Without waiting for an answer, we left the room. Our comrades were anxiously looking at our face.

*****

Episode 2/Chapter 12: What, If Our Dreams Come True!

The Story so far…..

Armed with the extraordinary power of the blessings he received from the mysterious sadhu at Courtallam, not knowing what exactly lay ahead, Poornam walks all the way to Ambasamudram, on his way to Papanasam. There, in the Siva temple, on the banks of Tamirabarani, he encounters another sadhu-like mendicant. Developing a conversation with him, Poornam hears about the colossal damage that had happened in Ambasamudram region due to the flash floods in the upper regions of the river. Ambalam, the mendicant narrates a few stories of people who suffered due to the floods.

What follows is the narration of the series of stories of people who suffered in the floods…… Having heard the first story of pathetic zamindar Ratnam and the second story of the gypsy girl Jhia, the narrator is now ready to listen to the third story in the series.

Chapter 12: The Story of the temple poojari

“Are you okay, ‘thambi’?” Ambalam enquired with concern.

“I am deeply moved by the story of this little gypsy girl. I am at loss of words to express my feelings,” I replied unable to control my choking voice.

“Your looked really frightened. Your eyes were fixed and frozen.”

“Actually, as you were narrating the story, I was visualizing every bit of it. I felt transported in time and it looked as though I was myself experiencing the flood.”

Not able to muster more words, I stayed quiet for some time and then asked Ambalam, 

“Do you know where this girl can be found?”

“I hear that she is not doing the street shows anymore nowadays. She is a nomad and never in one place. Shall I continue the rest of the stories or you feel tired?”

“Please do continue. I am all ears for them. I am already getting a hunch feeling that my life is going to be tied with some of these people.”

“Then let me tell you the story of Easwaran, the poojari.” 

Easwaran was a pious ‘poojari’ (priest) in the temple in a nearby village. He was a disciplined worker and he followed a rigorous routine. He opened the temple very early in the morning. He would bring water from the nearby well. The well was open and deep. He had to draw water standing on the edge of a stone bridge that was placed across the well. There were sharp stones and rocks at the bottom of the well. In the twilight of the morning, standing precariously over the bridge, he would use a brass pot tied to a strong rope to draw water from the well and he would carry it on his shoulders to the temple. He would have to make several rounds to fill the big brass vessel with water so that he could start performing ‘Abhishek’ (holy bath) for the deity. In between, he would run to the ‘nandavanam’ (a garden) that was located just outside the temple corridors, to pluck flowers for decorating and garlanding the deity and also perform ‘archana’(a ritual offering of flowers to God). On most days, his wife Meenakshi would join him in the temple. She would bring ‘prasad’ (food offering to God) prepared at home for the deity, to be offered after the ‘poojas’ were over. She would also help in making flower garlands for the deity. Even as the morning ‘poojas’ got over, he would have to attend to devotees who came to the temple for worshipping. Then he would have to prepare for the mid-morning ‘pooja’, after which the temple would be closed till five in the evening. He would carry home the small food that was left over after distribution to devotees. Evenings were usually more crowded at the temple and he would be busy till around nine in the night, when the temple was closed for the day.

Easwaran was strict about adhering to sanctity, traditions and ‘Vedic’ disciplines. He would not allow outsiders inside the sanctum Sanctorum. Fearing sanctity could be lost, he would neither physically touch others nor allow others to touch him. The village people respected him a lot for his devotion and sincerity.  He had a melodious voice and rendered several devotional hymns like ‘Thevaram’ or ‘Thiruvasagam’ or ‘Abhirami Andhathi’ with great dedication and involvement, that tears would roll down his eyes when he sang them. On normal days the temple had very few visitors, but on special days hundreds of people from nearby villages thronged to the temple. The temple somehow managed to survive from the meager contributions from the villagers. But Easwaran never complained about finances and he attended to his temple duties without ever raising a voice.

