Blessings of Maa Chamundi

Chamundi hill can be seen from almost anywhere in Mysore city. In fact, this hill plays a very important role in the naming of the city. According to Hindu mythology, there was a rakshasa (demon) king who used to rule what is the present Mysore. He was half human, and partial buffalo, and hence his name of Mahishasura. This rakshasa performed a lot of penance, and became very powerful. So powerful, that he eventually went to Swargalok (heaven) and removed all the Devs(gods) from there, thereafter ruling on all the 3 loks(worlds). Since the Devatas could not defeat him, they had to invoke Maa Shakti. She appeared in the avatara of Chamundi maata, also known as Kali maa. And it was she, who eventually killed Mahishasura. Any guesses where she killed him? :) He was supposedly killed on the Chamundi Hill. And now we have a temple of Maa Chamundi on this very hill. The name of city Mysore was kept after Mahishasura, its ruler. In fact, outside the Chamundi hill temple, there is a giant statue of Mahishasura. And believe me, this is a very very famous temple, all across India.

But all this was just the background. What I am about to tell you, is how Maa Chamundi blessed me, in her own way.

This happened in around June 2007. Rohit, Roshan and yours truly set out on a random bike ride. Roshan and me were driving, and Rohit was riding pillion behind Roshan. We thought why not go to Karanji lake? But unfortunately, it just closed down as we reached. Rotten luck. Anyways, since this lake is at the foot of Chamundi hill, we thought, why not go roam around on the hill. We did not have any intention of visiting the temple then. We just wanted to go to the top of the hill, watch the view, roam around a bit, and then come back. So off we went. The apex of the hill can be accessed by a motorable road. So, we drove our way to the top, and roamed around a bit. It was evening time - around 5 - 6 pm. I was moving around the temple, gaping at the fabulous, and ancient gopuram. As I was looking at the apex of the temple, I could see a lot many clouds hovering around with fabulous velocity. The sight was breathtaking - I can remember it vividly even now. Anyways, we roamed around a bit, and were set to come back. As we neared the parking lot, I asked Rohit to ride pillion on my bike. What a costly mistake it turned out to be!!! The road on Chamundi hill is (obviously) full of sharp circular turns, as the road snakes its way up and down. While coming down, my eyes fell on a crater on the side walls at one of the turns, and I remarked to Rohit, "Dude, see somebody crashed here. These fools, they can't even drive responsibly". An extremely foolish statement. After I believed all the turns were over, I suddenly encountered another one! Now, let me honestly admit, I was driving very very recklessly. At all the turns the bike was leaning at an angle of 45 degrees! And as I neared this turn, I was at a very high velocity - around 60 kmph. I heard Rohit's voice - "SLOW DOWN, SLOW DOWN". But I did not heed. I maintained the speed, and tilted the bike, at about 45 degrees. As I was turning, I got a huge shock - what initially looked like a right turn, was actually a U turn!!! What's more, it was not even circular - it was bloody oval!! There was no chance I could have taken this turn, with Rohit sitting behind me. There were 2 options - either carry on, and crash into the hill, or brake then and there, and drag along the ground. I chose the latter. Immediately I applied both the brakes. Now, I have a Pulsar, which has disc brakes in the front and drum brakes behind. Obviously, both apply with different magnitudes. As it is, I had to fall down on the brake - cause I was leaning by more than 45 degrees when I braked.

