A Miracle

When the rain-god smiles - clouds cry
When Swami weeps – a divine hand wipes it dry

23 Jun, 2007 has been one of those most memorable days in my 25 years’ existence. For many reasons. My cousin woke me up and expressed her happiness in meeting me in a week's time in Hyderabad. It was the best way I could ever start a day.

Being a saturday, the first odd thing was going to workplace. All fine till my return therefrom. My head clogged with thoughts of a lovely evening. Oh ossum! The evening nebulose and the cool breeze simulating a girlfriend’s breath. The incognizant mortals sincerely run their routine errands. The huge 45-storeyed structure laughing at me to scale it taking the stairs, man's marvellous invention – wheel - disguising itself as automobile, whirring and honking in their own mad rush. My journey started with a sense of attainment for winding up the officework in time and gazing at nature’s wonder. The poet in me sprang up and whispered:

Oh my dear!!!!
Do you remember, You have a friend,
Waiting for articles from your end,
With whom u took a stand,
Together as a band,
Will you make a bond,
Where in your blog,
Will ideas clog........

Feeling energetic after an occurrence of these lines, I would have walked for a km or two, when it struck me that the evening could become memorable with a garam vada, cutting chai with the lovely company of a cool breeze (Indeed Lovely! I patted myself like a soldier returning from a glorious battle and the poet in me was in full form. I sensed the smell and walked towards a typical Mumbai ‘tuffri’ and the humble man gestured at me with a genuine grin. A vada and cutting chai for myself and some chitchat with the tuffri-wala (opening with: jis din vada-pav aur FM bandh hoga, woh din mumbai rukh jaayega hustaad" . He gladly acknowledged and was apparently amused; asked me kahan se ho bhaiyaa? ( The word ‘bhaiya’ swept within me a sense of young-ness after a long time especially after the bedamned ‘Uncle’ that became a catchword to refer to me ). I was beaming young and resumed chatting with him. During this pithy but meaningful conversation, I judged the entire Mumbai with the limited knowledge I have by throwing wise one-liners at him. (Sample: Mumbai mein tho paanch rupiye ka vada-paav se lekhe 500 tak ka thaali bhi ka sakthe hain. This takes the cake though: magar vada-paav ka mazaa, 5 star hotel mein nahin aata hustaad - for two reasons: To flaunt that I have been to a 5-star hotel-obviously for a company party-and the justification for gobbling in a vada-pav).

“Saade nav rupyey bhaiya” (Rs 9.50)

With a princely disposition, I clumsily put my right hand in my back pocket ending up fumbling there. “No Wallet!” the pessimist in me declared! Never did I find my back-pocket without a wallet during the three years of my monetary history. Now, my palm still groping in my pocket, heart thumping mercilessly and my helpless conscience wasn’t ready to accept the fact. A hasty ransack of all the available pockets didn’t bear fruit. Fortunately I had a few coins, yet wasn’t enough to fulfill the indebtness to the tuffri-wala, shortage of Rs 5.50 still. Was praying to all known deities with trembling hands (figuratively!)

I felt my heart heavier and a panick went up my spine envisaging a ridicule and loss of self-respect before the tuffri co-customers. Feigning a brave face and with a pretense of checking some non-existing documents in my bag, I was yearning to feel some metal(s) in my bag. My mind was racing all over and my sight drawing ridiculous shapes in the air, shamelessly expecting some friend to help me rescue from the crisis. Nah! Nothing happened. An optimist within me peptalked me into ransacking the bag again. A pleasant miracle!! A thick 1-inch copper mint (5-rupee coin) caressed my fingers. A soul that was just on the brink of collapse has now sighed breathing deep from the lungs! The tuffri-wala smiled at me and said Bhai, I knew what you were going through just now and I wudn't have minded even if you hadn't paid followed by an interesting one-liner “har aadmi ki pehchaan hothi hain bhai”. I settled the bill with a sense of pride (Yet, a shameless mortal in me said “why didnt he return my nine bucks, I could have used it to return home by bus, Rs 6 was what I needed. Ha!)

