Panduranga Vittala!!! - the stubborn old man who listened to his own heart

it is that time again, that month...

time to walk, million million steps,

unable, I wait here, for you, O Vittala!!!

They were all shocked. The old man was adamant. He had suddenly declared that he would go away to walk with the lakhs of warkaris on the palkhi from Dehu and Alandi via Pune to Pandharpur. Zubin was always like that. Deciding suddenly, and resisting all arguments and going by his own wish. Beheram, his son, tried to convince him that this was not the age to suddenly go ahead and do something that a 75 year old had not done earlier. Kerban, his daughter-in-law, nodded vigorously. She added, for good measure, "We are Parsis, and this is not in our culture. Why do you want to go walking to Pandharpur, all the way in rain, sun and with so many people, for heaven's sakes?"

Zubin and Beheram smiled at Kerban's arguments. Beheram knew that such arguments would not work with his father. Questioning him about religious or spiritual  thought would never work. It had never worked over these many years, and Beheram had gradually come around to accepting universal values while remaining a Parsi, in his inner core. Zubin was an explorer, as his mother had told him, bless her. Beheram's mother sat in front of the TV at their house in near the Five Gardens at Dadar Parsi Colony, Mumbai, and did not enter the arguments. She knew her Zubin, and she knew her Beheram. They would end up doing whatever Zubin wanted to do, and they would do it with enthusiasm and genuine spirit.

As expected, the next day, a too-good Sunday that should not be wasted on anything but cooking and eating and sleeping, Beheram drove his Bullet 350CC motorbike, with his father, Zubin, on the pillion, from Mumbai to Pune. His father was all packed up and eager to be on the palkhi and to walk the many days to Pandharpur. Beheram did not find it strange at all. He expected it to happen, going by the sudden bouts of discussion that his father had been having with his friends from Pune. They had planned it carefully, having done many such journeys together.

They met up with the group of friends at the exit of the highway from Mumbai, near Dehu. They had been waiting for them at the junction before the Dehu cantonment. The friends had hired an airconditioned bus for support and logistics during the palkhi and they had determined that they would stay about 5-10 kms behind the entire group. They would walk about, join in the activities, move ahead and back, and not be a burden on the several groups of warkaris in their dindis. All friends were new to the palkhi. They did not want anyone to be worried about them and have to take care of them.

The group had registered themselves with the various helplines and the police. With all required permissions obtained, they had also placed a banner over their bus, proclaiming that they were with the pilgrimage. The palkhi had just about started from Dehu, and Zubin was impatient to get on with it. Sensing it, Beheram gave him a hug and drove back on his bike to Mumbai.

Zubin was happy. He looked forward to any excuse to get out of his house. At 75, he needed to get away. Beheram's mother was very content to stay at home and be with her friends, her grandchildren and to retain control over the kitchen. His friends had planned this out over the past month, and they had been quite enterprising. They were friends for many years now, and the group had also acquired some younger ones, sons, brothers, neighbors and support guys. They were a mixed group, businessmen, teachers, corporate honchos, tradesmen, including a police officer and a police constable, a customs officer from the Mumbai airport and a canteen manager. They had come together over the years in treks, expeditions and journeys and continued to travel together.

Very soon, they were on the move. They had decided against following the palkhi while on the route from Dehu towards Pune city. They drove out of the main route and went out of the city through the bypass to Katraj and went back to Hadapsar and drove out to Dive Ghat. They were now ahead of the palkhi by two days. They could use these two days to organise, plan, purchase and stock up. One of the group, Chaitanya Reddy, had given instructions to his office staff to purchase vegetables and groceries at Hadapsar and bring it over at Dive Ghat. His office manager had scouted a good parking location, away from the road, with water supply nearby. They would camp here, and plan their itinerary with the palkhi among all the members of the group. The late joiners would also be able to meet up with the group at this location.

