Life is either a great adventure or nothing! Indeed! A few years ago, a dear friend of mine bought a new car and he proposed that we hit the highway for a long drive. For quite some time, we had talked about driving to Tiruvannamalai, both to visit Sri Ramana Ashram as well as visit the popular Arunachaleshwara temple. When we worked out the road trip we figured out that Pondicherry is only 100 odd kilometres away from Tiruvannamalai and decided to drive down to Pondicherry and en route stop at Tiruvannamalai. We left Bangalore early in the morning and reached Sri Ramana Ashram by noon. We went around the Ashram, the cave where Sri Ramana meditated and all the associated places within the Ashram. We finally landed at the huge meditation hall and like many others within the premises, chose a place and positioned ourselves to meditate. After an hour or so, we got up and decided it was time to leave the Ashram. After the ashram visit, we went to the HUGE Arunachaleshwar temple and paid a visit to the deity, offered our prayers and left the temple. We reached Pondicherry around 6 PM. We went into a decent looking hotel and requested for a room. The receptionist said the hotel was sold out and it would not be possible for us to get a room in Pondicherry for the next few days. I tried all my travelers tricks on the receptionist but they were futile. We went around the whole of Pondicherry looking for accommodation and everywhere it was the same excuse. At one hotel, the receptionist did mention that it was the Pongal (Sankranthi) long weekend in Chennai and it was the busiest time of the year for hotels in Pondicherry. Some hotels asked us to try hotels in Cuddalore, Villiapuram and even Mahabalipuram. I took out my laptop and datacard and Googled called hotels in Pondicherry, Cuddalore, Mahabalipuram and all other small towns nearby. Absolutely no luck. It was getting late and we knew that the chances were bleak. I remembered that my colleague’s close relative lived in Pondicherry and thought of seeking his help. I called my colleague and he in turn called his relatives only to be told that his relatives had guests at home and there was no way they could accommodate us! It was almost midnight and we were hungry. We went into a nice looking hotel and asked this time for the restaurant. The person at the gate said, we better rush as it was almost closing time for the restaurant. As we were rushing inside, my friend told me, “Phani, while I was meditating at Sri Ramana’s Ashram, I had visions of him and he assured me all help. Somehow I get a feeling that we will get a room tonight” I just shook my head and I knew it would be a miracle to get a room. On our way to the restaurant inside the hotel, my friend stopped at the reception and requested for a room. The receptionist laughed at him and said there was no way he could give us a room. My friend mentioned to him that we will be inside the restaurant and in case the receptionist wanted to get in touch with us. Both of us knew it was a very slim chance and we had decided to drive back to Bangalore. We were about to finish our dinner and pay for the meal when the receptionist rushes into the restaurant and tells us that a Suite room is available as the guest had cancelled the reservation! Next morning, we got up early to check out the old town of Pondicherry and also to visit Aurobindo Ashram. As we drove up to the ashram, the gatekeeper said they open only at 8AM and we were an hour early. We did not know what to do. We parked the car and just started walking around the Ashram area and we saw a huge temple nearby to the Aurobindo Ashram. Since it was Sankranthi day (Pongal), we decided to go inside the temple and understood that it is a Ganesha Temple. As we went inside the temple, we heard someone singing the famous Sree Ganesha Pancharatnam. It was a male voice, crystal clear pronunciation, melodious voice. It was really soothing. As we went closer, we saw an aged man seated and singing. Although the deity was all decked up, everyone’s attention was on this individual. Everyone listened with rapt attention. Many of us were in tears as he completed the verses. When the priest came to us to offer prasadam, I casually asked him who the gentleman was. “Sir, he is coming to this temple for the last sixty odd years and every morning he sings the same Sree Ganesha Pancharatnam and I don’t think he has missed many days. Moreover, he is visually impaired” Coincidentally, the quote, “Life is either a great adventure or nothing!” is attributed to Helen Keller, herself a visually impaired genius. Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham Phanibhushan Sharma
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 17:16:59 +0000
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