THE STORY OF FAITH
By: Sundaresan Suresh
Sambasiva Mudhaliar was the owner of an Eatery, in that nondescript place, which was neither a town nor a village.He, was a man of humble origin with no high aspiration. He was married to Nallamai, a devout and God-fearing woman. They had one son, Kumaran who was in his XII th standard. He was a brilliant student and a responsible boy, who understood the difficulties of his parents. His only aim was to become an engineer, and settle in life so that he could make the twilight years of his parents comfortable and peaceful. Mudhaliar was getting, just about adequate income, from the hotel and the wheel of life was rolling forward for the small family.
Mudhaliar’s eatery was well-known in the nearby area, for both its quality and the prices. He was not a ravenous man and would never over-charge his customers. There was a Murugan temple some 2 kms away where there used to be a regular stream of visitors. Devotees, after offering prayer at the temple, would flock to Mudhaliar’s eatery for lunch. Thus there used to be a steady clientele for his eatery.Mudhaliar and Nallamai treated each and every customer like a family member and served them with love and affection.
Mudhaliar was a staunch devotee of Ambal and used to worship Goddess Kamakshi. An unlettered man, he used to utter the name “Kamakshi” constantly. While sitting he would say “Kamakshi”, while walking he would keep on saying “Kamakshi”, his every sentence would be punctuated with “Kamakshi” and it was as if he was inhaling and exhaling the word “Kamakshi”. The Goddess’s name had merged with his existence, as it were. In fact Nallammai was so exasperated, that she had once remarked, half jocularly and half seriously, “you are shouting at the top of your voice; But even this does not seem to be enough to be heard by the Goddess. God knows when you shall be heard and when our situation shall improve”. Incidentally, he was also a follower of Kanchi Paramacharyal and till such time the “Periyavar” was alive, he used to visit Kancheepuram, at least once a year. He never shared any private moments with the saint. During his last visit, which was the year before the Mahaswamigal attained Samadhi, he had a chance, private audience with the saint. Periyavar looked at his eyes and gestured with this right thumb “From where are you”?Mudhaliar replied that he was from such and such place. Periavar further gesticulated by closing all the fingers of his right hand and raising them near his mouth “what are you doing for living?” Mudhaliar answered that he was running a hotel. Periavar broke his silence and said “Annadhanama- Besh Besh- Pannu- Dhinam thavarama oru ezhaikkavadhu ilasavama sadham podu. Un thalamorai nanna irukkum,[ You are in the food business-good,good- feed at least one poor man daily, your future generations shall be secure].Mudhaliar was overwhelmed and with tears in his eyes prostrated before the saint and took a mental vow to adhere to the advice.
Things were flowing along smoothly, when one day, a problem befell Mudhaliar. Kumaran, who seldom troubled his father for his educational expenses, had mumbled in the morning that he was in need of Rs.10000/- towards payment of Engineering Entrance Exam fees and purchase of study material. He had apologetically mentioned that he would be requiring the money by the same evening, as the following day was the last day for form-filling.Mudhaliar was in quandary. He had some amount of savings, but at that point of time it was nil. From the morning, Mudhaliar was busy contacting all his sources to procure the amount. But as luck would have help was not forthcoming. Some said that Mudhaliar was already having a steep outstanding and they could not give further loan, others said that they did not have ready cash and few others said they could arrange it in a weeks’ time but not earlier. As was his habbit, Mudhaliar kept on telling “Kamakshi” and resigned to his fate. His face wore a worrisome look.
There were the odd customers dropping in. Business was steady but not brisk. It was nearing 4.00 p.m. The last of the customers had left. Vessels were being emptied and kept aside for washing and cleaning. At that moment, a beggar-woman suddenly barged inside the hotel. She was wearing a tattered saree which, once upon a time, might have been red in colour. She had worn her unkempt hair as a bun on the top of her head. She was carrying an ugly cloth-bundle in her hips and holding a cane in her hand. Her hands and feet were dirty and sun burnt. She had a big vermillion mark, about the size of 1-rupee coin, on her forehead. She neared the cash-counter behind which Mudhaliar was seated and demanded “What do you have to serve me”? Mudhaliar replied that everything was there and what would she like to have. The woman said indicating to her bowl “Put rice here- mix sambhar and vegetables and pour the mixture also”. Then with a roaring laughter she said “If my stomach is full- know that all organisms have been fed”. By this time, Nallamai, who was overhearing the conversation, standing at the entrance of the kitchen, had already followed the instructions and was ready with the offering. She put the mixture, obediently, in the bowl. The woman stared at her and said “You will live long”. She disappeared in a jiffy. Mudhaliar and Nallammai did not pay any special attention to the incident. They just felt they had fulfilled their day’s quota of the poor-feeding.
