Going to a doctor!

Visiting a medical practitioner was quite an experience 50 years ago. We used to call them doctors in India, which we continue to do so even now. There were mainly 2 categories then- degree holders (MBBS) and diploma holders (LMP). For all minor ailments like fever, boils, indigestion etc the best bet was the LMP. LMPs were quick in diagnosing and prescribing medicines due to their profound experience. LMPs were proficient in all round activities; consultation, surgery and also specialist role at times. There were less postgraduates and specialists in those days.

Doctors used to visit homes of patients especially the wealthy and middle class during evenings. They also attended 24hours during emergencies.

Doctors visited patients in their cars or 2 wheelers and carried patent brown coloured leather bags fully packed with instruments and medicines. It was customary to receive a doctor at the gate and carry the bag for him.

Bulk of the people went to Government hospitals followed by private clinics. Clinics were more utilitarian with one or two wooden benches for the waiting patients and either an inside closed room or a screened partition for consultation. Usually a dispensary was attached to the clinic with a “compounder” for preparing and issuing medicines in liquid form called as “Mixture”.

Almost all doctors in those days adopted the same standard procedure for, examining the patients. The first one was to check the pulse. Next thing done was listening to the various sounds made in the chest cavity with the help of a stethoscope. We as children simply loved the cold button of the instrument when kept on the chest and the back. When we were asked to breathe in and breathe out with force, we either spat out or coughed; as we were unaware of the process of deep breathing.

The most difficult task was holding the thermometer in the mouth without biting it. While the adults managed with little effort, children always found it quite difficult. After the lapse of an unbearable amount of time the doctor would slowly extract the thermometer and try hard to read the mercury. The doctor most of the time found it difficult to read. As a cross check he would place his palm on the forehead or neck of the patient.

The next set of observations were; pumping the stomach with hand for any pain; checking of glands on the neck; checking the throat with mouth wide open with the aid of a torchlight; Pulling the lower eyelid down to check for anemic condition. It was compulsory to register the weight by using a weighing machine provided in a corner of the clinic. Children used to make liberal use of it. The physical examination was the most time consuming part of the entire consultation.Doctors had to rely on symptoms and physical examination in those days, as against plethora of analytical methods available today.

Finally before prescribing the medicines there used to be a “Viva Voce” with the patient. The most asked questions were:
• Any headache? How is the throat? What food you ate in the morning? Normal motion?

In a typical Indian family answers would be provided by every one around except the patient. Invariably my mother used to accompany me to doctor till I reached the age of 15. She used to answer all the questions of the doctor. The other practice was a bunch of patients from the same family would visit the doctor together. This practice was more due to the joint family system prevailing at that time. This was also an ingenuous way of paying only a single consultancy fee in some cases.

Before prescribing the medicines the doctor would ask “Do you need an injection?” Parents controlled their children with the threat of injection if they misbehaved. Children were always averse to this process as the method inflicted lot of pain. But adults had different view. Injections were less costly as compared to medicines and were found more effective than mixtures, powders and tablets. One doctor did confide to my father that he had to give saline water injections to some of his patients as otherwise they felt that the doctor was useless.

The advent of the wonder drugs was yet to take place, and the strongest medicines were based on Sulfa or Penicillin. Most of the fevers were treated with mixtures, which were combination of medicinal powders in a dissolving liquid medium. There were also some doctors who prescribed powders. But due to its bitter taste, everyone including adults shunned the powder. Hence the need for the mixture arose, which was easier to swallow and contained slight sugar. Also mixtures did not produce side effects but took longer time to cure. The compounder attached to the dispensary prepared the mixtures based on doctor’s instructions. Mixtures were in multifarious colours. We children had preference on colours. I used to resist drinking the rose mixture, which was pink in colour but bitter in taste. There was also a dark green mixture, which tasted better. I resisted drinking the rose mixture but my mother used a trick to make me drink. She would offer to give me a spoonful of sugar if I opened my mouth. She would put the sugar in the mouth followed with the rose mixture in quick succession.

Mixtures and tablets were prescribed usually for 2 days only. Patients had to visit the clinic after 2 days and again check with the doctor for further treatment. Even a simple fever entailed absence from school or work for a week. Doctors in those days believed in giving total rest to the body and prevent outside exposure. They were also great believers in nourishment and advised consumption of fruits, fruit juices, Horlicks and fruits. I have not seen any doctor advising in similar lines today.