The group set up their camp by  rolling out a tarpaulin sheet with one end attached to the side of the bus. The other end was set up with tall bamboo poles. This provided a large tent-like space alongside the bus. They had hired a cook and a helper for this pilgrimage, and along with the driver, lunch had been prepared, with everyone helping out, and it was time to rest, and look forward to the long walk that was to come. Just after lunch, it started drizzling and the rain began pouring in, steadily. The group moved inside the bus to seek shelter and sleep through a siesta during the noon. But, it was not to be...

There was a series of knocks on the side of their bus and a police constable opened the door and entered along with an undertrial prisoner with his hands cuffed. The handcuffs were tied to a thick rope that was held by the constable to prevent the prisoner from being able to escape. Arvind Adarkar greeted the constable on behalf of the group, "Ya, Mauli! Come in. Take some shelter from the rain. Are you on your way to Pune or to Pandharpur? Do not tell us that you are going to walk all the way to Pandharpur with your prisoner!!!"

The constable and the prisoner laughed. The constable explained that they had taken a lift in a private car after their bus had broken down with a puncture after Saswad, and now, the car had gone off the road due to the heavy rains on the ghat, and they had been walking down. He had to take the prisoner to the courts in Pune for a hearing on the morrow, and return to Pandharpur Tahsil Jail immediately thereafter. How he would cross the palkhi, he did not know, and perhaps he would take the train to Solapur and get back to Pandharpur before the pilgrims could take over the roads. They had seen the bus and tent nearby and guessed that they could take some respite from the rains outside.

Adarkar asked the cook and his helpers to make a round of hot tea for everybody and gave some towels to the constable and the prisoner to dry themselves up. Reddy gave a pair of t-shirts and lungis to them so that they could get out of their damp clothes. Very soon, after a cup of hot tea, the pilgrims were watching an unusual sight, with both the constable and the pilgrim out of their uniforms, and wearing identical t-shirts and lungis and  with the thick rope tied to each others' wrists. They had scrubbed themselves dry and now, none of them could tell them apart. Which one was the policeman and which one was the prisoner?

Zubin started laughing and had a tough time holding on to his hot cup of tea. He pointed to the policeman and the prisoner, and said, "Look! This is magic. They are both the same now. The policeman could be the qaidi and the prisoner could be the policewallah. What if the prisoner took the policeman to the courts at Pune tomorrow?!!!" Everyone laughed, including the two visitors. The policeman replied, "O Bawa, do you know that you are correct? This prisoner was caught while helping some old ladies on the palkhi, at night, while they were shivering and cold, and may have perhaps died. This idiot was a vagrant warkari, without any dindi or any group. He went and broke into a clothes store after Renapur and took out some woollen blankets and gave them to the women. He was caught by the shopkeeper and a police complaint was filed. He has a better heart than most policemen that I know."

The entire group looked up at this story, after all, this undertrial was also a pilgrim, a fellow warkari, and he should have been appreciated for his deed. Zubin was angry. He asked, "Who was the idiot shopkeeper who filed the complaint? Did the local police not know about the reason?" The policeman replied, "Everyone knew. This chap had no money with him and the local people were very angry with the pilgrims. Each year they come to their town and disturb them. Some shopkeepers are upset while most of them are happy to welcome the palkhi. Perhaps this shopkeeper had a really bad experience. Who knows?"

Zubin asked, "Now, what will happen to him? Who is going to help him? Have the police helped him get a lawyer? Does he have money to defend himself?" While the rest of the group were not surprised, the policeman was puzzled at the anger. Yet, he replied calmly, "Bawaji, you know the system, don't you? Do you think he has any chance? He does not even have any money to purchase a cup of tea. He has no brains. If he had any sense, he would not have broken into the shop. Now, if the magistrate is kind, he will release him on first offence and intentions and maybe place him on watch and ask him to report to the police station for six months. If the magistrate goes by the rule, this idiot will be in for six months at least."

The entire group looked at Zubin. They knew him from many years. They knew the way he thought and acted, right out of his heart. They waited. Zubin did not disappoint them. He burst out in anger, "Nonsense. This cannot be allowed to happen. He has to have a lawyer, and he has to be released. I want him released tomorrow. He has to come on the palkhi with us, and I will take him to Pandharpur. Or, I will not go. Let Panduranga wait for me. I cannot go to Pandharpur without this foolish boy."