As I braked, instantly the bike fell down. Since I was taking a right turn, and was leaning on the right hand side, I fell by my right shoulder. If you have seen "Kaho Na Pyaar Hai", remember the scene where the original Rohit(?) - Hrithik Roshan dies? My bike skidded quite similarly. As I fell, my right leg was saved due to the leg guard. But my shoulder was not lucky. A majority of the impact was taken by my right shoulder. As I hit the shoulder, the inertia of my body pulled my head down as well. Let me mention an important aspect here - like a fool, I was not wearing my helmet :). Anyways, so my head was pulled with full force, and crashed onto the road. I still imagine the scene very very vividly. As my head struck the ground - at that instant I thought - I am gone - DEAD. Then, my head literally bounced off the road. All this while I was dragging along the ground, in fact all 3 of us were dragging together - the bike, Rohit and me! My head thankfully did not strike the ground again, and we came to a halt some 5 metres from where we fell! Then I realized I could still see!!! Yippee, I was still alive!! Then I turned back to check on Rohit. At that instant too, both of us were lying on the ground, "sitting" on the bike. As I turned back, I saw the angry face of Rohit. "I had TOLD you to SLOW DOWN!!" he shouted. But I was completely blank. BTW, I was pretty happy to see him alive. But my condition was very bad. This is say 5 seconds after the fall - we had dragged along the road for about 4 seconds. Immediately both of us stood up. I lit up looking at my bike - it was in pretty good condition - only the leg guard was dented, and the brake was bent. As I touched the handle I realized that my palm was bleeding badly. Rohit helped me lift up the bike. Now, Roshan was riding ahead us. As we fell down, my helmet - which was in Rohit's hands - fell down, and rolled away from us. Roshan, he later told us, heard the accident, and then saw my helmet rolling down in his rearview mirror! A horrible sight for sure :) He immediately turned and was quite relieved to see both of us alive. I, meanwhile, was coming to terms with the accident. My right hand and palms were burning, I could feel some burning on my face as well. There was some pain in the right shoulder, and very slight burning on my right legs. As I inspected myself, I saw my jeans was torn on the right side. And the pocket where I had kept my mobile, was replaced by a big hole. The mobile was gone. As I glanced on the ground, I saw the mobile had disintegrated. There were 3 pieces in fact. I was not in the mental state to do anything, and so Rohit/Roshan (don't remember who) picked it up for me, and re-assembled it. Meanwhile, I looked into the left-hand-side rearview mirror (right one had gone missing!!) to check on my face. And I was immediately shocked. A mixture of anguish, anger, frustration and sorrow descended on me. Half of my face was covered with blood. There was that thick layer of clotted blood covering the right half of my face. I immediately remembered the villian 2-Face from Batman comics(this was before TDK release). Half of my face was gone. I had turned into a monster. A young man was destroyed. All my youth gone for a toss. Which girl will ever look at me without pity? Why only girl, which human will not be disgusted by my face. I cannot describe that mental state - words fail me. It was my fault, of course. Why did I take that dangerous turn? Above all, why did I not wear a helmet?? You may not believe, but I always used to wear a helmet, especially because it was made mandatory in Mysore recently. In fact, even if I had to go to the nearby shop, which was barely 100 metres away, I would wear the helmet and go!!! That day, the wind was so cool and so soothing, that I decided not to wear the helmet. I was very very very pleased with the climate - it was like bliss. On a peaceful mountain, with fresh hair, and cool wind. I wanted to enjoy this pleasure. In fact, as luck would have it, Rohit asked me to wear the helmet, at least twice!! And he seldom wears a helmet himself!!!! There is a famous saying Vinaashkaale Vipareet Buddhi - when your end is near, the mind itself goes into destructive mode. That was the case with me.
Thankfully for me, Rohit did not suffer anything on his face. The whole impact was apparently absorbed by my shoulder, followed by my head. He got away with minor scratches on his hands and legs!
I was angry for 2 reasons - HOW did I have an accident? And what happened to my face??
One consoling factor was, that it was because of my own mistake.
Let's cut to the scene after I saw my face. Then, I was in a state of shock. My eyebrows were arched, and I was numb. My hands were shaking badly. I dunno why. And I was shivering. Maybe I was in a state of shock! Yes, I was traumatized then.
Now, to add to our woes, the bike refused to start. We tried quite a few things, but it refused to start. Luckily, we were on the hill. So, Rohit sat on the bike, and gravity drove it down. I, meanwhile, was sitting behing Roshan. Cursing myself. Thinking how it happened? I was a responsible guy. How did I commit such a foolish mistake. Why was I tilting the bike? What use was it? Where was my sanity? And above all, why today, of all days, did I not wear my helmet, when I always keep it on??? Somehow we - Rohit rather - dragged down the bike to the mechanic. Rohit acted quite bravely. Though he was hurt, he was still in good spirits. Trying to crack some jokes as well. I tried to smile, but as my cheek used to wrinkle, I used to feel the cake of blood - which used to depress me again.