There were very few doctors who opted for a blood test in those days. Probable reasons were lack of enough labs and also of analysts. Most of the fevers were allowed to have their run for more than a weak. The only precaution taken was to prevent the fever from reaching high by applying wet cloth over the forehead. An attendant would sit by the side of the patient and apply the wet cloth usually dipped in water mixed with Odicologne at frequent intervals. Liberal use of pain balms and eucalyptus oil on the forehead was also another method widely practiced to reduce headaches during high fever. Cases of people getting in to coma and passing out were also frequent. But compared to today the patients were kept in airy and clean rooms. They were isolated from other inmates of the house as for as possible. Greater attention was paid on diets and fruits were given regularly to patients as part of their recovery programme.

As for as children were concerned a great hurdle they have to cross during childhood was the Tonsils operation. India was a hot bed of throat infections in those days as the environment was highly polluted and there was no protected water supply. There was no sanitizing of vessels carrying water and unclean hands were dipped often in to water containers. While children went after Ice creams, which were a novelty in those days, the preparation was through unhygienic process. Ice creams were bought from street vendors who peddled the ware in hand carts. The Ice cream man often dipped freely his sweat and grime covered hand in to the thermos flask and take out Ice cream sticks.

The first thing the doctor did in cases of sore throat of children was to check for inflammation of the Tonsils. He would swipe the Tonsils with iodine dipped cotton swab with the help of a stick. If the trouble persisted for a long time doctors usually went for the removal of Tonsils. Nobody took care in controlling the cause. In those days most of the children around 10 years of age had their tonsils removed. The importance of Tonsils as a trap for infections was understood much later and the injurious surgery was aborted.

Another external medical practice, widely followed was “enema”. Constipation was a prevalent nuisance in those days as there was absolutely no control over quality and amount of food consumed. Any dinner was bound to have minimum 3 courses with combination of hot, sweet and oily dishes mixed liberally with Ghee (clarified butter). There were many brands of Laxatives available in the market. The newspapers carried regular advertisements on these brands. It was customary in the Indian households to give a dose of Castor oil once in a month to children so that their intestinal track was thoroughly cleaned.

If a doctor found laxatives ineffective he immediately recommended the “enema” process. There was no need for the doctor or a well-trained person to carry out the process. Most of the people in that period had experience. In our house my uncle used to help my grandfather several times in a year with the “enema” apparatus.

Apart from the use of western medicines large scale use of home remedies, and Ayurveda medicines were also prevalent. Faith cure was also another process which was mostly resorted to by the poor. I am intending to write on these practices separately.

To bring out a comparison of treatment between yesteryear and now, I would like to describe a recent experience. I had a swelling on the tip of my middle finger on the left hand, which was causing lot of pain and persisted for more than 4 days. I went to the out patient ward of a hospital nearby. The consulting doctor there asked me to see the surgeon in the ground floor as I might require an operation. The P.A. to the surgeon told me to get registered as an outpatient in their office. It took another half an hour to complete the process and I had to pay Rs.300 for consultation and registration fees.

The surgeon after checking and asking me many questions on my health, like BP and sugar levels asked me to wait at the OP ward where the surgery would take place. I was injected with a local anesthesia on the finger, which had absolutely no effect. When the swelling was operated the pain was terrible and intolerable. After resting me for another half an hour and giving an Anti tetanus injection I was asked to go home and come for dressing the next day. I had to pay Rs.700 to wards medicines, operation and service charges before I left the place. I had 2 more dressings on consecutive days, which entailed additional expense of Rs.150.

I still remember the operation I had when I was around 8 years of age. I had a boil on my leg, due to an infection. The doctor who did the operation was a lady with a LMP diploma. She never told me that she was going to operate before hand. She just applied few drops of disinfectant on the skin around and was talking about some household affair to my mother standing by my side. Suddenly she pierced the boil with a swift stroke of a knife which she had kept hidden in her hand and pressed hard the boil with her fingers. All the puss and blood inside spurted out. I had a flash of acute pain but it was gone in a jiffy after she applied little sulfa powder over the wound and bandaged. My mother paid the usual consultation fee of Rs.10.

