Machilipatnam is slowly getting on to the South Central Railway map. It has a long history and a glorious future. The first ever train in the country (the first ever track laid) was between Machilipatnam and Margaon (Goa). But in the recent past, there was a time when some 4 compartments were lugged with the Narsapur express and were detached at Gudivada; from there on, these were attached to a passenger train to Machilipatnam. Now we have our own Machilipatnam Express. (And two return trains to Secunderabad on Sundays!
On the way to Machilipatnam, it was terrible: my ticket didn’t get confirmed, so got a half of the side birth; most uncomfortable. But it was something one had to do – damn the discomfort but get there and do the deed, somehow. With all the brothers and sisters, it was not a gloomy affair but a rather sumptuous – if hectic, for the women folk, ‘do’. Most of the folks left by evening; thank goodness, there weren’t enough cots and mattresses for more than the few of us left for the night. This is the annual jamboree – my father’s death ceremony, rich in ritualistic agnihotram and the fumes. Looking at the fire was thrilling; you keep it going with small sticks and ghee.
There was once a question on a mailing list of Indians in Finland: why is that we use ghee instead of petrol for our rituals. I said that we haven’t updated our rituals in thousands of years – when people used ghee because there was no petrol (I am not sure when petrol was discovered, but these rituals obviously belong to an era before that.) I am reminded of a story of Satya Sai Baba. Here it goes…
The new Swamiji and his new Cat
There was once a swamiji, with sishyas (disciples) under his tutelage. He was living in an ashram, and one day a cat came there and took shelter in the ashram. Everyday, when the swamiji was performing his puja, the cat would jump around and spill something or topple something else. So, the swamiji started to find the cat, put it in a basket and put a lid on top, before starting the puja. After the puja, he would let the cat out of the basket. Time went on, and the swamiji passed away: the senior most desciple took over the ashram. They continued to find the cat, put it in a basket and put a lid, before puja; and releasing it – after the puja. In due season, the cat also died.
Now, the new ‘swamiji’ sent his disciples to find a new cat. Before the daily puja, he would bring the new cat and put it in a basket and put a lid on top of it. And release it after the puja!
The moral of the story is: try to understand the meaning of rituals. If ghee costs more than petrol (indeed it does), it is time to move on the petrol. I don’t believe in the whole ragmatazz associated with the death anniversary (‘shraadha karma’) but I sit there and go through the motions. I am not unlike the new swamiji – in that I follow what the pundit says, without questioning; the only difference is that I at least entertain the questions in my mind as to why ghee should be used when petrol is available, and so on.
Return by Secunderabad (Sunday) Special
The Secunderabad (Sunday) Special train is commissioned to take back the crowds that land up in Machilipatnam on Saturday and Sunday. Obviously, that is in addition to the regular train. As luck would have it, I had a decent night’s sleep on the train (with a confirmed ticket and an upper berth). The train got delayed by 2 hours, which meant I had an extra two hours of sleep on the train. Well, it is back to the salt mines now, at the college.
Karnataka imbroglio
Act one of the drama in Karnataka has ended with the score 1-0 in favour of Mr Yeddyurappa. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is celebrating but it is early days now: the opposition is unhappy and says the vote of confidence was illegal. The BJP says that the 11 BJP MLAs have been bought. This kind of trading of charges is common and the one with more money wins the vote: it appears that round one is in favour of Mr Yeddyurappa and the Gali brothers. When there was a vote on the bill regarding civilian nuclear establishments, the Congress won it with money power. Now, let us see what Mr H D Kumara Swamy Gowda has up his sleeve.
Does it mean the Congress high command is going to go slow with regard to Mr Y S Jaganmohan Reddy for the time being? Watch this space…
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