Mission Mantralayam

Before you jump to the conclusion that this post is about a racy account of a covert espionage mission to the place where our Mantris preside and reside let me declare ... it's not!
It's about the religious pilgrimage (are there pilgrimages of any other type??) that I underwent last weekend with my parents to the picturesque little town which straddles the banks of the ruined and depleted TungaBhadra river in Andhra Pradesh, famous for being the place where Shri Raghavendra Swamiji (one of the most hallowed and venerated saints of Hindu Dharma) took Samadhi.

I had been ambivalent about the trip from the beginning!

I have become deeply attached to Mumbai, despite of the sweat, the stench and the grime. I love the fact that even at 12 in the night and 5 in the morning, I find this city alive and about, a city which caters to all your needs however exotic they may be.

But in my family, I am not allowed to say No for a trip to a religious place. It is considered sacrilege and I am generally considered to be, among my relatives, the one most likely to commit sacrilege. 'Oh that good for nothing Santosh. Mark my words. He will shame us all yet.'

So I started with my packing, with a heavy heart. I made up this game in my mind, to make sure I survive the boredom that is inherent to such trips. I conceived that I am going on a mission which will last 72 hours. Every 8 hours I survive on it I would reward myself with a point. 9 points would mean that I win. Or come crap like that.

The train journey was as usual summed up in one word, Horrible. We went by sleeper class, my bunk was smeared with the dirt that had been accumulating since the days of The East India Company. And our companions were pesky little kids who would have nothing better to do than giggle at me the whole day. I pressed my pillow on my face and tried to see how long I could remain without suffocating to death.

When I had almost reached my breaking point, the train reached Mantralayam Junction, a quaint little railway station, 8 miles away from the temple. We took a bus, where I was heartily abused by the conductor for sitting on the seat reserved for ladies (The sign was in Telugu - so shoot me!), and reached the main temple town after an hour.

Immediately we set about searching for a decent hotel room. But since the busy weekend was coming up all the bastards had hiked up the rates by almost 4 times. Since everything was damn expensive, we just spent the day going from 1 guest house to the other. To add to our luck it started raining and we were stranded in the lobby of such a guest house. My dad, who was dead tired after all the running around, decided to take a room here itself. It turned out to be the most expensive one in town.

So we got an excellent room with TV and geyser!!! Yea!! Good for us! Not quite. TV and geyser for some godforsaken reason, never work when there is no electricity. And there was never any electricity. By Swamijis grace, atleast they had a generator which allowed the fans to work.

Finally we went to the temple complex. Outside the complex, my eyes fell upon some deer tied up in an enclosure. I don't know what they were doing there and why PETA wasn't on the scene. These beautiful animals were made by God to run freely in grassy forest meadows, not tied up in cages surrounded by their own excreta.

Washing ourselves, we entered the temple in the evening. After joining the huge queue of people lining up for a darshan, we sat in the courtyard of the temple waiting for the evening festivities to begin. Every evening there is a rathotsava where the idol of God is placed in a chariot of Gold and is wheeled around the temple, once pulled by the aged temple elephant and once by devotees who had paid for this privilege.

I checked my mission counter. I had only gotten 2 points so far. 7 points left. I steeled myself and watched the activities silently.

The next day we shifted hotels. After investigating without any rain hindering us, we found that the Karnataka Government Choultry was charging a quarter of what we were currently paying for the rooms. There was no AC and geyser here, but the room was airy and there was a magnificent garden.

It was this garden that saved my trip. It had started drizzling and I went and sat in the garden bench. It was desolated at this time in the late afternoon. The atmosphere was pleasant, I could hear birds chirping. I saw the trees in full bloom with flowers. Slowly I started reciting the prayers that my dad regularly exhorts me to recite. I felt good. I know it's a cliche, but I actually felt one with nature.

I had finally gotten into a religious mood.This mood wasn't necessary connected with me being a Hindu or identifying with any deity. It was me acknowledging that there is a force above us which is present with us throughout our life. This life force that we can only truly sense when we our alone warmly ensconced in the bosom of Mother Nature and not when we are caught in a mad throng of people rushing towards a common goal.

I suddenly didn't want to return to Mumbai. I forgot about my mission or my points tally or anything else. Ironically just when I had gotten to enjoy my trip, it was over and we were back in Mumbai.

So now that I have undergone this experience am I more religious individual now?
God alone knows.