I meant to write the details of our trips to Srisailam and Mantraalayam and the Pushkara snanam(bathing in the river). Just noticed that I never covered it. Let me begin.
Rao and I took a train (Tungabhadra Express) from Hyderabad to Kurnool on Dec 12th at 7 a.m. and reached Kurnool by 1:30 p.m.Nirmala, who was already in her native town Nandikotkur, met us at the station on the 13th. This train reservation was done by her like all other domestic ones long before our arrival in India. The passengers that got off were so many that Nirmala had to go a few blocks away from the train station to fetch an auto. We decided to take a cab instead. We dropped off our big suit case that contained our future yatra items etc. at one of Nirmala's friend's house in Kurnool, to be picked up a few days later. Nirmala's eldest sister who is in her 80s was waiting for us with hot food. The welcome party included a maid, the tenants etc. The mosquitoes were in plenty waiting for a new blood!!! The last time I visited Nirmala's hometown was when my son was two years old. Then it was a full house with Nirmala's parents, two other sisters. We talked about old times and then dozed off. The next day early in the morning, we arranged for a taxi (spent approximately 2000 rupees)to take us to Mantralayam.
Three others joined us on this trip. Nirmala's sister, her two friends. We started very early in the morning (6 a.m.) after a hot bath, hot coffee etc.
The sunrise was spectacular. The fields were green on either side of the road. Acres of peanuts, corn and other grains were being cultivated. but the road was under construction throught the journey andhence very bumpy. The traffic was heavy due to the upcoming pushkaram festivity. The driver was cranky for some reason. Anyway, by 10:30 a.m or so we reached the place. Went directly to the Temple. Nirmala was happily surprised when a young man greeted her with reverence and volunteed to take us around and arrange for a special darsan etc. His parents were friends of her family.
Now that our peace of mind was under control, we were ready to have the dip in river Tungabhadra. We were directed to a location from where we saw many returning after their 'snanam'. I saw the river from a distance and suddenly a dream of mine from many months ago flashed in my mind. In the dream, I was taking a dip in a river where there were shrubs in the river and the water was very shallow. Now,as we reached the intersection, the police blocked the area saying that the waters were not good any more and diverted us to a different bank. The guide suggested that if we didn't mind driving another 20 kms. there was a clean area and that place was called the new Brindavan and that was where Raghavenrda swami meditated a lot. We had no choice and we went there. Lo and behold, that was exactly the area that I saw in my dream while still in Cleveland. It wasn't easy changing into dry clothes in public after that dip. We collected water from the river and took it to the statue of Raghavendra Swami and did abhishekam. We went around in pradakshinam which is a traditional way of showing your devotion. After that, we went to the temple again, had darsan, free meals at the Temple anna daana choultry and were on the road by 3:30 p.m. and reached home by dusk. Now we saw the most beautiful sunset and moon rise on the same sky. The journey was tiring for the elders, but we were charged with spiritual energy. Nirmala's tenant had cooked dinner for us - very thoughtful ofher. her name also is Padma. I will add Srisailam trip in my next post.
No comments:
Post a Comment