I can go on and on describing each and every detail on that day. But let's cut it short:
The doctor told me that although a considerable portion of my face was affected, it would heal up very fast. However, at least the center region of the wound would turn into a scar. A permanent mark. And yes, even today that mark is very much there.
I was in severe trauma for at least one week after the accident. In fact, as I used to close my eyes for sleep, I would imagine that I am trying to ride through a turn at a very high speed. Immediately my eyes would open up. Just they way they show it in movies! For the next 2 weeks, I would go to office with half of my face covered with a bandage!!! And yes, my right hand as well as palms would be covered as well - so I looked like a mummy. A half mummy.
I think I forgot to mention this. It was when I went to the doctor that I realized that the biggest wound was at my right shoulder - which took maximum impact. Forget the skin, in fact, much of my flesh was scooped away from my shoulder!
BTW, my LG mobile phone was functioning quite well. In fact, as the nurse was dressing me, I got a call from my home. And I told my mom that I am watching TV at home!!!
I got that jeans stitched by a local tailor. And so, I have a torn jeans. People think I wear it for style, only I know better. I dunno why, I LOVE this pair of jeans the most. Had I been wearing a normal trouser - my legs would have got screwed.
I had, of course not told my parents. But when I visited them, they came to know. They were waiting for my outside the airport. And just as I arrived, my father but his index finger straight on the mark, and asked me how this happened. I tried to fool him, saying I was playing football and fell down. But he is my father, and knows me quite well. While we had not even reached home, on the way itself he was able to extract all the details. After which I had to hear a lot of music, especially from my mom.

After the accident, I kept thinking as to WHY Chamundi maa did this to me??
After a friend told me as to how I was so lucky to stay alive even after having an accident caused by my own reckless driving, on a hill and in the rainy season, only then I realized, that probably Maa Chamundi had actually saved me. The place where I got my impact, was very near my eyes, and of course my brain - one of the most delicate parts of the human body. Just a little here and there, and I would have gone. More importantly, Maa Chamundi taught me a very very important reason - drive responsibly.
Before this accident, I used to clock about 90 kmph while going to office, and 100 kmph while coming back, quite regularly. I have a Pulsar, which is very very stable at high speeds. And it is very very easy clocking 100 on it, especially if the road is empty (at night) and street lights are on!!! Of course, after this accident, I clocked 100 only once till now (very recently), and that was again, a stupid mistake. But I drive quite responsibly now.

The permanent scar on my face will serve to remind me of the blessing of Maa Chamundi. It is a lesson she has taught me for my life!!!!

Indian Railways

One of the most pleasant of my childhood memories includes my train travels.
All throughout my school days, I used to keep anticipating our summer vacations. Partly because I could go and meet my maternal grandparents, and partly because I could travel by train!!!

What a pleasure train travel used to be in those days!!!
Although I did make the most of the "cheap Indian airline" phase, now that the oil prices are touching stratosphere, I have turned back to good old Indian Railways to shuttle between Mumbai and Mysore.

