Sweltering summer cold...

As if tolerating the heat wave here in Bangalore is not sufficient, I managed the near impossible task of catching a terrific cold. As usual, I tried managing on my own for two days but the status quo situation made me see my doctor and I must add; even he was impressed seeing my feat. Severe cold in summer?? Oh wow…. 

I don’t know if he really does it but I have a feeling he prescribes more medicines than required. Of course I’m no expert in dealing with even drugs but I do not believe in popping pills till illness completely eludes me. We fall ill when our body loses strength and immunity. An interesting fact is that our body fights diseases, infections and microbes to a great extent. I can safely comment without any medical authority certification that our body’s natural resistance begins its war against illness ages before we actually fall ill and we fall sick when that resistance crumbles. 

So I believe our body is naturally capable of taking care of itself, and since the battered resistance is the shortcoming for illness, the medicines we take should only aid the body till such time that resistance gets better. I bought only half the course prescribed and took the very first dose yesterday night!!

To my ignorance, I did not know that all medicines for common cold are sedative in nature. I know Benadryl cough syrup has high alcohol content but not a tablet taken for common cold, despite my doctor’s claims of that particular brand being the mildest of all.. Early mornings are, as it is, the bane of my existence and I slept with a sedative, to add to my agony!!

Waking up at 6.00am today morning, coupled with getting ready on time to catch my regular 6.50am office shuttle, was the second near impossible task I accomplished. I expected the long journey all the way till EC and the boisterous breakfast with colleagues to suffice in keeping my slumber at bay. But no, as I sat in front of my system, I was unable to comprehend even a single line of code, the coding of which had taken up most of my evenings in the past one week. I tried reading a novel (an e-copy of A kingdom of dreams!) to pipe up interest but the drowsiness got better of me. When neither the freshly brewed Barista Hot Chocolate nor splashing cold water on my face had any impact, I retired to the dormitory. Walking till tower-10 was a pain and I knew how I’d feel if I ever got tipsy and then tried walking, déjà vu!! Thank God, there was an empty bed and I only remember hitting the sack. I woke up almost 2 hours later when my team mate called to check on me. 

Anyways I had to return for an urgent meeting and I was better after lunch break. Phew!! That was indeed a soporifically adventurous day……

My first "halli jatre" experience...

My first ever experience of sorts, I visited a typical “halli jaatre” (village fair) over the weekend. Thanks to Paa, we received an invitation to participate in the KaViKa rathotsava (chariot procession) on the auspicious of Ramanavami celebrations at the Ghali Anjaneya Swamy temple in Mysore road.

Despite living in close proximity to the place and for over 20 years now, I had no idea this annual festivity would be so grand. I knew there was a rathotsava but never knew there would be over 12-13 chariots carrying the many utsava murthis (idols meant for procession) and it would be a grandiose affair with dwellers from just about everywhere reveling in the celebrations till early dawn. There are many temples in the vicinity. Each of those temple deities had a chariot and the entire sight was worth a dekko!

The complete stretch of Mysore road was brilliantly lighted, with vehicles barred right from the Mysore road - Chord road junction and the police ever vigilant; we reached the KaViKa factory (Karnataka Vidyut Karkhane) at about 10.00pm on Saturday night (4th of April, 2009) for the chariot procession that would begin by 10.30pm. The crowd had me spellbound; it did not look like it was near midnight. The rural ambience was stunning and totally unexpected. A local orchestra was pelting out the latest hits and the loud applause and encores showed how the people were enjoying themselves. Umpteen hawkers were on the streets selling sweets, toys, clothes and just about everything. There even were computerized astrology predicting robots. The women and children seemed to have a blast while the men took pride in purchasing stuff for their families and protectively guiding them through the rush. We made our way through the din on foot to reach the KaViKa factory premises.

As soon as the chariot decorations were done with, my folks and I went with KaViKa chairman Mr.Kulkarni to the venue. The chariot was huge, at least 20 feet high and an equally massive girth. It was a hoovina pallakki (chariot of flowers, jasmine in particular) unlike the 12 others which were all mutthina pallakis (chariots of beads). The aroma of fresh jasmine mixed with the tinge of incense sticks lingered in the air and the richly decorated idols of Ram, Lakshman, Seetha and Hanuman were becoming. It was a treat worth looking at. The crowd went ballistic when the pundits did the aarti and the procession began with shouts of “Ramchandraji ki jai, Seeta ji ki jai, Vaayu suta Hanuman ki jai..”

My folks and I too, were a part of the group of people who pulled the chariot ahead for the initial few feet. While a gang of guys kept breaking coconuts all through the way shouting the Lord’s name, another gang kept brushing the broken pieces aside to keep the group pulling the chariot from hurting our feet. Another gang burst crackers, everyone reveled and participated in their own way.

As usual, there was a power cut in the middle of the celebrations but the dazzling deepas (oil lamps or diyas) and the glare of bursting crackers made the jewel studded idols look splendid. That, coupled with the devotion of the hundreds of people gathered to witness the procession, the nonstop chanting of mantras, the loud shouts of the Lord’s name, the way people participated, reminded me of the Ramayana sequence of “ALilu seve” (squirrel service).

In the midst of all this, I realized with a shock that I had tears running down my eyes. I could visualize my music teacher Sharadha ma’am explaining Tyagaraja’s love and devotion for Rama while telling the meaning of each composition she taught. It made so much sense. My mum apparently echoed my sentiments and said its no wonder Rama is called “Chakravarti tanuja” (emperor’s son), he deserved all the glitter, grandeur and more.

Suddenly everything else became insignificant!! For someone who hates crowds of any sort, I no longer minded the brash rural crowd gathered there. I did not wince at the way people pushed and pulled at each other, for a closer glance of the Lord. I did not feel anything except that idyllic bliss at the bottom of my mind. I was swayed off my feet at the devotion of the common man there and the words about everyone being the same in His presence seemed so true. We are all so insignificant in front of Him.

As the procession entered the main road, we stood aside watching the procession, the fire works and the people for a while. Later we were escorted by a KaViKa official to the Ghali Anjaneya Swamy temple for darshan. Lord Hanuman there seemed almost alive that night, grandly adorned by a myriad of choicest colored flowers and jewels. We offered our prayers and left.

As I retired to bed later that night, my head was full of the events of the previous hour and complete mish mash of so many emotions. A truly gratifying experience!!