The vessels were washed and kept back in their original place. As was the routine, Mudhaliar checked whether the provisions, vegetable and plantain leaves were adequate for the following day. With a sigh of relief, that he would not be required to spend money, as the stocks were satisfactory, he locked the eatery. Then with a bag in one hand and umbrella on the other, began to trudge his way, Nallammai by his side, back home. He was deeply absorbed in his thoughts although involuntarily was constantly uttering “Kamakshi”. Once when Nallammai enquired whether money could be arranged he just nodded his head sideways, in a negative manner.
As they entered the house, Kumaran had already returned from the college. Mudhaliar finished his evening ablutions, applied vibuthi on his forehead and lied down on his favourite easy chair. Then he beckoned Kumaran by his side and began in a low tone “Kumara- I tried my best- but could not succeed in arranging the money- can you wait for one more-day?-I am sure by tomorrow something will click”. There was a look of bafflement on Kumaran’s face. He said “Father- I do not understand- what you are saying? I have already got the money”. Now it was the turn of Mudhaliar and Nallammai to feel befuddled. Mudhaliar asked “From where- how did you get it- who gave it”? Kumaran began explaining- “ just as I returned from the college, a car screeched to a halt in front of our house- A lady clad in a red saree, worn in the traditional south-indian custom, entered the house. She had a big vermillion mark on her forehead and the first thing that struck me was that she was wearing numerous gold ornaments in her waist, neck and face. As I had never seen her earlier, I enquired “Who are you aunty? Whom do you want to meet?” She replied “you may not know me- But your father knows me very well- Don’t’ you need Rs.10000/-? Here take this envelope”. So saying she passed on an envelope and before I could reply, stepped out of the house and boarded the car. The vehicle disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. “I was so dumb-struck by the sequence of events, that I did not even have the presence of mind to offer a seat and a coffe to the lady. I even failed to ask her name” he trailed off.
Mudhaliar was attentively hearing the whole narration. He closed his eyes and remained silent for a minute. Then he enquired with Kumaran “You have absolutely no clue as to who the lady was?” Just then something flashed in his mind. He said “Father one thing- when the lady was handing over the envelope to me, she received a call in her mobile. I heard her saying her name ‘err- I am not able to remember, let me recall Vijaya-no, Jayalakshmi- no, Meenakshi no .
Just as he was wrestling with his memory, Kumaran yelled at the top of his voice, as if possessed by a divine spirit, “Father- I remember, she said KAMAKSHI”. Everything fell in place for Mudhaliar and all his puzzles were solved.
By: Sundaresan Suresh
Sambasiva Mudhaliar was the owner of an Eatery, in that nondescript place, which was neither a town nor a village.He, was a man of humble origin with no high aspiration. He was married to Nallamai, a devout and God-fearing woman. They had one son, Kumaran who was in his XII th standard. He was a brilliant student and a responsible boy, who understood the difficulties of his parents. His only aim was to become an engineer, and settle in life so that he could make the twilight years of his parents comfortable and peaceful. Mudhaliar was getting, just about adequate income, from the hotel and the wheel of life was rolling forward for the small family.
Mudhaliar’s eatery was well-known in the nearby area, for both its quality and the prices. He was not a ravenous man and would never over-charge his customers. There was a Murugan temple some 2 kms away where there used to be a regular stream of visitors. Devotees, after offering prayer at the temple, would flock to Mudhaliar’s eatery for lunch. Thus there used to be a steady clientele for his eatery.Mudhaliar and Nallamai treated each and every customer like a family member and served them with love and affection.
Mudhaliar was a staunch devotee of Ambal and used to worship Goddess Kamakshi. An unlettered man, he used to utter the name “Kamakshi” constantly. While sitting he would say “Kamakshi”, while walking he would keep on saying “Kamakshi”, his every sentence would be punctuated with “Kamakshi” and it was as if he was inhaling and exhaling the word “Kamakshi”. The Goddess’s name had merged with his existence, as it were. In fact Nallammai was so exasperated, that she had once remarked, half jocularly and half seriously, “you are shouting at the top of your voice; But even this does not seem to be enough to be heard by the Goddess. God knows when you shall be heard and when our situation shall improve”. Incidentally, he was also a follower of Kanchi Paramacharyal and till such time the “Periyavar” was alive, he used to visit Kancheepuram, at least once a year. He never shared any private moments with the saint. During his last visit, which was the year before the Mahaswamigal attained Samadhi, he had a chance, private audience with the saint. Periyavar looked at his eyes and gestured with this right thumb “From where are you”?Mudhaliar replied that he was from such and such place. Periavar further gesticulated by closing all the fingers of his right hand and raising them near his mouth “what are you doing for living?” Mudhaliar answered that he was running a hotel. Periavar broke his silence and said “Annadhanama- Besh Besh- Pannu- Dhinam thavarama oru ezhaikkavadhu ilasavama sadham podu. Un thalamorai nanna irukkum,[ You are in the food business-good,good- feed at least one poor man daily, your future generations shall be secure].Mudhaliar was overwhelmed and with tears in his eyes prostrated before the saint and took a mental vow to adhere to the advice.