Going to a doctor surely was much more pleasant in those bygone years as compared to the present jet age. While cures are faster today, the process involves lot more procedures, medical tests, expensive medicines and hefty doctor fees. The role of a general practitioner has got reduced significantly and even for minor ailments the specialist has to be consulted. The practice of doctors visiting patients at their homes has come to a stop excepting for the very rich. Today’s doctors cannot function without costly equipments like ECG, scanners and x-ray machines, which are available only in a hospital. The prognosis on patients is based on analytical reports rather than on physical observation as was done in olden days.

My escapades with the super natural …… !!!

Please do not read if you have a weak heart!

If we listen to some one’s experience about a ghost or anything super natural, most of us will believe it only with a pinch of salt. Our beliefs are based on our cultural background and the environment in which we live currently.

In my childhood some 50 years back, people in our town believed in the super natural almost implicitly. There were so many stories circulating around that it looked almost as occurrence of such events was a daily routine. People had strong beliefs and nobody could raise any doubt over these.

Resting under a Tamarind tree at noontime was considered dangerous as the spirits were supposed to haunt the it during noon. While traveling at night people were advised not to stop their vehicles if a lone female tried to halt the vehicle. It was widely believed that Mohinis (female ghosts) haunted highways during nights. Taking shelter in a dilapidated house was considered a great risk as Brahma rakshasas chose to live there. In villages strolling on streets during the wee hours of night especially between 2 and 5 o’ clock was not recommended, as “Kali” the guarding deity was believed to patrol the streets with her retinue of “Bhutas” or spirit guards. There was also an implicit faith on thunderstones striking the ground when a thunderstorm was raging.

An elaborate classification of demons, ghosts and goblins, was in vogue and most people were aware of the detail. People in our town were proficient with names of ghosts, their nature, and habitats. For example if a Brahmin was murdered his spirit would turn in to a Brahma rakshasa, the most terrible among the ghosts. These ghosts were known to kill wayfarers on the highway and eat them. The hymn to God Muruga in Tamil called “Kantha sashti kavacham” lists the names of several well-known ghosts of the olden days.

I thought that it was essential to give bit of background information before I can start my narrative. My earliest experience was when I was attending the second standard of an elementary school near my home. One day, during the morning interval when we were let free for 15 minutes some of my classmates informed that there was a ghost lurking in a hut inside the school compound. A council was held immediately and the brave among us got ready to fight the ghost. It was decided to use special weapons like worn out chappals and broomsticks. The weapons were procured without much difficulty, and ten of us proceeded to the battleground. By the time we reached the battle zone we were joined by other boys and on lookers and the crowd swelled to around 50.

We chose fat and hefty boys as our fighters in the forefront and the hut was breached in no time accompanied by battle cries. We could see a figure draped in white cloth ensconced inside the dimly lighted hut. Once the enemy was spotted our spirits rose up and rapid blows were executed with chappals and broomsticks. The ghost started howling in a squeaky pathetic voice and tried to escape. We immediately switched on our second line of offence by falling en masse on the ghost and flattening it out on the ground. By the time the ghost got dragged out in the open, the entire school including our HM had gathered to witness what was happening. When the ghost was uncovered, it was discovered to our chagrin that it was none other than the school gardener Munusami who had taken a deep nap after a bout of drink in the night.

Only the front liners of our army were left to face the ire and subsequent punishment from the HM as the bulk of our army had petered out from the spot once the identity of the ghost was established.

The second experience I had was when I was studying in the high school. The school was situated in a big garden with lot of trees. There was a large paddy field on one side of our school and only a barbed wire fence separated it from the school. Our classes were held in cottages with thatch roofs, which were nice to look at, surrounded by green Mango trees.

One day I had to go to the washroom. Washrooms were located at the back of the school near the paddy field. Quite a distance had to be covered nearly 500 yards, to reach the place from the classrooms. The time was around noon believed to be weird by the locals. I could see no one else in the vicinity, as I reached the place, which consisted of a block of 5 or 6 washrooms and a tiled roof. When I opened the door of one of the washrooms I froze in fright as I saw a huge crocodile like creature lurking inside. It was almost more than a foot in breath and around 6 feet in length. On a reflex I shut the door quickly and ran out of the block. I could clearly hear the reptile growling and struggling inside the washroom. In my stunned mood I could see it rush out of the room, through the gap between the door and the floor and escape out to the adjoining field.