Though he was now married for the last two decades, he was blessed with a baby girl only last year. The little girl was very cute, fair and looked very pretty. His wife would bring the child to the temple everyday and the little baby grew up listening to the various hymns and chants that went on in the temple. Easwaran believed she was a divine child.

That day, Easwaran was very sick running high temperature. Ignoring the advice from his wife, he took a bath in cold water as usual and went to the temple. There was no substitute for him and he had to perform the rituals in the temple as usual, alone. Meenakshi quickly finished her ‘prasad’ preparation and rushed to the temple to help Easwaran. Struggling and trembling, Easwaran managed to bring water from the well once, but more water was required for ‘abhishek’. He couldn’t walk another foot and sat down near the deity breathing heavily. He looked at the idol of the Lord and prayed to Her to send some help. Meenakshi offered to bring water from the well, but Easwaran refused. It required great expertise to stand delicately on the stone bridge, drop the pot tied to the rope into the deep well, deftly swing the pot to fill it with water and then pull the rope. A small mistake, one could find oneself falling into the deep well and at that wee hour, not a soul would be available for help. Somehow the village never provided a proper pulley system to draw water from the well.

Time was running out and there were no visitors at the temple. The early morning ‘poojas’ had to be performed in time without delay. Easwaran tried to get up and go for drawing water from the well, again. But he felt very weak and couldn’t move. His head spun and everything blackened out for some time. Without waiting for his permission, Meenakshi went to the well. Her first attempt was very successful. She brought water and filled the brass vessel. Easwaran looked on with consternation and signaled caution to her. She had gone ahead more confidently this time and her second attempt also succeeded with ease. Easwaran relaxed for some time and closed his eyes. Meenakshi went again to bring water and didn’t return. Meanwhile, Easwaran had lost all sense of time and his baby girl was quietly sleeping in one corner, undisturbed.

Sadasivam, a ‘pandaram’ (someone who lives on alms given by devotees of the temple) was the first to realize that something was amiss. He had come to the temple, as was his routine, to pray and seek alms from temple devotees. It was the crying of a young child that caught his attention first and he rushed in. He used to spend a few minutes with this baby almost every day after his prayers. But, today, the baby was all wet and crying, but had no one to care for. He ran to her and lifted the baby. He didn’t know what happened and what he needed to do. He saw Easwaran lying unconsciously inside the sanctum sanctorum, near the deity. He didn’t dare getting inside the sanctum Sanctorum for fear of spoiling the sanctity of the place. He rushed outside and after several minutes brought a couple of people. Easwaran was lifted and brought out of the sanctum Sanctorum. With high temperature, his body felt like a hot plate. Someone ran to bring the local ‘vaidhyar’ (doctor). But, those days, even an emergency situation moved like a slow motion movie.

When Easwaran regained senses, he first turned his head here and there looking for Meenakshi. Words failed to come out of him and he struggled to finally question about the whereabouts of Meenakshi. Immediately someone dashed to his house and not finding Meenakshi there, rushed back. Easwaran was confused and he fumbled for words. He couldn’t connect things clearly and completely. Finally, he managed to signal to the people to look for Meenakshi near the well.

There alas! Meenakshi was floating in the well water. Pandemonium broke out and the whole village quickly assembled in the temple. Rescue teams were constituted and Meenakshi’s body was recovered from the well. Everyone was scared of informing Easwaran, but they had to tell him the bad news. Easwaran broke down completely when he heard the news. He shouted aloud, ‘Amma…….’ and he collapsed.

*****

Nearly a month passed by since Easwaran lost his wife to the well. He was devastated and stayed in a state of shock. Some temporary arrangements were made by the local people to take care of the temple routines, as Easwaran was in no state to manage it. He wore a blank look all the time, completely disconnected and was in a state of depression. Villagers took care of him and his baby very well.

