Ponmudi Hill Resort, Kerala

For a little over a couple of months, I was stuck in one place. And Tenkasi was becoming unbearably hot and uncomfortable. It felt like a second summer, with a vengeance. The temperature soared to uncomfortable levels from the sunrise till late afternoon when dark clouds suddenly loomed large over the sky, threatening heavy rainfall. Only nothing materialized. It just heightened the humidity and uneasiness. 

I had always felt I had wheels on my heels, wanting to escape from the routine at every opportunity. I had always loved traveling, especially to naturally beautiful, exotic places. Last week, there was a golden opportunity to step away. We had three places in mind: Munnar and Theni, Valparai and Ponmudi. We wanted to do at least one place. Thanks to the general weather and our health conditions, we had to abandon our ideas. It was frustrating that I was stuck again.

Suddenly, Friday cheered me up. The weather was fine. No heavy rain forecast in Kerala. Our health too was promising. I should thank one of my cousins who had come down to Trivandrum for a short visit. He had recently celebrated his Sadhabhishekam and we were one of the notable absentees, for we were abroad when the functions were held. My next one month’s plan did not allow me to travel to Bangalore where he lived. We decided to take the plunge and drive to Trivandrum. That would also be a perfect opportunity to go to Ponmudi on our way back. We didn’t pause a second. Spurred by the momentous decision, we were exhilarated about the wonderful opportunity to visit Ponmudi on our return.

Located at a distance of about 60 kms from Trivandrum, Ponmudi is an enchanting hill resort at about 1100 meters above MSL. The drive through the winding roads all the way to Ponmudi from the small village town of Vithura was exciting. The road condition on the hill, I should say, was excellent. It was all green everywhere. 

The tourist spot was a plateau on top of the hill, surrounded by a vast expanse of forest lands, tea gardens, and valleys. The place offers tremendous opportunities for trekking through rough stones and rocks. With some difficulty, we climbed to the top of a viewing tower and had a breathtaking view of the whole valley surrounding the place. On that day, mists and clouds kept kissing the entire environment. Sometimes, it was clear and other times, mists completely hid the beauty behind.

There was a group of cottages, part of which functioning as a restaurant and a store for Kerala’s forestry products. The available restroom facilities were neat and clean. On the whole, the entire surroundings looked very clean, free of garbage. There was a modest tourist crowd, behaving very well. More tourist-facilities could be provided, but the flip side would be, the tourists would make the place dirty.

I hear that the place is known for its fauna and flora, a few rare endangered species of birds, animals and insects. We stayed in Ponmudi only for a couple of hours and returned back with great satisfaction. We thank the Weather God for His cooperation on the day of our visit.

The bonus was the scenic drive from Shencottai on the Western Ghats, passing through the scenic Punalur forests, tea gardens, rubber estates and water channels on the slopes of the mountains. The road condition was awful in many places. Our nation seems to be specializing on creating moon-like craters on earth, for the tourists to enjoy (or suffer). 

On the Ponmudi hills, we were fined by the traffic police for not wearing the seat-belts, but there was no hanky-panky about the fine. You pay the fine on the spot, and they give you a receipt. Who wears seat-belts in cars and helmets on the two-wheelers in Tamil Nadu! I was a spoiled brat. Back in Tamil Nadu, from the border, half-a-dozen motorcyclists and 'scooterists' raced with us, none of them wearing helmet, none of them following any traffic discipline, and dangerously overtaking several trucks and buses. If only, Tamil Nadu traffic police is half-alert as the Kerala police, they would be reaping huge official collections for the department. Thankfully, they are not!

Here are some of the pictures we've taken. For more, you may visit my Facebook site.

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 10 - What, If Our Dreams Come True! An Extraordinary Meeting with Lord Siva

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……

Chapter 10: The story of  zamindar Rathnam

Rathnam was a respectable ‘jamindar’ in that village. He generally helped all villagers for their needs. He never missed local functions at people’s homes and he liberally gifted money on those occasions. He was the principal attendant to receive all honors during local temple and other functions. He lived in majesty with all comforts. However, his wife Meena was his opposite, though she never showed it outside. She was extremely beautiful and was the envy of many other women. She was very demanding, greedy and she feared that Rathnam would lose all his possessions by his charitable dispensation. She started extracting more and more money from her husband.  Rathnam loved his wife very much. This was his one single weakness. They didn’t have a child for long and Rathnam’s wife was always suspicious about him. She accused him that he was camouflaging his weaknesses and demanded more money, wealth, jewelry and other possessions. Gradually over time, Rathnam was unable to meet her demands from the income from his properties and started looking out for borrowing money.