It took quite a time for me to recover from stupor, and when I recounted the incident to my friends later on none of them believed me. No one had seen such a creature in the campus before and I could myself not believe what I had seen. I wonder even today if it was really a crocodile or a spirit in that form?

I also came across in school and outside many people who could elaborate on their adventures with the super natural. While I listened to their stories with certain amount of scepticism, a faith was also slowly sprouting out in the recess of my mind. Long after graduation and joining a firm for employment I had a tryst with the unknown in a dramatic manner.

It happened during a long journey in a Jeep with our test driver Narayanaswami. I was around 30 years of age and Narayanaswami would have been around 40. He was a retired army man, obedient, and well disciplined. We traveled through Kodaikanal, Munnar, Virajpet, and reached Mangalore after touching Mercara in the Coorg. Both of us shared the long drive and were conducting routine road tests on the way to check the brakes of the vehicle. Narayanaswami was in a good spirit and cooperative through out the journey.

It was almost lunchtime when we reached Mangalore. Suitable accommodation could not be found in the city after searching for a long time. While scouting outside the city I spotted a lodge run by the Karnataka tourist department and luckily got a double room. It was a quite spacious suite, having two rooms, living and bed. There were also two cots placed side by side in the bedroom with space all around. The rent was also reasonable.

We had enough time left for the day and I thought of driving up to Udipi and return. The drive to Udipi was uneventful but the travel along the seacoast was enjoyable. After completing Darshan of Sri Krishna at the Udipi temple we started the return journey. A stranger around 25 years of age, with dark complexion suddenly stopped our Jeep and accosted us for a lift to Mangalore. We agreed to take him with us. While I was driving, Narayanaswami was by my side and the stranger sat in the rear.

I was in the habit of reciting the Vishnu Sahasranama stotra, the thousand names of God Vishnu regularly in the evening. Once we were on the highway, I commenced the recitation. After some time the stranger started blurting out incoherently but I was not perturbed much as my entire focus was on the road and the stotra. From few furtive glances to the rear I could see the stranger turning highly nervous. As my recitation continued his mumble also increased reaching a crescendo after sometime. Narayanaswami got visibly excited, and tried his best to control the stranger, but with little success.

The drama came to an end as I completed my prayer and the stranger suddenly wanted the Jeep to be stopped. Mangalore was still some 10 Kms ahead and we were in a totally desolate place. It was pitch dark and the hitchhiker vanished in to thin air after the vehicle stopped even without offering any thanks. As I started motoring towards Mangalore Narayanaswami heaved a perceptible sigh of relief.

After reaching our lodge at Mangalore I tried to get Narayanswami’s version on the hitchhiker’s behaviour. He started shouting in an excited tone,” Sir! That boy created so much trouble! He did not like your recitation of the stotra and made two or three attempts to hit you from the back. I was so much terrified and had peace only after he got down”. It was then my turn to get upset and ask him what was wrong with my recitation. Narayanaswami replied,” There was nothing wrong with your recitation, but the boy was possessed by a ghost! The ghost was much troubled by God’s hymn and wished to attack you!”

I could not believe what I heard. But Narayanaswami was firm in his conviction and quite upset over the incident. I tried my best to assuage his feelings by taking him out for dinner to a good hotel at Mangalore. By the time we returned and went to sleep it was around 11 in the night. I am habitually a deep sleeper and could go to sleep any where without much effort. But on that night there were some early disturbances due the loud snore of my companion and it was some time before his performance for the night could cease.

Even a deep sleeper can get disturbed if a loud noise is produced in the vicinity. This was what exactly happened to me as I heard a loud pitiable howl emanating from the adjacent cot. There was a voice shouting “ Iyyo! Iyyo! Iy-Iyyo!”. This is an exclamation in Tamil expressing acute danger or deep fright. I got up from the bed and switched on the lamp. I could see Narayanaswami sweating all over the body and kicking his legs in the air. I woke him up by sprinkling water on him. Once he recognized me he started blurting out,” Sir! Let us get out of here fast”. I tried my best to cool him down and after drinking a cup of water he spoke to me again” There is a ghost in this room! It sat on my chest and tried to pummel and strangle me! I want to get out of here!” I looked at my watch and it was exactly 2 o’clock. It was impossible to check out at that ungodly hour and get another room. Somehow I consoled Narayanaswami and assured him we would vacate the place first thing in the morning.

