Faith Will Move Mountains.

One of the best lessons I learnt from my late mother is to have faith in the ways of the Almighty, in the basic goodness of humanity and to love life despite all its heavy odds.

I had graduated out of college and was on the lookout for a job. I have never been Dame Luck’s favourite child and getting a job at that time in the late eighties was proving to be a heck of a problem. At a time when the whole world seemed to be conspiring against me, my mother decided to take me along with her to some places of pilgrimage. Jagannathdham in Puri, Orissa was one such place.  We must have spent some 7-10 days there and stayed, if my memory serves me right, at the PWD.

It is hard to forget the unique experience I had had of pulling the rope attached to the chariot with all three idols of Jagannath, Suvadra and Balaram on their seats on the first floor of the chariot, during the Ratha Yatra celebration. Hundreds and thousands of devotees from all over, were out on the streets with inexplicable excitement to earn lifelong blessings and purna (merits) by giving a hand to the ropes on both sides in front, pulling the chariot.

It may be a coincidence or something but soon after my return to Kolkata I applied for a job in Bhutan, appeared at the written test and interview at St.Xavier’s college, Kolkata and the rest, was, if not exactly history, a life-changing event for me all the same.

Having attended the Evaluation Camp at CST, Rinchending, Phuentsholing, I was back this year in Kolkata on January 10^th, to enjoy the last few weeks of the Winter Vacation.  I was quite fuzzed when Akanksha, my eldest daughter confided in me,” Baba, I told Kaltuda (my nephew), once you are back from Bhutan, all our collective plans will materialise and off to Puri we shall go ….”.

Her words did not make me happy, to be honest.  Enjoying my winter holidays, which are now at a premium, without any glitches was a priority. Besides, there was not much left in my bank.  The believers say that making a trip to Puri is purely a matter of divine intervention. Unless Lord Jagannath (an incarnation of Lord Krishna) beckons, no devotees can visit the holiest of holy places.

Strange as it may sound, I decided to go to Sealdah stataion, If not for anything else, just to keep my conscience clear.  My wife Jaya accompanied me. Inspite of all the hassles and harassment, we were surprised at ourselves, having booked the tickets for the Howrah-Puri Express the next night, inspite of there being a heavy rush for travel just before the Republic Day.

Now the problem of the ticket was solved, I had to look for some ready cash without any delay.  From my two accounts with the SBI and Allahbad Bank, I could withdraw some money, but that was not enough. Jaya had withdrawn some more from her own account, but I was still apprehensive. W e had some work with Allahabad Bank just near our ancestral home in Deblane. While I was busy making some queries to the officer there, Jaya decided to update my savings account. She came back quite excited with the news that there was some  16,000/- in the account! The very next moment I was emphatically writing out a cheque for 10,000/- from the account. My nephew along with his family, would be there to provide all sorts of help.  Even then I did not want to take any risks. What followed afterwards was nothing short of a divine intervention.

To be continued ……..