All his friends nodded with him. They were not shocked or upset. This was the right thing to do. Adarkar also said in support, "Zubin, my friend, I say, let Panduranga wait for all of us. Let us get this done tomorrow at the courts." The policeman looked at the prisoner, and said, "See... did I not tell you? Your actions were noble. You did it in the service of Vittala's devotees. So what if some policemen and some shopkeepers were strict about it. They did their job and now, we see the miracle of Panduranga."

Zubin spoke to Adarkar and Reddy, "I will call my daughter-in-law's friends here in Pune. They are all lawyers at the local courts. They are very good and efficient. Wait a moment." Saying thus, he called up Kerban, at Mumbai, "Maro Dikri, listen. Yes, yes... I know. When I call you as 'Maro Dikri', it usually means that I am pulling some stunt. Yes. But listen, this is for a good cause. I need you to talk to your friends in Pune, lawyers, and have them come and meet me below Dive Ghat in Hadapsar. I need legal help in getting an undertrial released tomorrow in a hearing at the Pune Sessions Court."

"Yes, Maro Dikri, help me now, please. Talk to your friends. I have promised that I will not go to Pandharpur until and unless I free him, and now, my entire group of friends have also promised that they will not go on the palkhi. Don't laugh, Kerban. And do not tell Beheram about this. He is an idiot. He will also come back from Mumbai and will get involved in this. This is an easy job. I just need a lawyer, a smart lawyer, tomorrow morning, and by afternoon, we can get this foolish chap released and we will be on our way, following the palkhi."

After a while, Zubin shut off his cellphone, and spoke to the policeman, "There, that is done. Tomorrow we will go to the court together. My daughter-in-law will get us some lawyers, and they will bring their vehicles, and we will get this idiot released immediately. I am sure that those lawyers will have a thousand reasons to give to prove that this fellow is innocent." The policeman replied, "Thank you. I was worried about this fellow. He seems really demented, going around helping people without any reason. What relation was he to those two women? Why did he have to help them? Nothing. None."

Zubin replied, "What do we know? We must be related. All of us. You also. Otherwise, why would you bring him here, today, in the rain? Why would your bus break down? Why would the car go off the road? Each and every problem that we face, daunting ones too, they lead us towards a solution, however miraculous it may be. Now, both of you stay in this bus. Do not go anywhere. We will go to the courts together, tomorrow."

Saying thus, Zubin turned to the prisoner and said, "Be careful. Keep a watch on the policeman. Do not let him get away. We have to take him to the courts together tomorrow. We will ask the courts to release the policeman from his job of escorting you. We will go to Pandharpur together, only if you are a free man. I am sure that Panduranga will wait for us to meet him, together, the two of us."


Glossary 
Ashaadhi = the Hindu Calendar month during June-July
ashtavinayaka = the pilgrimage to eight sacred destinations in western Maharashtra, with eight of the most well-known temples to Lord Ganesha.
atya = Aunt, usually, father's sister.
bawa, bawaji = an affectionate word to call out to a Parsi, usually for men. Only if you are a close friend.
beti = Daughter
bhagawantha = God.
chapati = cooked wheat flat cakes, like a roti. An Indian-style tortilla.
dada = elder brother
dhaba = roadside food place. With informal arrangements.
Dindis = the group-units of pilgrims participating in the wari.
Dnyanba = Sant Shri Dnyaneshwar of Alandi
lungi = a sarong-type of dress, worn below the waist, comfortably with an easy tuck-in.
Maro Dikri = 'my daughter' - a favoured term in Parsi and Gujarati lingo.
Mauli = Devotee of Panduranga. Also a form of greeting in recognition of the other person's faith in Panduranga Vittala.
paadukas = the sacred symbolic feet-impressions of deities or sages
palkhi = the pilgrimage from Dehu-Sant Tukaram temple and Alandi-Sant Dnyaneshwar temple via Pune to Pandharpur in Solapur District, Maharashtra
policewallah = policeman
prasad = sacred offerings presented to the deities. Some part of it is usually returned to the devotee.
qaidi = prisoner
rath = chariot, usually pulled by oxen during the palkhi from Dehu-Alandi-Pune to Pandharpur
tai = Sister
Tuka, Tuka says, Tukaram = Sant Tukaram of Dehu. His renditions in praise of Panduranga Vittala are the abhangs that are remembered through hundreds of years. They are popularly known as "Tuka says..."
vaikhunta = passed away. Gone ahead to the great heavens above.
veena = stringed instrument used by warkaris to strum and recite
wari = the annual June-July (ashaadhi) pilgrimage from Dehu-Alandi-Pune to Pandharpur.
warkaris =  traditional pilgrims - devotees of Panduranga Vittala, the deity at Pandharpur - who walk from Dehu-Alandi-Pune to Pandharpur, covering nearly 200 kms
Yaa = Come. A form of invitation in affection.

