A devotee's prayer !

Is it the fault of the multitudes who crowd ? Is it only the fault of the administration which is unable to manage the crowds at Kanchipuram ? As per reports, the administration did not expect lakhs to enter and hence were clearly unprepared.

I think it's the media to blame.  It's the hype created around the Lord, so much that people are just curious. How many are true and ardent devotees ? And where is the divine ambience in the midst of pelmel, chaos, helplessness and giddiness...I wonder....

Well ! The temple town is small and it's but obvious that even a few thousands of vehicles can choke the tiny lanes leading to the temple. Forget how people manage to get into the queues in the first place. God save them. I just can't even imagine how they manage to get past the highway and the lanes to reach the temple. The sheer number of vehicles on Kanchipuram highway is staggering....Just unimaginable....

As per news reports vehicles could not enter the temple town on the 18th day and the 28th day. Those that entered could not make their out of Kanchipuram easily. Imagine the chaos and the helplessness of the people who panicked, gasped for air but also waited for hours to  get a glimpse of the Lord who as per practice, rises only once in 40 years.

As an ignorant woman, who knows nothing about the puranas but can't bear to hear and read stories of people suffering,  who knows that God is omnipresent and yet as an ordinary mortal, as a believer in the Almighty, my only question is......

"Why should Sri Athi Varadhar go back under water after 48 days ? What can't the idol be installed permanently on land, so that the devotees can have a hasslefree and a peaceful darshan, whenever they want to. What is the point of standing long hours in queues, under the sun, dehydrated, exhausted but feeling great after having a glimpse of the Lord....

Is it only to announce to the world ?.....Hey....I got a darshan of the special Lord. As for those who returned without even standing in the queue, they can only thank their stars that better sense prevailed atleast then and they decided to come back without the darshan.

&

As I hear sad stories, bad experiences, many of those, including myself, who returned without darshan had Special VIP Passes. Just saying because duplicating passes, I realised yesterday, got easier with technology. As people waved the passes in desperation, the cops blocked the VIP entry, and a long serpentine queue in loops formed outside the temple....

Times change and even the Gods do adapt. Aren't we already experiencing this via social media ?

As per tradition a deity should be worshipped daily. As per belief an idol is not just stone or wood. When we worship an idol, we worship the almighty who is omnipresent.

If Athi Varadhar has risen for the good of mankind and welfare of the universe, isn't it our duty, as ordinary mortals to give him a sacred abode on land from where he can give darshan and his devotees also feel safe ?

Why should devotees get a chance to meet their idol only once in 40 years ? I don't understand.

It's the 21st century and his pictures have gone viral. Sri Athi Varadhar is famous and immensely happy about it. Go, check the smile in the pics and you will be surprised. The smile keeps changing. The attention seeking God is none other than the Srinivasa Perumal himself. Now why would anyone want a happy Perumal to go back under water ? I am sure he doesn't want to go.

Deep under water, he sleeps for 40 years...So they say. Who are they ? Why do they say ? I don't know. Pardon my ignorance..

My relationship with Srinivasa dates to the day I was born and I know he loves sakkarai pongal, vadai and ladoos...Can you imagine, how sad he must be under water for 40 years ?

I say....Our Lord Sriman Narayana  is deprived of food and daily worship for 40 years. This amounts to gross injustice and negligence.

Can't there be two Varadaraja perumal temples in the same place ?

Forty years ago, there was no media, no frenzy, no hype and Sri Athi Varadhar had very few devotees. So probably, he decided to stay on land for 48 days, got bored of being ignored and then went back under water.

Today in 2019, Sri AthiVaradhar has a large fan following and can't even think of going back. So, necessarily, in the interest  of devotees, taking into account several factors including daily worship, offering of neivedhyam and safety of devotees, Sri AthiVaradhar will have to stay back on land in order to answer the prayers and fulfil the wish of granting "pass and queue free," free darshan whenever they want to....

#sriathivaradhar
#dontgoback

Such a wateraholic !

How do you experience joy ? Don't you find happiness in small things. While I write, I will tell you what makes her happy and joyful .

