My Wanderings 98
Short Story No 54
A Sanyasini from South
It was the middle of year Nineteen
eighty nine, when atmosphere of Kashmir was very congenial and peaceful. Most of the Kashmiri pandits were living there in much harmony and they could never think of leaving Kashmir for good. Some small skirmishes with majority community were taken for granted and no body could ever dream of leaving his home and hearth that easily and so stoically.
I was living in my ancestral home along with my family in heart of Srinagar city I.e Purshyar habbakadal . Our ancestral home was situated on the banks of river Jehlum overlooking the Habbakadal bridge . My brother , who was a chemical engineer by profession had already left for Jammu few years back alongwith his family to pursue his newly acquired job at RRL Jammu . My parrents i.e. my mother and father used to stay in winters at jammu alongwith with my brother and in summers they would stay with me at our ancestral home in Srinagar.
My brother working at RRL jammu had a scope for perusing his studies further and he started completing his PhD degree in chemical engineering at IIT New Delhi under the guidance of a professor of the same Institute. Therefore , he had to spent most of his time at IIT Delhi.
Once while studying at Delhi IIT in the scorching heat of july he scanned the vast expanse of sky to find something but the sky was crystal clear and there was not a speck of cloud in it to give any clue of coming monsoon . Therefore, he thought of visiting his family and office at Jammu. It was also his birthday next day.
When he reached his home at jammu he came to know that his family had already shifted to Srinagar for few days to celebrate his birthday with the extended family . There was a gap of communication those days because there were no mobiles and even telephones were few and far between the localities. At jammu also he could not find any respite from the scorching heat and soltitude . Therefore , he suddenly decided to visit his ancestral home at Srinagar on the same very day as it was his birthday that day and in order to give surprise to his family .
He looked at his watch . It was sharp 9 A. M. Most of the buses from jammu to Sringar used to leave early in the morning . He in order to avail a chance immediately rushed to Bus stand as his clothes were already packed . After reaching Bus Stand he found most of Srinagar bound buses had left the Bus Stand. There was only one bus waiting to leave. He immediately contacted the Conductor of bus, who informed him that there was only one seat vacant in the bus as the person who booked that seat has not arrived yet. If he did not turn up within five minutes you can occupy his seat. After elapse of five minutes , conductor pointed towards my brother and the latter boarded the bus immediately with his small baggage and bus left the stand. My brother took the seat next to a middle aged sanyasini wearing light saffron coloured dress and a pinch of vermilion pasted on her forehead , because that was the only vacant seat in the bus.
After travelling in the bus for an hour or so both remained silent .Then my brother thought of breaking the ice and ventured to ask her about her whereabouts and purpose of her visit to kashmir. She replied him in a very polished manner that she is from Tamil Nadu and convent educated. She became sanyasini at the age of twenty eight despite of much dissuation from her family . Her Guru who is from Shankaracharya order and he has advised her to visit Shankaracharya temple of Kashmir .
" where does your Guru stay?"asked my brother, nonchalantly . " He is already dead since last 20 years", she replied . " But how does he communicate with you" , asked my brother again . " oh! it is a visionary contact . You can understand that he comes into my dreams and advises me occasionally," she retorted back. She further told to my brother that she even expressed her inability, to her Guru , to travel such long distances all alone . But he assured her that he will arrange for her travel and she will not feel any difficulty during her sojourn. My brother did not took her words much seriously and smiled at her in affirmative nod. Later on it transpired that her Guru was a sidpurash and he used to visit her after his Nirvana also.
Then they talked on various subjects through out their travel which lasted for about nine hours. In the mean time my brother arranged for her breakfast , lunch and snacks etc. from roadside hotels and dhabas. She used to take these food articles only when offered to her in her own bowl. After reaching Srinagar city my brother took her to ShrRamkrishna Ashram in Auto Rickshaw and arranged for her lodging and boarding there through good resources of Professor Chaman Lal Sapru , who was an active member of the Ashram and friend of our father.
After few days my brother visited the Ashram again and brought her with him to visit our home. On that day I saw her first time . She had a very good meeting with my father , who was a very religious man and honest to the core. She enthusiastically looked in his religious books and took interest in his spiritual pursuits . She also noted down from his books some important shalokas. I still remember one Krishna bhajan which she copied in her note book from his book. It was "Adram Madhuram, Naynam Maduram , mudhardipati akhilam maduram. "
After some time my brother returned to Jammu again to pursue his job and research work. But the sanyasini remained in Kashmir for a month or so and visited Shankarcharya Temple and most of the sacred places located in Kashmir with the cooperation of Ashram people and other devotees who had become familiar to her. In her leisure time she also visited our home sometimes to have spiritual discourses with our father.
Finally when she decided to leave kashmir, I alongwith my wife visited her at Ashram . We had a long discussion with her in the lawns of Ashram . She discussed with us various topics which I don't remember now. But only one thing which I still remember is that she told us , her Gurudev had said to her that it will be her first and last visit to kashmir , because situation in Kashmir will deteoriate soon and most of its aborigines will leave Kashmir for good.
I had a good laugh over her utterances and she looked towards me with a grin . I had never thought in my dreams at that time that her words will prove right within a very short span of time.
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