Shailesh Babu, a shark from the neighboring town was enormously rich from his money lending business and he smelt Rathnam’s predicaments. He somehow convinced Rathnam that everything would be kept a secret and managed to persuade Rathnam to take money from him as loan for short term. Rathnam pledged his properties as security for the loan, believing that he would be in a position to repay the loan soon after the harvests. The money thus obtained as loan was given away to Meena to meet her extravagant demands and soon he found himself short of money again. Rathnam kept everything as a secret, even from his wife. His loans spiraled out of control and soon Rathnam was deep up in debt. He never discontinued his other charitable activities too. Gradually, most of his assets got transferred to the money lender, while the real benefits went to his wife, who accumulated wealth in her own name.

Rathnam adored his wife so much that he never complained about her. Slowly, rumors started leaking out in the village town. Some of his well-wishers advised him discreetly about redeeming himself. Seeing this, Rathnam’s wife became more poisonous and stepped up her pressure on him. Rathnam gradually lost all his assets and became a pauper. The news spread and people started talking openly about this. They accused the money lender of plundering Rathnam and his wealth, but they could do nothing.

One day, Rathnam’s wife said that she was going to her mother’s place and thereafter she never returned. Rathnam came to streets. Initially the villagers took pity on him and helped him in every way. His modesty didn’t permit Rathnam to accept the help that voluntarily came his way. Not knowing any other trade or business, he had no clue as to how to run his life. He was pushed into depression. When many in the village offered him help, his self-respect took a plunge. When he initially accepted some food from some villagers to sustain himself, he died of shame every day. One day, he decided to end his life.

He never thought nature would come to his rescue in an unexpected way. That day, he was sitting on a small rock in the middle of Tamirabarani river as usual and brooding. This had now become his favorite spot whenever he was depressed. He would tell his story to Tamirabarani and he thought she listened to him. She appeared to wash his feet and seem to assure him that everything would be all right. But that day, he noticed that the water level was slowly rising unusually and the rock on which he sat was slowly submerging in water. It had rained very heavily that morning and the previous day. The sky was dark and cloudy, but he didn’t care. It never occurred to him that the river was rising and flooding the place. He saw at a distance, people rushing back to the banks of the river and looking at all sides, bewildered. Some called him out to rush back to the banks, but he didn’t want to hear them. As the water level rose, one or two who recognized him, tried to get into the waters to pull him out to the safe shore, but the water current was strong and unmanageable. The water was breaching the banks and people started rushing towards safer shelters or towards hillocks.

Now, the rock on which he sat was submerging in water and Rathnam was wet below his waist. But he never bothered and continued brooding over his life. He got angry with himself. He called, “Oh, dear Tamirabarani! Come and take me. My life has become meaningless now. Please oblige me.”

Some villagers went and brought others, in an effort to forcibly rescue Rathnam. But many were busy in rescuing their own kith and kin and their belongings, as the water slowly inundated many parts of the village. The current was high and people found it difficult to wade through the water. Even with their sincerity, they couldn’t come to his help.

Now, the rock had completely submerged in water and Rathnam found it difficult to manage to sit on the rock. The current was pulling him away. He knew swimming well. But he didn’t care anyway. He remembered his wife and all that she did for him. Strangely, he had no ill-feelings towards her. He thanked her for being his wife and for bringing happiness in his life during good days. He even said goodbye to his wife and wished her well, as she was in a safer place.

All of a sudden, when he least expected, the water current pulled him away forcefully from the rock into a twirl. For a moment, he struggled to come out, but the next moment, realization dawned on him that, after all, he didn’t want to continue his life. He surrendered himself to the currents and was carried away swiftly in the current. He lost all consciousness, as the water entered his lungs.

*****

He must have been in hell, Rathnam thought, as his whole body hurt him. Everything looked hazy. There were people surrounding him. He could recognize ‘Yama’ (The God of Death) with his wild unwieldy hair, a big moustache stretched between his two ears and egg-like eyes, popping out of its place.

What was this! His wife was also there among the crowd. ‘What are they doing in hell?’

‘Are they here to pronounce judgment on me?’

