Pughazhendhi Siddhar

March 26, 2009

Dear VS,

This happened long ago.

One village,let us call, V had only one means of transport to its heavenly abode and that was human legs!

No car or even a bicycle could go, because there wera series of coconut barks which were placed at various strategic points over a small rivulet which traversed across its imaginary boundary.

One had to know the following skills to enter the village:

1. Tight rope walking

2. Somersault

3. Singleleg walking on a thin strip of wood

4. Catapulting using a pole||(much akin to 'Malaikallan'{(Tamizh verison of a Hillrobber)}||

Well, maybe I was exagerating it all a bit.

I could see the local women with firewood on their heads and a cellphone strung on their necks(!!) leading a rather insouciant life but able to do the 4 skills mentioned supra like reading the lines on the palm of their hands.

I stopped one of them and said, I was thirsty and hungry.

She said, "Do you want Nongu?"('Nongu' in Tamizh means the translucent palm fruit taken from palmyrah tree)

I paid her a small amount and greedily gulped the fruits to pacify my Jatharaagni.

To even see Pughazhendhi Siddhar seemed to burn my sins.

Because the very assay involved another set of following:

1. Bearing the summer heat of Theni district

2. No transportation

3. Faring mosquitoes,animals and other elementals

4. No proper food(atleast for a vegetarian like me)

5. No comforts, other than a backpack which I had carried.

This Siddhar Paramporul used to always stick himself to a tree and smile but never speak.

My curiosity aroused, I started on a journey/piligrimage to this Siddhar.

The 'Nongu' which I ate sustained me for only three hours.

My friend who accompanied me said in right jest, " We must not stop till the goal is reached.Try Try Try again till we succeed..."

I looked the otherside and yawned.*Yaaaawwwn*

This was not as easy as I thought, especially when you do not know the address.

My friend tried to lift my spirits.He too belonged to the same 'lunatic' clan as me, who were always interested in Siddhars and Yogis and visit them.But this time, I was not going to buy his words.Afterall, 'Bare words buy no barley'(or shall we say 'Nongu'?)

I wanted to retort back to him, "Nongedduthuduven, pesinaa"(That was a colloquilaism which means literally taking the 'palmfruit out of the palmfrond' or to beat someone blue and black for irritating.)

But then, that would remind me of 'Nongu', so I remained quite and smiled.

I looked at a big neem tree.I touched it and mentally prayed the Siddhar and asked the branches of the Neem tree to pass on my pleas to see Him.

Appam(Rice pancake)

I said to my friend,"Look here, I need an Idly or an Aaappam not your words."

In Tamizh there is an old saying "Before the arrival of the elephant,one can hear the sound of the bell tied to the elephant".

In a manner akin to this saying, I caught scent of Aappam being carried by one village woman.

I took it as a prasadam from Pughazhendi Siddhar.

I then asked the Appam carrying woman after licking my fingers of the desert delicay(Pottakadu virundhombal) about the Siddhar and much to our heavenly happiness she knew about the residence of the Siddhar.

I wanted to sing Hossanas for the woman with the plamyra leaves which I had in my hands still like the Biblical manna singing, only that it was stained with the palmfruit juice a bit!

Nevertheless, I let an elated whistle from my lips and said,"whoooooosh! thats cool"

Thanking her profusely we both started refreshed from the 'Aappam-break'.

(To be continued...)

Shreeram Balijepalli

Hreem Rajarajeshwari Paradevatha!

Purity, Powers, Parabrahmam...