29 Jan,bharata yatra 2008
enroute kumbhakonam to tiruvananthapuram —
the drive from kumbhakonam to tirunelveli was nice. kumbhakonam is not only home to hundreds of famous temples, but also for its rice production. either side of the road was filled with rice fields, spread across far beyond your eyes can catch. or you see sugarcane or corn fields. the greenery was very nice, soothing for the eyes.
one pays taxes. and with that tax, the gov’t makes roads. so one has to share for the road right? if you don’t have any vehicle what will you use the road for? this is what i felt when i saw the farmers use the main road as a field to dry their crops. they divide an area and protect with small stones and spread the grains there for drying. if it is rice, they put the paddy along the road, and the vehicles will run over it. so that the gains are separated from the hay. at the end of the day, the hay is stacked, grains are collected in sacks. i don’t think any one has any complaints – either the passengers or the farmers … they co-exist understanding each other. beautiful eh? yaa this is india.
we stayed in sarada college in nellai (tirunelveli). the swaminis of sri ramakrishna tapovanam received amma. you could see many were bursting into tears upon seeing amma. they consider amma as sarada devi. they requested amma to speak few words to the sannyasins. amma replied “what is there to talk? what sri ramakrishna spoke, it’s available in books. what is more there to talk?”
nellai program was soooooo big. its unimaginable for any one to think that so many people will come to meet one person, who you are going to meet for the first time – and wait throughout the night with family for a 3-4 seconds hug. it was amazing how people waited patiently. people are looking for miracles. isn’t this a miracle in itself? for many spirituality means happening of miracles; not understanding reality.
finishing darahsn at 10 a.m, amma left for tiruvananthapuram. before reaching the ashram amma blessed a devotees house. he is a cloth merchant. for the last 6 generations they have been weaving cloths. very special cloths, now exclusively used for marriages and ceremonies. the man was explaining the entire history of cloths like a small child, which amma listened to very lovingly.
when we reached trivandrum ashram at 2.15 p.m, already hundreds were waiting for a glimpse of amma.