Easwaran believed so much in destiny. Destiny is a convenient explanation for many unpleasant things in life and is a kind of acceptance of the inevitable. He soon recouped himself. He began to accept the loss of his dear wife, as an ill-fate. The baby was a daunting responsibility. One of his very distant cousins offered to take care of the baby. They took the baby to their distant village, with a promise to bring the baby back every now and then.

‘Kodai’ festival (The annual summer ‘poojas’) at the temple was approaching. The village and its surroundings depended on agriculture so much for their daily living and agriculture depended on rains. Without the rains, there was no water for the crops. A number of sacred rituals associated with the festival would have to be performed with meticulous care, to appease the Mother deity so that She showered plenty of rain.  

One day, he was back in action at the temple as usual and people were happy. He knew the procedures for the annual temple festival thoroughly and the villagers were relieved to know that they wouldn’t miss their annual festival that year.

He started organizing things for the preliminary poojas required before the actual ‘Kodai’ festival began. He prayed intensely to Mother to bless the village and the people with plenty of rain. He was pleasantly surprised, when the very same day, the sky turned dark and it rained heavily at midnight. Next day, he profusely thanked Mother for her kindness. Little did he realize that it had rained torrentially up the stream in Tamirabarani.

*****

‘Poojas’ in the temple began in all earnest, on the day fixed for the summer festival. Easwaran and many others didn’t sleep the previous night. There were endless formalities around the ‘Poojas’ that needed to be taken care of meticulously. Many elders and youngsters were at the temple helping him on a variety of errands and he looked completely at balance and command. He never looked like the one who had lost his wife in a terrible accident only a month back. It appeared the whole accident and trauma of the experience was pushed behind in his mind, as though it never happened.

People started arriving at the temple from very early in the morning. Hundreds of people registered themselves for offering ‘bali’ (animal sacrifice) at the altar of the temple and formed long queue. Offering ‘bali’ was a very important and sacred ritual to many. ‘Mother’ was always pleased with ‘bali’, people strongly believed. Easwaran had to offer sanctified holy water for all those animals, and perform mini ‘poojas’ for every animal before they were offered as sacrifice. He had also to take care of the big crowd of devotees, waiting in front of the main sanctum Sanctorum, to offer flowers and take blessings from the Mother. He was moving like a dart, appearing in one place, disappearing suddenly and reappearing at another place. Though he arranged for some assistance, people insisted that he alone performed the ‘pooja’ for them. They believed that when Easwaran performed the pooja, Mother answered immediately.

Sun was slowly rising in the sky and the people began to feel the heat and humidity. The temple was overcrowded and there was not an inch of space to stand anywhere. Long queues waited outside, to enter the temple, while another long queue waited patiently for their animal sacrifice. The whole place looked chaotic, but when someone observed closely, there was complete order even in chaos.

And, suddenly it started raining and soon it became a heavy downpour. Initially, the crowd was happy with the rain and everyone thanked the ‘Mother’. When it rained non-stop and the rain water stagnated in the temple surroundings, the crowd again rejoiced. The rain eventually stopped after some time, but the temple appeared to be floating in water. Almost everyone was wading through water here and there. Small children were the ones to enjoy playing in the stagnant muddy water.

Little did they all realize that they were about to face one of the worst calamities of their life in the next few moments.

*****

Sudalai had been awake for the whole night.  His job was not an easy one. He had the most unpleasant task of ensuring that the bodies of those departed souls fed to the flames were fully burnt and turned to ashes. Yes, he was in charge of the cremation ground in another nearby village. He performed his job with great satisfaction and lived happily with the small money he received from the families of those deceased. He had a difficult job to do. But he was a philosophical man. ‘The world needed people like me to make room for new entrants too.’