Panduranga Vittala!!! - the lone warkari on his route...

pray, grant me a sleepless ashaadh night,

keertans, pouring rain, cymbals, chanting, 

all night, sit with me, beside me, O Vittala!!!

The sweat and the smell of the deep fried foodstuffs was all over the small roadside shop. Ganesh was busy, extremely busy, in the preparation of snacks and sweets. The palkhi would soon be here, on the climb at Dive Ghat, towards Saswad, just after Hadapsar. He came here, year after year, 5-6 days before the palkhi, at his usual location on the roadside. His father, and his grandfather before him, had run the shop from the very same location during the palkhi. They were about seven persons from the same village, Sakhuri, who came down from the Purandar hills to cook and sell foodstuff to the hundreds of thousands of warkaris who walked on the palkhi from Dehu-Alandi-Pune to Pandharpur.

It was a very simple shop, almost a shanty. The sheds were up, and the grocery sacks lined up. The oil cans were kept in a separate shed, some distance away, that they would use as a storage unit. Nothing was locked up, for as his father had instructed Ganesh, this was all about faith and in belief in others. If you did not trust others, you had no right to be part of the palkhi, even if you were not a warkari.

It was as yet two days to the palkhi, as it would cross the Dive Ghat on its onward journey to Saswad and the Purandar areas. It was a steep climb with pouring rain, slippery roads and narrow curves. Nearly five to six hundred thousand warkaris and pilgrims would be walking up. Today, it was all quiet. There was nobody on the roads. The regular traffic that went up and down the Dive Ghat had thinned down, knowing that the police would be regulating the road and keeping a sharp watch. Ganesh was busy planning the cooking action for the next 4-5 days. The action would start a day before, with the support vehicles for hte various groups racing ahead to the stopping points and setting up tents and kitchens.

Ganesh sat alone, in his casual clothes, cleaning, polishing and setting up. His friends were doing the same in their food stalls. Today would be without any business, but the coming five days would go by at breakneck speed. Soon, it was evening. There was almost no traffic on Dive Ghat now. Ganesh had completed all his preparations and was sitting by himself, alone in his food-stall.

It was peaceful out here. Silence, if you could forget the sound of vehicles. Even the dogs were quiet. They had gathered in anticipation of the availability of food over the coming days. 2-3 dogs had taken their positions near each food stall. They seemed to claiming their territories. Ganesh watched the dogs near his stall. They looked clean and spirited. They would be the only regular companions that he would have with him for the days that he would be cooking here.

A SUV car came down the Dive Ghat and went inside the compound gate of the dhaba across the road. The owner and two persons got out and entered the dhaba. A lone warkari alighted from the car and walked away from the dhaba after thanking the driver. He must have got a lift from near Saswad and had been brought here to help him on with his journey to join the palkhi at Pune, thought Ganesh. He watched him curiously. If the lone warkari had to go and join the palkhi, he would have to rush tonight and meet up with his dindi group wherever they would be.