After the state of affairs, within and outside me, calmed down, I thanked all the deities from whom I solicited help in the early paragraph, and resolved to blog about the miracle. Believe me, I never put coins or notes in my bag. My friends can confirm it. But this happend to me. No formal logic am I worried about. A true miracle! It started raining and I thought, “God’s blessings”. He saved my pride and rescued me from being ridiculed. Nevertheless, the thought of how this 5-rupee coin came into my bag obsessed me. Immersed in this thought, I stood in the bus-stand, not realising that I dont even have a single rupee to travel back. I donno know how time passed, all kinds of thoughts came in my mind – “Did I put the coin in unknowingly? Where all did I exchange 5-rupee coins during last week? Where all I dealt with a 5-rupee coin?” - As my memory goes, I use 5-rupee coins to pay to the conductor daily and hence damn sure I would never have put one in my bag. Hence, my conclusion was perfect. I knew my routine, everyday - I exchange a 10 rupee for a breakfast of 5 rupees and keep the change for the next day to purchase the ticket. I havent missed a single 5-rupee coin in my accounting. My thought of accounting this as a miracle was coercive. I became spiritual, I could see Him everywhere. A realisation of how protected I am in this world - he gave me a great family to live with, great friends to hang around, a memorable internship with Lehman. It also started drizzling and I hardly noticed it. With a feel-good sense, my brain was constantly mumbling “its not a miracle, you might have kept the money and forgotten”. But I know for sure, I never keep money in my bag and I always carry them in the left back-pocket. I thought how blessed I am. TRULY BLESSED!

Blessed, Blesseddddd, BBbbblleeeeesssssssddddd!!!!!!!!!!..............

My mother blessed me, I knew how the 5 rupee reached my bag. I remember that day. It was 5th may, I was getting ready to leave for Mumbai for my 4-week internship with Lehman with dreams of making it big, just like a batsman making his international debut. The batsman knows he reached there because he has shown his quality and the right attitude towards the game, but this being his first game, he wants to make it big, he wants to use every opportunity, he is nervous, he has seen or atleast heard of the opposition, he would have already done a swot analysis of the team. But still he is nervous. I too had all these feeling in my mind. “Lehman brothers - equity research” I know this was the place, I wanted to be!!

Whenever I travel or use a new bag, my mother gives it a couple of turmeric strokes and keeps a one-rupee coin and our family deity's photo and hands it over to me, wishing me good luck. I remember it only during the exams when I wanted to score well. Otherwise, this convention was never sacred for me. Coming back to 5th may, I didn’t tell my mom I was carrying this bag that gave me the miraculous coin, so finally when I was ready and about to leave, I picked this bag and kept my shoes in. My mom rushed towards me and said, “hold on, will have to sanctify this”. I struck back “Are you going to do this to the bag I use to carry shoes?” She was silent, took away the bag from me and she disappeared. A couple of minutes and she was back. She asked me for a one rupee coin. I didn’t have one so my sister gave her a 5-rupee coin which she immediately put in my bag. She gave it a turmeric slash and then asked me to remove the deity's photo from the bag and keep it in wallet since I am gonna put my shoes therein. I was sulking, but nothing works before a sweet mother!

A recollection of this incident back home made me break into tears. I realised. The same custom which I flung as ‘stupid’ one day has lent its arm today. I saved myself from “a self-character-assasination”.
Although money is considered equivalent to goddess Laxmi my mother never asked me to remove the coin and my logical-argumentative-disposition fortunately didn’t show it’s face!

Miracle? ‘Perhaps’ for some, ‘not at all’ for the rest. ‘Truly’ for me. Each one of us can argue the way we want, but this is just a proof that there is some mysterious force ruling the entire universe. This mysterious force conspires and helps us get what we deserve (Paulo Coelho’s Alchemist). I have witnessed the way the ‘Force’ emphasised the importance of mother, for that matter, every relation in one's life. After a long time, I smiled with tears in my eyes, the rains poured all around to hide those precious tears. I knew it was His way of drying my eyes and convincing me “Enough, now plan how to get back home”

I could have taken a auto back to office and collected my wallet and gone home. I could have called up my friend in the room ask him to keep the money ready and reach home taking a rick. But I chose neither. I decided this is my day, so let me walk in the rain recollecting all my life's events along the way and relishing all the good that has happened to me so far and honestly thank the ‘Invisible Force’ which has stood by me in pains and gains.

I owe this story to every person whom I have met in my life who has directly or indirectly influenced me. I owe it to my Mom, Dad, Granny, Bro-in-law, Sister, my nephew, my cousins, my friends (special mention of Ranjeeth, Viswanath, Subash, Ramanujam, Subramanian, Haripriya, Msrj Group, Deric, Varada Rajan and a lot many. Last but not the least my ASB buddies!)

Though, shamelessly, i have written everywhere as 'I', this might have not made such a wonderful read, unless Ranji, wudn't have scripted it.

I thank you all for making my life so secured and worth living. and to my Mom,

Maaa!!! Tujhe salaam.