Sudalai was also a pious person. He was a regular visitor to the temple where Easwaran performed poojas. But he would never enter the temple. There was a stigma attached to the community in which he was born and to the job he performed. Though, by the laws of the land, un-touchability and the social taboos were banned and largely removed for the oppressed communities, Sudalai was always extra careful. He never wished the sanctity of the temple to be spoiled by his entry into the temple and he was scared of inviting the wrath of the Mother. He never complained and was quite contended with worshipping the Mother from outside. The ‘Mother’ had kept him very happy in his life. ‘What did it matter, whether he entered the temple or not?’ he thought.

Easwarn knew the exact time when Sudalai would visit the temple every day and he would come all the way to the outside of the temple, to give him the temple ‘prasad’, though on his own, Easwaran never invited Sudalai inside the temple. Easwaran greatly appreciated and admired Sudalai’s piety.

To make matters worse for Sudalai that day, there were two deaths the previous day and both families insisted upon cremation before sunset. Sudalai was late today, as he had to sit a whole night with the burning bodies in the cremation ground to ensure that they were fully burnt. The two bodies that were cremated the previous night seemed to be solid rocks and they took their own time to burn. Everything got finished that early morning only. He cleaned up the place and returned home in a hurry. He was already late to the temple. Today was a special day at the temple and he had to hurry. Though most days he would go to the river to have his bath, today, he had no time. He quickly finished his bath at home. When he stepped out of his house located at an elevation on the outskirts of the village, he noticed something unusual.

There, before his eyes, a few small huts in the far horizon on the slopes were floating in water. That could only mean one thing. The river Tamirabarani was in spate and must have breached somewhere. This was happening for the second time in his lifetime, the last it happened was almost a decade back and he was still haunted by those memories.

He became numb and motionless for some time, with what he saw. It took some time for him to return to normalcy and grasp the gravity of the situation. He immediately ran, doubled up and headed towards the temple.

*****

There was hardly any place to stand even, inside the temple. The public did not appear to be initially bothered about the crowding. Women took more time in front of the deity and men shouted from behind. Many became restless and started pushing others. A few fell down and others stamped over them. Soon it became a stampede, chaos and commotion inside the temple.

Easwaran was outside the temple and watched the situation helplessly. That was when he heard the terrible sound from the far corner of the temple wall. He quickly waded through the water and saw a huge trunk of a tree floating in water, moving swiftly and hitting the temple wall repeatedly. He also saw that the water was no more stagnant, but had gained flow, as more water gushed from behind the temple. The tree floated swiftly to the front, where many children were playing in the water and before Easwaran could do anything, it hit them with force. Some children gasped, some cried, some shouted and the younger and weaker ones were pushed under water and carried away. Before anyone could notice, a few small kids were already floating in the water and the floating tree was pushing them further and further with force. Many people quickly rushed to save the children, while others tried to hold the tree from moving further.

Suddenly, there was another big gush of water from behind the temple and water entered the temple from outside. Everyone was terrified and started running to get out of the temple causing more stampede.

*****

Sudalai ran at breakneck speed. He had a good physique and was used to the terrain. But to reach the temple, he had to cross a small canal. A cut ‘palmira’ tree placed across the stream was the makeshift bridge. But the bridge was missing today, when he reached there. The canal was brimming with water, that was flowing down with force. Sudalai didn’t hesitate; he jumped into the neck deep water. The water current pulled him, but he managed to reach the other side and continued his run.

When he reached the temple, the situation there was something he would never like to witness in his life. He was quite strong mentally and in his profession, never scared of dead bodies. He handled them as inanimate objects as such, but he always prayed for the dead soul. But today, his stomach churned, seeing so many floating along the river.

The temple was in the middle of a valley, sloping down and as Sudalai galloped down the slope, he trembled and his stomach churned again. He saw the trunk of the big tree moving swiftly down the river and pushing the kids, animals and birds along with it. For a moment, he tried to count the kids. For a strong man like Sudalai, he felt dizzy for the first time.