 Variluxed for good reason, she takes joys in simple things. The daily newspaper is a joy to read, when the vision is clear and when the spectacles are brand new, neatly arranged newspapers, preserved with a reason are a joy to behold.

Well ! The scarcity of water gives her ideas and newspapers come in very handy......You know....To sponge in the water or even to wipe. Very often she throws in the sheet of newspaper on the spills. She has finally mastered the act of total surrender. An act, she now owes to the  papyrus......The total surrender to the efficacies of the newsprint and the paper lead to new revelations such as.....

So long as water continues to be scarce, there will be hard copies in the digital world. A hard fact to swallow in soft times.....

She is a tidy freak. An obsessed one...Sometimes or rather mostly. Simple things or sights give her great happiness. Sights of droplets of water on the leaves. That is enough as a motivating trigger...A morale boost which takes her to the uppermost level of satisfaction." H20," As she says often is magic..

Water is scarce, she says. Drops of water that trickle scare but raindrops give her immense joy. A fully filled bucket of water makes her sing with ecstasy. Sparkling clean stainless steel vessels make her so light hearted that she simply feels elated for hours for no reason. The rapture lingers on until the taps run dry and hurriedly she switches on the motor. Thanks to the rain water harvesting systems, the ground still has water and her mood is soon upbeat...

She trades her happiness for bigger joys as well, coz there is a need to celebrate when thoughts of simple joys seem overwhelming. Her joys are too simple, too many and water oriented.  If a bucket of water is a simple joy, a bigger joy is a long drive along the coast, where she can see the large expanse of water. Nothing else gives her much thrill as much as she derives from seeing and feeling the miracle that is water. 

Another bigger joy is simply sitting on the beach mesmerised by the waves that remind her of the pile of laundry. The big ocean that seems to toss and turn at the waves comes to her mind as she puts the clothes into the washing machine. She is delighted when there is running water and prays for more water and more rain. The clothes get a dettol toss and a spin dry.  Life is meaningful and she is an enlightened being much like Sri Ramakrishna or Sri Chaitanya.

The joy flows in her nerves and in her arteries. She prays to nature that transpires to bring her closer to water whenever she think of it and she feels blessed. As she experiences a surge in good energy and when the sky is overcast, the sun hides under the clouds she checks the TN weatherman's page and all is well...Is she assured ? Not as yet...You bet..

A spotless kitchen is her ultimate idea of emancipation. Her spirits soar on filling the glass bottles with pure RO water and drops down low on seeing the wastage from the outlet of the water filter.

In the event of mess or spills which is rather common in homes where too many cooks lend their hands to enhance the flavour of the favourite foods, she stays composed because she knows that where there is water there is a way...

" Where's the water ? " she shrieks in despair as she pull out the disposable kitchen wipes. Water doesn't solve all problems, she realises..It's good to practice alternative methods and dry cleaning also....Aah...The thoughts that can conjure up in the mind of a water obsessed woman... You never know...

Nevertheless...She moves on. Too many cooks but a lone sole cleaner...She cribs to no avail..

"There is an alternative to everything," advices an inner voice, as if to reassure her and quickly she gathers her sanity. Staying calm and cheerful is the key, she realises as she looks at the 90 year old father in law who oblivious of all that is happening around remains in a state of meditation until it's meal or sleep time.

Ah ! This is bliss...Indeed ! Wait till I get to get to that stage.....She mumbles and with thoughts racing, she starts dreaming of  the grand Sri Athivaradar inside a temple.

The year 2059 and a temple is built for the Lord. The rivers, lakes and ponds are brimming with water and Bharatavarsha is prosperous. Immersed in thoughts of the divine, drenched in euphorivc emotions, she fills the flask with hot water.

"Give me water Ma" pleaded the thirsty daughter, who was just back home after a long day at work. The daydream interrupted, she handed over the water bottle to her daughter....

" Till 2059, when I will be 90 years young, I will search for solace in some organised chaos " murmuring, in a bid to recover bits and pieces of herself she tends to leave, wherever she sees a spill, a drop, dust or mess, she jumps in joy because she knows  that a dreary routine is a blessing, to wipe and mop meant staying physically fit and more importantly there is rain and there will be water....

She is contented and at peace....