The Man Who Called Everyone Shiva!
Updated: 22 hours ago
It was about 8:45 pm, and I was waiting for a bus after 12 hours in college. As usual, the bus was running late. The whole bus stop was vacant, with only three girls and two boys, excluding me. The boys in the group were chattering, and the girls stood whispering. I stood beside the group for about half an hour and was exhausted from carrying the heavy bag, which held a big, fat organic chemistry book. I went back and sat on the only bench.
All of a sudden, out of nowhere, came a man wearing a saffron-coloured dhoti with three horizontal lines on his forehead, signifying a Shiva follower. He was naked except for a chain which had Rudrakshas. He had a turban of the same saffron colour. He was dancing, paying no attention to his surroundings. Girls who were near the bus stop started giggling, looking at him. I looked intently but got nothing but a man dancing foolishly.
This man stopped dancing as soon as he could see girls beside him. He shouted immediately, “Mata! Aashirvaad dho” connotation “Oh Mother, give me your blessings.”
The girls were shocked by the sudden change in the situation. One of the three girls opened her purse, pulled out a ten-rupee note and pointed it at the man to take it. He did not bother, but he folded his two hands and said again, “Mata! Aashirvaad dho.”
The girls did not know what to do. Everyone else was observing with fascination. Another girl turned towards the boys, looking for help. Answering to her plea, a boy shouted, “Paise lekar chale jawo”
The man now turned toward the boy. First, he bowed, then shouted, “Shiva!”
Unbothered, the man started dancing again and left to celebrate on his own. We all shared a laugh again, and one of the boys went a little forward following him, turned back, and said, “Pagal admi”
After this incident, for a couple of years, I wondered if the man was a true or a fake sadhu. Then I wondered what his motivations could be, irrespective of who he is. Then, after a couple of years, I, with a lot of resistance, had to admit, whoever he was and whatever he believed in, it gave him joy.
Much later, unbothered about his credentials or credibility, I had to learn one important thing from all of it. Being happy and content isn’t easy, and maybe, just maybe, faith was his gateway to it. Or maybe he is just a lost soul, and I’m reading too much into it.
Credits
This contribution was written by R. S. Chintalapati, edited by R. K. Chamarla and photographed by Pankaj Tottada.
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