But as I compare these journeys to yesteryear's, I find so much that has changed!!!! Let me revive the good old days of railways:

What I miss the most about trains, is the water bottle!! Everyone nowadays prefers to buy a mineral bottle. Once finished, you simply buy another mineral bottle. But thats definitely not what we used to do about a decade back. In those days, every family carried a water bottle. And at almost every station that the train halted at, a family member(always a male!!) had to rush to the drinking water tap to fill the water. Everytime my father used to step down to fill the bottle, I used to be scared to death, thinking about the consequences if he misses the train!!! A few years later, I was old enough to hold the responsibility of filling the bottle. What a proud moment that was! Coming back to the water bottle, well, I remember my mama had gifted us an expensive Milton water bottle - that would keep the water cold - even during the scorching hot temperatures in the train. How delighted I was when I first used the bottle. It had a small tap, and a cup on top. You could remove the cup from the top, and use it as a glass to drink water. Inside the tap, there used to be a filter! All this was the equivalent of a complex gizmo to me then. My aunt on the other hand, preferred to carry a surahi - an earthen pot with a long slender neck - with her. It always cooled down the water, and imparted an earthly, delicious taste to it.

Then there was this "THING". I am saying thing, because then I did not know its name. A number of rail workers used to be sitting on this kind of a trolley, that had wheels designed to move on rail tracks. They could actually cycle, thus moving the trolley. This particular "vehicle" was always a pleasant sight to me. I still don't know what drew me towards it. But I always kept fantasizing of roaming around on such a vehicle, wearing sunglasses and all, and looking like a general hero!! It was just a couple of days back, that I met a guy with a book having "NRMU" printed boldly. I immediately recognized NRMU as a railway union, and presumed - quite correctly - that he was a railway employee. I immediately queried him about the "thing" and he told me that it is called a "rail trolley". In fact, there are trolleys, that do not have any cycling mechanism. You simply push the trolley for a distance, and then jump over it. After covering a distance, when it starts slowing down, you again jump down, push it for some time, and jump back again. There are also trolleys that are fitted with diesel motors. Just fill in some diesel, and the motor would start chugging your trolley. It would look like a miniature train!! And the guys sitting on it would look like "dudes"(a purely personal opinion). That guy also told me, that in yesteryear's top ranking officials used such trolleys to visit some places for inspection. Now, of course, they have special trains, and other more "respectable" modes of transport.

Apart from the above reasons, what enthralled me the most, was the scenery outside. The empty farms, stretching for miles, looked so amazing, so exciting and so inviting!! On countless moments, I desired to run away from the train, into those fields. I did not care about anybody else or any other thing. The only things existing in my world would be the fields and myself. I never thought as to what I would eat? I never thought that I wont be able to meet my relatives, or watch TV. I only thought about running into the fields. I remember my mother telling me, that earlier, when my father used to travel with her, he would always sit at the window, and kept gaping out at the scenery. Then, he got bored, and as she rightly pointed out, he preferred sleeping on the upper berth over admiring the beauty of the fields. I was very surprised by my father's wierd behaviour. After all, how can somebody miss out on such amazing beauty. Now, when I travel sleeping on the upper berth myself, I realize that it is only in human nature to become "bored" easily. I myself don't feel like watching those same old fields anymore!!!

Lastly, what I would like to add is the bonds of friendship that we used to create on our journeys. We used to travel for long distances - 2 or more days - and often we had families travelling with us. After, say half a day, we would tentatively start conversation with the strangers. And over the next 24 hours or so, a bond of friendship would bind us. In fact, so strong used to be the bond, that many a times I have seen my mother crying while parting with another woman - who was herself weeping as if CERN had blasted the whole world - whom she had met a couple of days back for the first time!! I, myself, had got very senti once. I had made a very nice friend of a kid, and I suddenly felt very lonely leaving him. The conversation used to be lively. We got to know so much about each other. It was also fun to exchange foodstuffs!!

Now, of course, all this is past. Not a single person would ever accept any foodstuff from you, let alone offer you something to eat!!! :D In fact, one of my OWN relatives was drugged on his way in train, and when he came to his senses - all his belongings were missing!
Crime has increased so much, that it is very difficult to trust anybody. Everybody should be sujected to suspicion.
So many things have changed. Even the Indian Railways itself has transformed!!!

I am sure of one thing though - travelling by train will never be as fun nowadays. At least not for me!!!! :)

A story of Mumbai, MNS, North Indians and a bar of soap !!!