It took me another ten minutes to go to sleep and then I had a vivid dream. In the dream I was walking on a flat hard ground and the place was quite desolate. There were no trees or vegetation around. Suddenly I stepped in to a pit and began to fall. At this point in the dream I had an external stimulus of someone violently pulling my legs. I thought it was Narayanaswami probably playing some pranks. But the subsequent happening nearly took the breath out of me. I could distinctly feel someone sitting on my chest and choking me. My pressure blew up with respiration surging in to a super fast mode. The body started perspiring heavily and I turned wet fully within a few seconds. There was a great fear gradually enveloping me and progressing to oblivion. This was when my habit of reciting prayer helped. I started appealing to my Guru for help and went on repeating the divine names. Suddenly the vengeful external act stopped and I returned to normalcy. I got up from the bed and looked around after switching the lamp on. There was no body around. Narayanaswami was deep asleep and in a happy snoring mode. I decided to keep the lamp switched on for the rest of the night and went to sleep. Thankfully there were no further disturbances.

It was 6 o’clock in the morning when we woke up. We hurriedly completed our morning routines in half an hour time and checked out of the lodge helter-skelter. While having a peaceful breakfast at a Mangalore restaurant, I told Narayanaswami on my adventure in the night. He was visibly shaken, but much appreciated my action in vacating the room early in the morning.

What really happened? I am not able to explain till date. But clearly there were some forebodings with the strange behavior of the hitchhiker in the evening. I earlier thought on what happened to Narayanaswami during sleep as a mere fig of imagination. My subsequent experience not only confirmed my companion’s version but also raised few questions. Was I influenced by Narayanaswami’s adventure? If I was influenced by Narayanaswami, how was the external stimuli produced? How did the entire event come to a close after recitation of the prayer?

Only conclusion I could make is surely the event was an out of ordinary one. I also thought that the ghost got transferred to Narayanaswami when the stranger left the Jeep and started its vindictive operation on us during the night. But this could be a farfetched theory as Narayanaswami behaved quite normally during the rest of our journey. It could also be explained that the spirit left for good after I sought help from my Guru. Alternatively the ghost could also been a resident ghost of the lodge. It is always possible for some one to pitch upon a better rational explanation after chcking and studying the facts.

But even at this point of time, I cannot forget the shock and the trauma that accompanied the external stimuli and the consequent build up of fear. The racing of the heart, with express speed towards ultimate doom still lingers in my mind.

The case of the gritty Uppuma

We were visiting Mysore for a short holiday. Mami decided to use the meager cooking resources we had in the flat for preparing tasty meals. I enjoyed the dishes with relish.


We visited Melkote during the trip which was really enjoyable. There was also quite a shopping spree at “More” and “Big Bazaar” at Mysore. We also visited Sridhar and Kamali almost daily and shared some of their meals.

On the last day of our holiday Mami suddenly decided to prepare Semia Uppuma for serving Sridhar when he visited our flat in the evening. She took lot of care in cooking.

Sridhar is a person with his taste buds always on the alert. He is a real gourmet. He slowly masticated the Uppuma with full concentration. After consuming a plate there was no comment.

We went to Sridhar’s apartment in the night before we left for the railway station. While we were talking on many issues, Sridhar inconspicuously remarked that the Uppuma served to him was mixed with dust.

Mami was shocked to the core and Kamali also confirmed that the dish was bit gritty indicating dust or sand particles. After much debate the conclusion was the dust was evidently carried by the wind and got deposited in the dish. Mami was not happy about the reason as she maintained wind could not penetrate closed windows of the kitchen.

I am always a slow thinker but the truth came out in a flash while we were going to the railway station. Mami was using the tap water provided in the flat which is pumped from a sump to the overhead tank and distributed. We have not installed any water filter system in our flat. There was every possibility of sand or dust particles getting mixed in water.

Thanks to Sridhar we now know what to do next time we visit Mysore. Install a water purifier or buy only mineral water for cooking!

What happened to Subbu?