“Am I in hell?” he tried to ask. His voice was feeble and unable to rise.

He saw his wife looking at him curiously.

“Are you also in hell? You don’t deserve to be here. You did no wrong. Why are you here?” he asked his wife feebly.

The vision was better now. He saw several on-lookers. Everything was smoky. “Why is my wife here?” he wondered.

Slowly, his vision was getting better. He could see more clearly now. He could recognize at least one face and it was not that of ‘Yama’ but his village chief. ‘Why is he here in hell? He was a good man.’

He slowly remembered. He was being dragged into the water while sitting on the rock. He wanted to surrender himself to the water. That much, he remembered. He was calling forth the river, to take him. That also he remembered. He was drowning and he was finding it difficult to breathe. He remembered water entering his lungs. Then what happened? How quick was his journey to upper kingdoms? ‘Why is my wife here?’ He asked himself again.

Again, slowly, he recognized the voices. He came to his senses and noted that he was not in hell or heaven, but very much on earth. He recognized he more faces, besides that of his wife and the village chief. But he couldn’t understand how his wife came here. He couldn’t understand her blank look.

“My God, finally he has regained consciousness. Give him something to drink. Let him gain some strength.” Someone in the crowd ordered.

Some brown liquid was brought and he slowly drank. He threw a questioning look at everyone.

Pazhani, the village chief told him, “You survived the flood by a miracle. Luckily, I was around when the river was flooding and some washer-men saw you sitting on the rock. They came running to me. I dashed into the river. But before I could get you, you had gone under water. I was strong. But the river was stronger. It pulled us apart. You were virtually gone, but I didn’t give up. Finally, when I spotted you, you were caught between two sharp rocks. I rushed and saved you. You were bleeding heavily with cuts and bruises. I brought you home. You ran a high temperature for the last fifteen days and muttering a lot. You were alternating between consciousness and unconsciousness. We had a tough time and we thought, we lost you.”

Things were becoming clearer for Rathnam. He pointed his fingers at his wife.

“She too escaped from the floods. Her village and several families there, too didn’t escape the fury of floods. Her parents too were swept away. She lost all her possessions. No one knows how she alone survived. She frantically ran for help and became hysterical at her loss. She had cried, laughed, threatened, questioned - but finally, became quiet. Somehow, she had reached this village once again and started searching for you. Once she saw you, she became totally dumb. She is just staring at you and you can’t expect any other reaction or response from her. We believe she has lost her mental balance.”

Rathnam’s wife was looking at him pathetically and Rathnam looked back. What consolation could he offer to her when she had nothing but a blank look on her face?

*****

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.

*****

What, If Our Dreams Come True! An Uncommon Meeting with Lord Siva

Over the past several weekends, I have released the first full episode of "What, If Our Dreams Come True! An Uncommon Meeting with Lord Siva" through my other blog: www.tnneelakantan.blogspot.com

For the sake of operational convenience, I have since decided to shift the 2nd and subsequent episodes and chapters through my regular blog: www.neel48.blogspot.com, One chapter will be releaed over every weekend.

I have since received good reviews about the first episode and I thank everyone who had sent in their comments. There are 6 more episodes to come. I hope readers would continue to enjoy reading the remaining episodes too.

To read the entire book online, click: What If Our Dreams Come True!

To buy the print version, click: What, If Our Dreams Come True!

Greetings to everyone.

T N Neelakantan

BACK IN TENKASI

Once again, I am happy to be back in Tenkasi. Nearly six and a half months had flown past in the company of our children and grandchildren in the U.S.A, before I blinked my eyes. It was, once again, a memorable experience spending time with the little ones and watching them grow.

Back in India…………..

Chennai International Airport Terminal bears a new look and appears a lot more decent now. Yet, outside the airport terminal, as we negotiated through the small taxi-lanes to the exit, the sight on either side was shocking and disgusting. Mounds of garbage were lying uncollected. What image are we projecting about India?

It was six in the morning. The weather was good. The GST Road was filled with traffic, right from the early morning. Omni buses from several towns in Tamil Nadu, reaching Chennai were competing with each other for the little space on the GST Road, which was already cramped with the Metro Rail construction work. The road now appeared still narrower. Lane discipline was, as usual, absent. Rather, I realized that if one sticks to the lane discipline, it might take an eternity before one reaches his or her destination. Traffic was free-for-all. Driving a car looked a child’s play to me in the USA.