Things were flowing along smoothly, when one day, a problem befell Mudhaliar. Kumaran, who seldom troubled his father for his educational expenses, had mumbled in the morning that he was in need of Rs.10000/- towards payment of Engineering Entrance Exam fees and purchase of study material. He had apologetically mentioned that he would be requiring the money by the same evening, as the following day was the last day for form-filling.Mudhaliar was in quandary. He had some amount of savings, but at that point of time it was nil. From the morning, Mudhaliar was busy contacting all his sources to procure the amount. But as luck would have help was not forthcoming. Some said that Mudhaliar was already having a steep outstanding and they could not give further loan, others said that they did not have ready cash and few others said they could arrange it in a weeks’ time but not earlier. As was his habbit, Mudhaliar kept on telling “Kamakshi” and resigned to his fate. His face wore a worrisome look.
There were the odd customers dropping in. Business was steady but not brisk. It was nearing 4.00 p.m. The last of the customers had left. Vessels were being emptied and kept aside for washing and cleaning. At that moment, a beggar-woman suddenly barged inside the hotel. She was wearing a tattered saree which, once upon a time, might have been red in colour. She had worn her unkempt hair as a bun on the top of her head. She was carrying an ugly cloth-bundle in her hips and holding a cane in her hand. Her hands and feet were dirty and sun burnt. She had a big vermillion mark, about the size of 1-rupee coin, on her forehead. She neared the cash-counter behind which Mudhaliar was seated and demanded “What do you have to serve me”? Mudhaliar replied that everything was there and what would she like to have. The woman said indicating to her bowl “Put rice here- mix sambhar and vegetables and pour the mixture also”. Then with a roaring laughter she said “If my stomach is full- know that all organisms have been fed”. By this time, Nallamai, who was overhearing the conversation, standing at the entrance of the kitchen, had already followed the instructions and was ready with the offering. She put the mixture, obediently, in the bowl. The woman stared at her and said “You will live long”. She disappeared in a jiffy. Mudhaliar and Nallammai did not pay any special attention to the incident. They just felt they had fulfilled their day’s quota of the poor-feeding.
The vessels were washed and kept back in their original place. As was the routine, Mudhaliar checked whether the provisions, vegetable and plantain leaves were adequate for the following day. With a sigh of relief, that he would not be required to spend money, as the stocks were satisfactory, he locked the eatery. Then with a bag in one hand and umbrella on the other, began to trudge his way, Nallammai by his side, back home. He was deeply absorbed in his thoughts although involuntarily was constantly uttering “Kamakshi”. Once when Nallammai enquired whether money could be arranged he just nodded his head sideways, in a negative manner.
As they entered the house, Kumaran had already returned from the college. Mudhaliar finished his evening ablutions, applied vibuthi on his forehead and lied down on his favourite easy chair. Then he beckoned Kumaran by his side and began in a low tone “Kumara- I tried my best- but could not succeed in arranging the money- can you wait for one more-day?-I am sure by tomorrow something will click”. There was a look of bafflement on Kumaran’s face. He said “Father- I do not understand- what you are saying? I have already got the money”. Now it was the turn of Mudhaliar and Nallammai to feel befuddled. Mudhaliar asked “From where- how did you get it- who gave it”? Kumaran began explaining- “ just as I returned from the college, a car screeched to a halt in front of our house- A lady clad in a red saree, worn in the traditional south-indian custom, entered the house. She had a big vermillion mark on her forehead and the first thing that struck me was that she was wearing numerous gold ornaments in her waist, neck and face. As I had never seen her earlier, I enquired “Who are you aunty? Whom do you want to meet?” She replied “you may not know me- But your father knows me very well- Don’t’ you need Rs.10000/-? Here take this envelope”. So saying she passed on an envelope and before I could reply, stepped out of the house and boarded the car. The vehicle disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. “I was so dumb-struck by the sequence of events, that I did not even have the presence of mind to offer a seat and a coffe to the lady. I even failed to ask her name” he trailed off.
Mudhaliar was attentively hearing the whole narration. He closed his eyes and remained silent for a minute. Then he enquired with Kumaran “You have absolutely no clue as to who the lady was?” Just then something flashed in his mind. He said “Father one thing- when the lady was handing over the envelope to me, she received a call in her mobile. I heard her saying her name ‘err- I am not able to remember, let me recall Vijaya-no, Jayalakshmi- no, Meenakshi no .
Just as he was wrestling with his memory, Kumaran yelled at the top of his voice, as if possessed by a divine spirit, “Father- I remember, she said KAMAKSHI”. Everything fell in place for Mudhaliar and all his puzzles were solved.
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