The human mind is complex. Nobody knows its depths and what lies stored there. Most of us know only some of the impressions connected with day to day life. How about the myriads of memories and patterns registered in its million cells? One can never guess what can come out of its depth which can change the life of an individual beyond recognition. I am not sure if I have made the point clear. The best example I can give is what we see in dreams at times. You see yourself in a totally unexpected perspective. After you wake up the dream haunts you for many days.
Subramaniam was an active lawyer. He was married and had a son. He had a house in a good locality. Subramaniam known as Subbu to his associates and friends was not a sociable individual, but was also not a recluse.
I was not intimate with Subbu, but used to see him occasionally. While the gents of our locality meet seldom, the ladies have numerous chances to meet and exchange gossip under the garb of pleasantries. They visit the temple nearby almost every day. They also chat with neighbours on a regular basis. There are also social and religious functions in which fair exchange of information takes place. The trouble with men is that they are mostly self centered and don’t bother much about people around. A lady cannot remain long without people contact.
My wife Chellam, who has the habit of disturbing me whenever I snatch a bit of time to study an interesting book asked me one night,” do you know what is wrong with Subbu?”. I was rudely shocked as I had met Subbu only 2 days earlier at the bank. “Why what happened to him?” I asked her. “It seems he is not taking interest in the family now a days”, replied Chellam. I was not surprised by what she said as it was the usual grievance against men. But later events proved her right.
Change does not happen in one day. It takes place gradually and slowly. I could surely note some minor aberrations in Subbu’s personality one day as he was passing by the road. Subbu would normally be attired immaculately in a well pressed pant and a shirt with a clean shaven face and well combed hair. He was working as an officer in the secretariat. The man I saw on that particular day was surely Subbu, but wearing a 4 yards dhoti and a white jibba with lot of wrinkles. He had evidently not shaven, and was walking with a measured gait. His gaze was not on the road but at a distant point on the horizon. The only positive feature I could notice was that there was a streak of unusual brightness in his face which normally would be clouded with a worried frown.
My maternal grandfather was around 70 years of age at that time. He was well known for his erudition on Hindu scriptures and spiritual practices. People of the locality used to meet him and learn a lot on religion. Granddad (Thatha) would give advice to one and all without any bias. One day I had to return home early from office and to my surprise saw Subbu seriously discussing some issue with Thatha. When after an hour of consultation, Subbu left our house he was carrying few books with him. Thatha usually maintains strict confidentiality on his clients’ issues but in Subbu’s case he shared a bit of information with me. I learnt that Subbu had suddenly taken interest on spiritualism and was spending most of his time in reading scriptures and attending lectures. Thatha had written several books on his own spiritual experiences, and he was too glad to lend out few books to Subbu for reading.
I was not happy with the turn of events. What made a person in the prime of youth, with good job and nice family turn to spiritualism? The answer could not be simple. Further news on Subbu was not encouraging. Subbu was taking leave from work quite often on the pretext of visiting holy places. He had grown a full length beard and had made it a practice to wear saffron coloured jibba and dhoti alone. Colleagues in his office started calling him “Saamiyar” meaning a monk.
No one would have been pained much if only Subbu had maintained certain amount of moderation in his activities. While he had every right to pursue spiritual activities, Subbu did the mistake of neglecting his family. As his wife was not employed and the family was depending only on his salary for sustenance, tension started mounting and alarm bells started ringing in nook and corner of the family circle. In those days families did not go to a court for solution and most affairs were sorted out within the family.
I was most surprised to see Subbu’s father in law and mother in law on an afternoon in our house talking to my mother (Amma). While Thatha was a spiritual guide, Amma was recognized as a consultant on family affairs. Amma was able to resolve both simple and difficult family problems. As I was anxious about Subbu I surreptitiously moved to a corner and listened to the entire proceeding. Subbu’s in-laws were terribly pained with his activities. He was not paying attention not only to his wife but also to his son. He was not even handing over his salary to his wife. They had also learnt that his spiritual activities were energized after his talk with Thatha. They wanted Amma to advise them. Amma cooled them substantially by offering the best coffee she ever made. She also gave them in addition hot crisp Vaazhakai (Plantain fruit) bhajjis for which she was famous. Finally while sending them off she promised to settle the entire matter within 2 days.
Amma had lot of love for Thatha but in the case of Subbu she decided to take the cudgel on hand. Thatha had real tough time explaining to Amma what he told Subbu. “I never asked him to do silly things. I only cleared his doubts” was his meek affidavit. Amma sensed the seriousness of the issue and the matter was taken to father the highest level at our family council. It was unanimously decided that Thatha would call for Subbu and give him a bit of frank talk.
None of us knew what exactly happened during Thatha’s chat with Subbu. I could notice Subbu coming out after an hour of talk with Thatha in a hurried manner. There were tears in his eyes and his face was flustered. Amma understood from Thatha that his talk was well received and positive results could be expected soon.
I was too busy to know the happenings in our locality for some time but the bombshell landed one day after a month or so. Chellam exploded the news.” Do you know what your friend Subbu has done? He has got a transfer to Madurai. He and his family left for Madurai yesterday”.
I have not got any more information on Subbu till date. Is he still running the family or turned in to a full time Saamiyar? God alone knows. It is very strange that in life some people suddenly disappear from the scene as in a film or drama. I still have few queries which have remained unanswered. What made Subbu to turn to spiritualism? Can a major transformation suddenly happen to somebody? What made Subbu to seek a transfer to Madurai?
At least for the last question I can guess some answer. Subbu’s act of shifting to Madurai was a clever ploy to divert the attention of people of the locality. As Madurai was a new place fewer people would be interested in his activities and he can pursue it in his own way. Thatha was surely a clever person. He had worked in the revenue department of the government and had worked closely with lawyers, district collectors and officials. I am sure that Subbu got the advice from Thatha to move away from the trouble spot and avoid undue public criticism.
As for as sudden onset of Spiritualism in a person is concerned even though there is no clear answer, I feel the spark can get ignited in any body at any time. There need not be a strong reason or provocation. It is evidently related to the complexity of the human mind.