He saw Easwaran and many others struggling to reach the log and prevent it from floating down. He too rushed. Seeing Sudalai, Easwaran felt relieved. Together, they all managed to hold the log from pushing the kids. But, several of them had already drowned in water and were seen moving away down the stream. A few more rushed to help.

They managed to hold a few kids, lifted them in their arms and shoulders and carried them away on a high platform, built in another corner, in front of the temple, where a tall and colorfully painted mud statue of the Standing ‘Ayyanar’ stood looking ferocious, holding a huge sword in his hands. The rescue process was slow, but they made progress. The rescued children shivered and teetered in fear. Sudalai’s contribution to the rescue mission was significant.

Easwaran suddenly extended his hand to Sudalai and held his as a show of solidarity. He didn’t feel bad about it now. Whatever he thought, he then suddenly hugged Sudalai emotionally and then holding his hand, led him into the temple.

That was a great moment for Sudalai in his life. Even in the midst of chaos, he felt liberated, as he just stepped inside the temple.

Did the ‘Mother’ bring in this chaos so that he could enter the temple? He was puzzled.

As they entered the temple, they couldn’t help walking over a few who had fallen on the ground due to stampede. People were still moving in and out, searching for their near and dears, crying and shouting. Releasing his hands from Easwaran, Sudalai turned his attention to rescuing people who were strapped inside the temple. He shouted out to others for help. His authoritative voice had its effect and some semblance of order returned. More people had now focused on clearing the pathway inside the temple. A few more bodies were removed from inside the temple.

Easwaran somehow managed to clear through to the Sanctorum and there, the Mother stood in waist deep water, with her right hand signaling refuge to those who surrendered to her. She was shining in her new ornamentations and decorations. Easwaran cried aloud, ‘Oh, My Mother! Why this deluge?  Who is at mistake here? What wrong had these innocent children committed? Why are you punishing them all?’

The day passed into evening and then into night. The rescue operations went on slowly and were hampered by darkness everywhere. Thick burning wigs were brought in for better lighting, but intermittent rains at night hindered all their efforts. The operations went on throughout the night. When it dawned the next day, the whole place resembled a massive burial ground.

Easwaran, keeping his both hands over his temple, cried for a long time. The human loss was colossal. Easwaran and Sudalai were among those survived. ‘Why did I survive?’ Easwaran questioned the Mother.

*****

Episode 2/Chapter 9; What, If Our Dreams Come True! An Uncommon Meeting with Lord Siva

EPISODE 2

My days with Sri Papanasam Siva

Chapter 9: My arrival at Ambasamudram

Like Adi Shankara, I too travelled to places by foot. Shankara could even reach the top of Himalayas, travelling through thick jungles, crossing over difficult hilly terrains and dangerous rivers. He had no map, no compass and no written travelogues. Today, conditions of travel had tremendously improved over the centuries and therefore my comparison with Adi Shankara is inappropriate and unfair.

Honestly, I didn’t have much direction while I set forth from Courtallam. I believed I was being guided by some inner voice. I passed through Tenkasi which was just at a walking distance from Courtallam and Lord Siva christened as Kasi Viswanathan majestically sat there in a colossal temple built during the days of Parakrama Pandian of 15^th century. The beauty was (or was it a pity), I learnt that the main temple tower at the entrance was damaged by a lightning sometime in the 15^th century, may be soon after its construction and had still remained a flat tower for nearly five centuries. Though I had frequented Tenkasi very often, for strange reasons, I never reckoned it as one of the places I was destined to. So I set Papanasam as my next destination. Besides, inexplicably, I had no engagement with Sri Kasi Viswanathan at Tenkasi and so I moved on. The chief priest at Courtallam temple with whom I had become very friendly over years had given me a detailed account of the region, especially about the river Tamirabarani. Papanasam attracted me much more than other places, to start with.