Fortunately, we didn’t suffer much jet lag. The morning was spent in attending to a few urgent needs pertaining to my hearing-aid and eye glasses. At the hearing-aid center, the audiologist patiently reprogrammed my hearing-aid, though I wasn’t fully satisfied. I complained that the batteries, they sold me lasted only five-six days. The billing staff initially tried to act smart, not wanting to own any responsibility for the poor quality of the batteries. He agreed to replace the two batteries, only after I argued, unwillingly, about the need to trust me about my complaint. Here, in India, many sellers take the buyers for a ride with great impunity and don’t trust the customer easily. I compared this with my experience in the USA a few years ago when I went to COSTCO with a complaint about my watch. I didn’t even remember when I bought it from them. Without raising a single question, they refunded the whole money to me.

Outside the hearing-aid center in Ashok Nagar, I waited patiently for an auto who would agree to take me back home strictly on ‘meter charges.’ I would have tried with at least a dozen autos. None agreed to come on ‘meter charges.’ They either wanted an arbitrary amount, or something extra over the meter charges. Nothing had changed in Chennai, at least regarding the auto rickshaws. The government must definitely be knowing this and they seem to be helpless about the monstrous auto rickshaw drivers’ union. One should have all the time and patience to lodge a complaint to the police.

I had booked a sleeper bus to Tenkasi and boarded from Koyembedu omnibus terminus. This is a place where thousands of buses arrive and depart every day, generating crores of money as revenue for the bus operators as ticket collection and to the government in the form of license fee. Yet, ever since I had known this place, this terminus had remained shabby, dirty, and waterlogged. Buses were parked haphazardly, public toilets were broken, and there was absolutely no facility for the passenger. The drivers and the staff working in the terminus must be personification of endurance, using this terminus every day.

Now, back in Tenkasi………….

Even as our bus approached Kadayanallur, the whole scenario had changed quite dramatically. This is Courtallam Season time. The usual seasonal winds are blowing strong. There is no water in the Courtallam waterfalls – thanks to the scarcity of rains in the adjacent Kerala hills. Yet, the buses and the trains arriving at Tenkasi are full of tourists hoping to enjoy the ‘Season.’  I am told many go to Papanasam from here. Afternoons are quite hot. However, one’s mood gets lifted when we sit outside our house on the verandah and do nothing except enjoying the cool breeze in the morning and evening. Vinayaka tiffin center on the Tenkasi-Courtallam road is doing a roaring business, visitors having to wait long for a seat in the small cramped place. However, their tiffin items – especially vada, varieties of dosas with green leaf, garlic, vegetable, onion rava, poori and masala - are some of the best in the region. The four ‘ratha-veedhi’s around the main Tenkasi temple are swamped by tourist vehicles, leaving very little place for genuine vehicle owners who drive to Tenkasi. The cement road built around the temple is full of pits and potholes, developed within one or two years of laying, I don’t know how. It is a moot question whether the contractors used cement or sand for the supposedly concrete road. Again, the people are, as usual, indifferent to any inconvenience, and there is a general apathy towards maladministration.

Just happened to talk to a few, casually, and I am horrified by the stories of corruption everywhere. Tamil Nadu seems to be leading the way in matters of corruption. Here, nothing moves without some underhand dealings. I am sorry, we haven’t changed.

Finally, all of a sudden, everyone in Tamil Nadu had become conscious of the ill-effects of liquor and drinking. All politicians, excepting the ruling ones, have taken to beating the drums, showing one-upmanship in demanding abolishing the liquor shops. They all shed crocodile tears. The only reason: the forthcoming elections to the State Assembly during 2016. They all have a found a weapon to embarrass Madam Jeyalalitha, the Chief Minister. She could neither agree nor disagree to the demand for introducing prohibition in the State. Caught between devil and the deep sea!

At the national level, the Congress Party and the entire opposition, not to forget the BJP’s own senior politicians, are trying very hard to embarrass Narendra Modi, the PM as much as possible. Like Narasimha Rao, who ran a minority government a couple of decades ago, Modi is certainly trying to bring about a change about India matters. I don’t think, he would be allowed by the corrupt political system in the country.

Yet, whatever I have said and written, I realize this is my place. This is my country. This is where I belong to. This is where I have a scope to do something differently. This is where I can show who I truly am. This is the place I love.

I love Tenkasi!