But my mom had other ideas for Fridays and Saturdays. Come what may, she would insist, prevail and force us – me and my brother- to visit the sanctum sanctorum of Gods & Goddesses. She was trying to keep us in their good books.
We trudged along unwillingly, listening to interesting anecdotes- not necessarily about Gods & Goddesses, on the way to the temple. She used to teach hymns and keep us busy and interested.
Slowly, like water flow eroding solid rocks, I began to like these trips and eagerly looked forward to the arrival of Fridays & Saturdays in the calendar. Bakthi and fun – an amalgamating force, binding us, closely.
At that time of this incident, we were living in a rented house and I happened to overhear Mrs. House Owner (HO) talking to my mom about the “Snake God” in a temple at a distant place.
I became interested when Mrs. HO described the “Snake God” as powerful and had blessed some of the devotees with a “Darshan” – if they were lucky. Curiosity and intrigue got the better of me.
Slowly a role reversal took place and I started pestering my mother to take us to that temple. Fridays & Saturdays visits were confined to the Temples in our locality and the chance to travel some distance (to visit the new temple) appealed to my brother too.
He lent his voice in support. What else could my Mom have done? She relented with attached conditions, a fine print, of dos & don’ts.
When we agreed, she decided to visit with her friend residing nearby the temple and then have the Darshan of “Snake God”
My mom’s friend was an actress and I presumed they must have become acquainted through a mutual friend. When I told this to my brother, (of course out of ear shot of my mother), he asked me how that mutual friend might have become a friend of that actress.
She welcomed us and with a devout face and said, “Hope all of you would be blessed to day”. I had my own reservations about that statement – might be she was exhibiting her acting skills.
Soon we started our expectant march towards the temple of Nagamma, as the snake God was called in the local dialect.
It is customary for a regular devotee, to pay his respect to Lord Ganesha – the deity with an elephant head and trunk. He is held dear by the devotees for the simplicity and amenability to worship.
A lump of turmeric paste or wet clay was all that was needed, in place of sculpted idols, to worship Him. As far as garlands and flowers are concerned He left the choice to the devotee themselves. Accepted them if so desired by them. A piece of jaggery, coconut and steamed pulse was a luxurious offering He was immensely pleased with.
He did not mind to bless the devotees from the shade of a tree or a temple. That simplicity and approachability might have made me an ardent devotee of Him. Now and then I used to wonder, “How many thousands of coconuts that have broken at the altar. Where He would keep an account of the figure?”
But that day, over come by eagerness, I dragged my mom to the abode of Nagamma, with out paying respects to Him.
The abode of Nagamma was located in a room which housed a huge earthen mound. To me at that age it looked like a Lilliputian volcano with multiple vents.
May be it was an anthill which Nagamma had simply taken over! Her abode was decorated with vermillion, turmeric, flowers, lemon and what not! At that point, when I was imbibing in the atmosphere, my mom said “Nagamma resides here”. To me Nagamma appeared as a trench woman - a voracious eater. Not to make her feel the pangs of hunger, the devotees offered a variety fare – milk and eggs.
Slowly but steadily I rose on my toes: to get a better view of her abode and to peep for a glimpse of her. So engrossed I was in my attempt, I could not respond to my brains message that some thing, cold and furry was crawling over my foot. The ever alert sensory nerves have processed and sent that message in a few milliseconds. To make the matter worse, my frightened mind stared seeing Giga pixels of pythons,the chance to travel some distance (to visit the new temple) appealed to my brother also.
So engrossed I was in my attempt, I could not respond to my brain's message that some thing, cold and furry was crawling over my foot. The ever alert sensory nerves have processed and sent that message in a few milliseconds. To make the matter worse, my frightened mind stared seeing Giga pixels of pythons, cobras, anacondas and a host of other snake families.
Slowly but steadily I rose on my toes: to get a better view of her abode and to peep for a glimpse of her. So engrossed I was in my attempt, I could not respond to my brains message that some thing, cold and furry was crawling over my foot. The ever alert sensory nerves have processed and sent that message in a few milliseconds. To make the matter worse, my frightened mind stared seeing Giga pixels of pythons, cobras, anacondas and a host of other snake families.
I stood paralyzed but as the adrenalin raced by, I started running a 100m dash as if to break all the world records set by men and women athletes. I was mouthing my fear in incoherent dialect, which even my mom could not understand. In between the gibberish, I was shouting from the top of my lungs as if the day light had been scared out of me.
After few minutes, I stood rooted and cursed and questioned myself “what have I done? In my panic, I had totally forgotten that I have left my brother and mom still standing near the abode of Nagamma.
The very thought, that I had run away leaving them, made me blush. Though I was about to break the barrier and cry, I saw them approaching me with a big grin plastered all over their faces.
To soothe my frightened nerves, my mom explained that it was only a rat that slid over my foot. She even joked that Lord Ganesha must have sent his aide to teach me a lesson, for not paying my respect to Him first!
Believe it or not, even to this day, I get goose bumps when visiting Nagamma in her abode, so I pay my respects from a distance. Lord Ganesha gets the first attendance – exams or not!
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