The river Tamirabarani had a great history. However much the North Indians may feel proud about their perennial rivers like Ganga, Sind or Brahmaputra that have their origins in Himalayas, Tamirabarani, the perennial river of South was unique in the sense its origin is yet to be discovered. Even today, it remains a secret and mystery. It is believed that Tamirabarani originates inside a cave in the Podhigai hills, travelling almost about twenty five kilometers through a dense forest of herbal plants, where it doesn’t even see sunlight, before it falls as ‘Banatheertham’ in the upper hills of Papanasam. During the course of its one hundred and fifty kilometers of travel till its final merger with the sea in the Gulf of Mannar, many other smaller river tributaries originating at different places in the Podhigai hills join it and enrich the whole region. From the days of the epic Ramayana, the river had assumed spiritual and religious significance for various reasons. There is also a mythological story that the river originated several thousand years ago from a small divine pot the sage Agasthiar used to carry around.

Ambasamudram was a small town on the way to Papanasam, on the banks of the river Tamirabarani. As I walked closer, I was beckoned by Lord Siva sitting over there in another majestic temple built almost thousand years ago by the Chozha kings. I walked, marveling at the tall ‘maruthu’ tree linings on the banks of the river Tamirabarani on the way to the temple. The trees with thick branches had grown sky high that even sunlight could penetrate them only when their leaves bristled with the wind. They presented a picturesque scenery of a marvelous arcade. I walked through the arcade of trees imagining myself to be a king, greeted by thousands of on-lookers lined up on both sides, waving their hands, and bowing their heads. Like a camera, I captured the image of this beautiful place, as I walked past the trees and reached the temple. Just then, it began to rain all of a sudden and I took shelter in the front corridor of the temple. It was mid-afternoon and the sanctum sanctorum of the temple was closed. I was standing there for sometime looking particularly nowhere.

An old mendicant sadhu, who blanketed himself with a torn rug, spotted me and beckoned me.

“Are you new to the town, thambi?”

I nodded. Having had a very powerful association with a ‘sadhu’ at Courtallam, I wondered whether I was due to have yet another encounter with a yet another sadhu.

Hesitantly, I went closer to him. He asked me to sit by his side. I obeyed without resisting.

“So………… you are an outsider, I know……………… I know most of the regular visitors here. By the way, did you eat anything at all? ............... You look so famished,” he remarked.

Looking at my blank face, he continued, “Don’t worry! The temple would be serving annadhan (free food) shortly and the food would be just good. Just bear with your hunger for some more time.”

He seemed to be reading my mind.

Actually, I was very hungry and looking for some food. I felt relieved. It was a long story how I had been managing myself in the last several days when I walked from Courtallam to Ambasamudram.

The sadhu continued, “My name is Ambalam. What is your name?”

“People call me Poornam.”

“Pardon me, I can’t speak loudly. My vocal cords got damaged due to a disease during the last heavy rains that flooded the whole Ambasamudram and nearby villages. Have you heard about it?’ he continued.

I shook my head in the negative.

“Paiya, you must have been very lucky not to have seen the gory calamities of that rain. It is a horrible story!”

As the rain intensified, I had nothing else to do. I was willing to hear the story. I urged him to tell me about the last rain.

“This river Tamirabarani has several tributaries. Some join it at the upper regions of the hills and some along the plains. Those that run at higher altitudes are wild, running uncontrollably through thick forests and hills. It was not uncommon for the river to get flooded every now and then due to heavy downpour in the upper hills. There are not many water reservoirs along the hilly path the river takes. A few barrages help diverting water for productive agriculture, but do not help containing floods. We don’t even know who built these dams and when. The terrains are difficult and the plains suffer because of flash floods. Several villages got inundated in water and disappeared as a whole. Hundreds of people had died. Serious diseases had spread post flood and had infected several hundred people. Who would want to hear the sad unpleasant stories of a few survivors, anymore? Do you want to?”

He knew he had my full attention and that I was eager to hear the stories. Ambalam didn’t wait for my answer. He started telling me stories of a few individuals who survived the last flood, five years ago.

*****