This happened at the start of this year - around Jan or Feb.
The whole of Mumbai was burning then.
MNS workers were all over the place - beating Bihari workers, breaking shops, slapping North Indians, abusing them.....
(In fact, they are all over the place even now - they have issued a ticket to the Big B - urging him to return to Uttar Pradesh...)

In the midst of all this, a micro incident had occurred. Of course, the incident is so minor that it means almost nothing. But since I have just opened this blog, why not add it here.

I am used to bathing with a particular brand of ayurvedic soap. Now, this soap is manufactured by the ashram of Parampujya Sant Shri Asaramjee Bapu!
Every Saturday, there is a van from the Ashram that is stationed outside the local Maruti Mandir(Lord Hanuman temple). (The locality, for your reference, is Government Colony, Bandra East, Mumbai). And it is from this van, that we often buy the ayurvedic soaps.

As I am currently staying in Mysore, and come here only once in a while, I make it a point to buy some soaps which can last till my next visit to Mumbai.
This particular day, I arrived a little late to the temple. My brother warned me that I wont be able to buy the soap as the van would be closed. And how right he was!!
Just as I arrived at the van, I found, to my horror, that the van was closed - all the items neatly packed inside. There was no chance that I would be able to bathe with my favourite brand of soaps - at least not until my next trip to Mumbai. This is because the van arrives here only on Saturdays, and I won't be present till the next Saturday! Today was my only chance.
Fortunately, I saw a girl was still sitting in the van. I went to her, and requested her to please give me the soap. I also told her that I have come all the way from Mysore, and it would be great if she can sell me the soap. Now, from her looks, I deemed her to be a Maharashtrian. And so I chose to speak in Marathi. And what a costly mistake that proved to be!! Let me explain further.
A guy wearing dhoti and kurta, and looking like a pure North Indian arrived and sat next to that girl in the van. This girl, upon my request, told him that I needed the soap, urgently. She asked him if they should give me the soap. Now, that would have been some trouble, but it was quite possible. "No" was the blunt reply from that man. And from his tone itself I found out why.
From his accent, I was sure that he was from UP (I can bet on that:)). And he had heard me speaking in fluent Marathi!!! And this is the time that Mumbai was burning. Barely a hundred metres away, on that very day, some MNS workers had broken a taxi belonging to a North Indian! If he held a grudge against me for being a Marathi, then it was quite understandable.
I went to him, and started requesting in chaste Hindi. But he did not budge. In fact, his response was very blunt, and a little rude. Which surprised me, because he did not look like a rude person. He was obviously being biased by the goings on.
But what he did not know, is that I am a theth(pure, in this context) Bihari!!!!!! Both my parents are pure Biharis, and so am I!!!!
But how do I tell this to him? I was really helpless. It does not sound good, if I go and tell him "Listen dude, you are highly mistaken. Though I can speak Marathi, I am a pure Bihari. So don't hold your grudge against me. And sell me the soaps. How else will I bathe my dear friend? I would stink. And my girlfriends would die the next time they smell my armpits for pleasure :P :P".
Of course, it was not right. So I chose to not say anything. I requested him humbly a couple of more times. But he did not listen. Started the van, and zoomed away past me.
I still don't know whether I should be dejected, disappointed, angry or amused. After much thought, I think the last emotion is what I need to use. :) :)

My First (international) Blog!!

My O My !!!
Even in the rarest of my rare dreams, I had no idea that anybody (anybody being the key word here - I mean YOU could as well be sitting on the other side of the globe right now) would be reading a random collection of words typed by me!!!!

It is really a proud moment.
Thanks a lot my dear friend for reading these words. You have forever indebted me, and I can only show my gratitude by typing a few more articles and making you read them as well!!! :P :P

Don't get scared. THere is no compulsion.

My first blog was really worth the effort. Thanks to all.
Signing off.

With warmest of regards

Abhishek Karna