The lone warkari stood quietly, outside the dhaba, pondering on his options. Understanding his discomfort and worry, Ganesh stood up and waved him across, beckoning him to cross over the road. The lone warkari saw him, and crossed the road and came to the food stall. "Sri Ram Krishna Hari!!! Thank you, O Mauli, can I rest here for some time?" He asked Ganesh.

Nodding, Ganesh replied, "Yaa, O Mauli!!! Why do you ask? For these food stalls are here only on the instructions of bhagawantha!!!" The lone warkari stepped inside the food stall and sat on a wooden bench near the entrance. The three dogs came nearby and settled at the doorstep, expecting some food to be shared. It was drizzling steadily outside, and the dogs were all wet. Ganesh picked up an used gunny sack and placed it within the entrance of the stall and tapped on the cloth. With seeming clarity, the three dogs stood up and walked inside and settled down comfortably on the gunny sack.

The lone warkari commented, "Yes. For, these are also the work of the same bhagawantha!" Ganesh had some left over food from the noon lunch, and he heated it up and asked the lone warkari to share in the supper. They ate together silently, without any disturbance from the dogs. Later, Ganesh tore up some chapatis and mixed it with the left over food and placed three food balls on torn up newspapers and kept them for the dogs. They ate quietly, but eagerly. Meanwhile, Ganesh made two cups of tea, and offered one to the lone warkari. The pilgrim welcomed it, for it was an appropriate need with the steadily increasing drizzle outside.

Ganesh said, "O Mauli, it is raining steadily now, and will become heavier. Its also nearing night time, and it would be difficult to get a vehicle coming down the Dive Ghat to stop in this increasing darkness. You can stay here tonight, and I will also have company. You could leave in the early dawn tomorrow, and join up with your dindi group at Pune before they start walking to Hadapsar." The lone warkari nodded, and replied in agreement, "Sri Ram Krishna Hari, as you wish." Having arrived at a conclusion, Ganesh placed two wooden benches together and rolled out a thin mattress over it, and placed a coarse woollen blanket for the use of the lone warkari. He had the same arrangement for himself.

Having settled that matter, the lone warkari began to talk, "O Mauli, I do not belong to any dindi group. The warkaris from my village, away near Paithan, are strangers to me now. I do not join the palkhi from Paithan to Pandharpur. There were many problems. I come all the way from Paithan, walking or taking a lift from anyone who would welcome me, to try and be on time at Pune."

Puzzled, Ganesh asked, "You do not join the palkhi from your village? Why is that? How can the group from your village allow that? Surely, the palkhi is only an excuse for us to forget our differences? What happened?"

The lone warkari replied, "Yes... I understand the puzzle. They did not refuse me. It is my error. I do not join them in their palkhi. I used to be the sarpanch of my village, and I was never a devout person. I used to tolerate the keertan mandalis and the bhajan mandalis because the other villagers were taking part in them. I had never ever donated any money to the community dinners organised at the temple. One day, in a panchayat meeting, others in the village wanted me to agree to construct an underground pipeline from the water tank to a restaurant on the main road. I disagreed."

"The restaurant owner, from my village, was a rich man. He could afford to construct a good well. But, he did not want to use his money. He had friends from within his community in the village and they were keen to help him. They threatened me, and I refused once again. Ours is a drought  prone region, and water is very precious. He could have done any other business but he wanted to run a restaurant because it was on the main road to Aurangabad. I could not give him the water that would have been necessary for the poor families in my village."

"One night, when it was raining heavily like tonight, he sent some thugs to threaten me at my house. I spoke strongly and we had a fight. The thugs killed my mother. She was my only family. I had nobody else. I ran away from the house, and they followed. In the dark night, I could escape, and I ran into the Vittala temple. I was angry, and I wanted to go to the house of the restaurant owner, and kill him and his family. I had decided that I would then run away to Mumbai and live anonymously among strangers."