The Traveler

He would have been not more than 80. He was tall and slender. He was bald and his features were quite sharp. He was fair complexioned. He had a slight stoop and walked with measured footsteps leaning on a wooden walking stick. That was Raghavachari.
He lived in a big bungalow with trees and plants amidst a sylvan atmosphere. There was a bit of open ground on one side of the house filled with fine dried river sand. Two or three huge sofas made of cement concrete were placed on the edge of the ground abutting the flower plants. After 5’o clock when the sun’s scorching rays lost the intensity, the old man slowly commenced his trip. Inching his way across the sandy ground he reached one of the sofas and after considerable preparation finally took his seat.
The gardener had watered the plants and also sprayed water on the sofa to keep it cool before the old man arrived. He just sat without any movement. He was constantly looking at the distant horizon almost as on meditation.
What was he thinking? It was difficult to gauge. His sons and daughters were doing well. He was living with his eldest son who was an engineer in the government. All his daughters were married and settled well.
There was a sign of a subtle smile on his face. The smile could have been due to wrinkles on the face. But he was never seen surly or melancholy. His face always had a unique charm and exhibited braveness and the will to live. No one came to him on a courtesy call or for a casual talk while he was sitting alone. Even children avoided meeting him either due to respect or fear. He was a perfect loner who lived in his own inner world without any disturbance.
Raghavachari had worked hard to bring up his six children. He had not studied much but he had honesty and hard work as tools which were given much recognition in his days. He provided good education to his children and his eldest son could attend an engineering school. The son climbed up fast on his career and became the chief engineer of the PWD. With his meager earnings the old man married off his daughters to good grooms who later did well in life.
His first wife died in prime of her youth after providing him a son and a daughter. As per the custom of those times he married again. His second wife was a well natured caring person. She brought peace to his life.
He was taken care of in old age by his wife. Even though he was living with his wife and son, he lead the life of an ascetic. He never involved himself in family affairs. His son was always busy with his own profession and family.
He was provided with an exclusive room in the house by his son. It was a room built by covering the staircase well. There was no standing space inside the room. It was so narrow that only an easy chair and a cot could be placed. But the room had a door in place that could be locked. The old man practically lived in the room all the time excepting when he went out for his evening stroll.
The municipal clock nearby had struck six times. It was the time for Santhya vandhana, the evening prayer. The old man performed the prayer while being seated on the cement chair. He had never missed performing the morning and evening prayers even once in his life.
He slowly got up and his return journey to his den started. Raghavachari had not achieved great things in life. But he had very few qualms on what he missed. His mind was translucent and placid like a lake. He had no desires. He had learnt to look at life in its true perspective.
He was neither elated by success nor affected by failure. He loved all but hated none. He had attained what is supposed to be the highest achievement for a man, the equanimity of mind.
He had completed his assignments well and was ready for the final travel!