God!Is that you?

Amma tells me it is hot in Kochi. She adds with an acerbic tone reserved only for her beloved daughter,” I wonder how ‘the NRI’ is going to survive here even for a weekend.”

(Yeah.You heard it too; there was an unnecessary stress on NRI)

I don’t think twice before back lashing,”Ohhhhh yes. Just cannot handle the heat you know.”

Both of us know wherever I go, I will remain forever the “kochikari” with a penchant for convent junction, Shenoy’s theatre , Vrichika utsavam at  Poornathrayesa temple and Amma ’s Sāmbhar

(Definitely in the reverse order if Amma is reading this).

Even before I could read (or for that matter talk properly), I knew about “poornatheecha” of Poornathrayesa temple. The main deity is Vishnu in the form of Santhanagopala moorthy. I have a love-hate relation with him. I talk to him as a friend and as a foe for not taking my side on critical affairs of my life. It is cranky, but then that is the way we are [Me and Him, off course].

Life for natives of tripunithura, revolve around the temple. Irrespective of religion, all the people attend the temple festival, the melam and kacheris. Hence, before I do everything I take a counsel from Him. It so happened on the day before I was to join my college, along with my Ammoomma* I went to the temple to say my farewell. After all, I have been coming often and He should not wonder where I went off without telling Him. I was not at ease about going away from home or as I called, venturing into unknown wild territories of education. In one sentence, I was scared. Period.What if people ragged me? What if I couldn’t study well? What if I flunked? What if I did not have good friends? If there are more than two “what ifs” about a situation, I take a bath and run to the temple for clarity of thoughts. [Okei.I try to talk Him into solving my problem for me. Since it does not happen, I come back even more confused but a lot less scared]

After I finished my hymns, ballads and warnings, I stopped for a moment and like a devotee said,”God, I am leaving this place and going away tomorrow. I know not what life holds for me out there in college. I have no friends there as of now. I pray to you for good friends and good life. I pray that you cast a watchful eye on me (Ever in search for pits of trouble.)” After a full minute of silence, I added,” Bye. See you soon. Do take care of me”

I walked out of the temple to see my Ammoomma chatting with one of her friends (another granny).The topic was random; a randomizer would have been put to shame. It is like the tags on a blog post. Kids, legs, pain, temple, trips, outings, food, medicine, doctor, relatives, cousin’ s daughter’s mother in laws sister’s neighbors marriage (Puff Puff, water please).I like it when Ammoomma meets her friends, she beams from all the information transfer (news gained and news relayed).

As I joined them, her friend looks at me smiles,” Cannot believe children grow up so fast. It feels like yesterday when I had come to see her at the hospital when she was born.” There is an element happiness and pride in her voice of having known my life for so long.
“Heard you are going away for engineering.Good.Good.God bless you. Here take this prasadam.” She pushed a small packet wrapped in newspaper and hurried away. I opened the packet and I was awed for the little packet contained avil **, the favorite snack of Krishna according to Hindu mythology. I was stunned. I had never received any avil from the temple from when I could remember.Today, when I was there asking for His blessing on my new journey, I get this as prasadam.Was this some kind of a premonition that He was going to look after me?

I call it the touch of God or a streak of divine intervention in the otherwise run-of-the-mill life of this mortal. I have not had many interventions, any more. I cleared my papers. No back papers in any semester. No flying colors just normal mundane shade of black and blue. [With the kind of effort I was putting in, it was a miracle]

There will be days when I will beg to God and there will be days when I will scream at the heavens, fist curled,” why me?” and for the screaming quarreling days I keep this memory aside. To remind me of the peak view He gave me of his constant “monitoring” of my life.

P: S: I know it sounds blasphemous to some. I prefer looking at God as a supreme power who is a friend not a armed police man ready to admonish you for every mistake. I’m not superstitious but sometimes things happen which you cannot push away as coincidences. Well, people in medical profession agree,”There are things beyond our comprehension.”

*Ammoomma : Mother's mother.

** Avil : Beaten rice [The same fella of Krishna-Suddama tale]