"That night, at the temple, I hardly noticed Vittala, and did not even realise that I was in the premises. I was only angry, and I was wanting revenge. I started searching for some weapon that I could use to kill the family of the restaurant owner. At that moment, I heard some voices, and I walked in that direction. It came from inside the sanctum, and it sounded familiar. I looked inside. There were some wick lamps, and I could then realise that I was inside the temple, and it was Vittala's sanctum. A lady was seated there, and she was talking to Panduranga."

"I wondered, about, who could be talking to him in this dark stormy night? Alone? So, I went nearer, and I heard her say - "O Vitoraya, you have to help me. You did the wrong deed today. You called me to you, and I have come here. Now, he is all alone. He has no control over himself. He loves you extremely, though he never admits it. His love for you is deep within him. Please untie the bonds, my Panduranga. Do not allow him to go angry and do not allow him to cause harm for anyone. I have forgiven those who have caused harm to me, for they have only brought me to you, to your house." - and I got curious, for the voice was very familiar. I went closer, and then, I realised..."

"O Mauli!!! For, those among us, you would belive, it was none other than my mother, and she was talking to Vittala. She was asking him to control me, and asking him to prevent me in my revenge. She had forgiven her killers. And in her state, she was out there, beseeching Vittala, to help me. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned and saw HIM, and HE said, to me - "Go... go to where there would be many more such mothers, in search of me. Tell them about your mother. Let them know that I listen." - and having said that, he was gone. I turned, and my mother was no longer there, and the wick lamps were glowing brightly, and I could see HIM, back on his place."

"Since then, O Mauli, I rush to the palkhi at Pune, and I walk all the rest of the year, going from place to place, and sing at the keertan mandalis and tell them my story. Most mothers talk to me later, and I tell them to tell their children to forget all hate and to forget all intentions of revenge. This is my life, over the past twenty-five years, O Mauli, and this is going to be my life."

"My villagers knew of me from the stories that went from other villages where I sang. They heard that my mother had been killed in my house by the thugs from the restaurant owner. They wanted to demolish the restaurant and chase away the owner and his family. I came to know of it through messages that they sent me. I went back to the village and began to stay in Vittala's temple. I spoke to my villagers and asked them not to take revenge for me."

"My villagers were unhappy. They said, that Vittala had asked me to avoid revenge. They had not been instructed accordingly. They would be most happy to even kill the restaurant owner. They would agree with me, only if Vittala would speak to them personally. I agreed with them. I invited them to sit at the temple through the night, and I doused the wick lamps. There was complete darkness. I sang throughout the night. I did not stop singing. I am not a singer, but that night, I sang in perfect rhythm, without any musical instrument. I sang alone. In the morning, each one of my villagers, came to me, and said - we have seen Vittala tonight."

Ganesh heard him in silence, without any surprise, for this was Panduranga's magic, and nothing could be unexpected.



Glossary 
Ashaadhi = the Hindu Calendar month during June-July
atya = Aunt, usually, father's sister.
bhagawantha = God.
chapati = cooked wheat flat cakes, like a roti. An Indian-style tortilla.
dada = elder brother
dhaba = roadside food place. With informal arrangements.
Dindis = the group-units of pilgrims participating in the wari.
Dnyanba = Sant Shri Dnyaneshwar of Alandi
Mauli = Devotee of Panduranga. Also a form of greeting in recognition of the other person's faith in Panduranga Vittala.
paadukas = the sacred symbolic feet-impressions of deities or sages
palkhi = the pilgrimage from Dehu-Sant Tukaram temple and Alandi-Sant Dnyaneshwar temple via Pune to Pandharpur in Solapur District, Maharashtra
rath = chariot, usually pulled by oxen during the palkhi from Dehu-Alandi-Pune to Pandharpur
vaikhunta = passed away. Gone ahead to the great heavens above.
wari = the annual June-July (ashaadhi) pilgrimage from Dehu-Alandi-Pune to Pandharpur.
warkaris =  traditional pilgrims - devotees of Panduranga Vittala, the deity at Pandharpur - who walk from Dehu-Alandi-Pune to Pandharpur, covering nearly 200 kms
Yaa = Come. A form of invitation in affection.