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 My father passed away in 1986 in Madras. I undertook another journey to Haridwar with both my little children to perform my own duty of immersing my father's ashes into the Holy River. This was during the Kumb Mela of 1986. When we arrived the whole place was in a gloom. There had been a terrible stampede on a narrow bridge across the Ganges right near Har Ki Pedi. In the melee that had ensued hundreds of pilgrims, specially women, children and the elderly had fallen into the river, drowned and died. As luck would have it we arrived only on the following day of the stampede. I saw the District Magistrate and SDM of Haridwar breaking down with grief as they were handing over the dead bodies to the kith and kin of the deceased.
Then only I realised how risky it was having
brought the children with me. I had brought my children with me,
even though they were only ten and eleven, because I felt it was
important for them to know our culture and our traditions. I also
wanted them to understand the continuity of relationship which the
Hindus experience with their ancestors by performing death rites
and rituals. There was another reason too. My brothers were not
with me at that time and I wanted my children to participate in
their place. I wanted someone to hold the urn containing ashes
along with me when it was going into the holy waters. I wanted
someone to console me when I was parting company with the mortal
remains of my father. I also wanted to feel that while I was
letting go of my father I was holding on to my children.
Eventually though my heart was pounding with fear, my self, Priya
and Sidharth together performed the sacred duty to the man who was
the cause for our existence, while braving the crowds of the mela
and the flow of the river.
At that time I was acting as the Director of
the newly created South Zone Culture Centre. Zonal cultural
centres were promoted by Shri Rajiv Gandhi the then Prime Minister
of India and in the early phase he was very much personally
involved in their functioning. My father had passed away four days
earlier. I went to the cremation ground and collected my father's
ashes. I immersed a part of it into the sea at the Marina beach,
one of my father's favourite places, and sent another part to
Rameshwaram. I brought a small parcel back home to be taken to
Haridwar. As I reached home I found a telegram from the Prime
Minister's Office sent by Shri Mani Shankar Ji Ayyar. I was asked
to reach Haridwar within a week with a large contingent of
artistes from Tamil Nadu to perform for the pilgrims coming to
Haridwar on the auspicious occasion of Kumb Mela. I saw God's hand
in it. I cancelled my leave and somehow gathered hundred-odd
artistes with the help of Dr. Nagaswamy and I managed to put them
in a train with the personal intervention of the General Manager,
Southern Railways.
I arrived with two children (my own) and a
hundred artistes from Tamil Nadu, which included both Bharath
Natyam dancers as well as folk artistes. We formed ourselves into
a traditional South India Temple procession, headed by Nadeshwaram
players and drummers and went round the town of Haridwar. After
reaching the temple of Ganga at 'Har ki pedi', our Bharatnatyam
dancers, including my daughter Priya, dressed in their beautiful
costumes, looking like goddesses themselves, came to offer worship
to the river. As they were floating lamps into mother Ganges the
evening Aarti in the temple of Ganges started. The evening Aarti
is one of the most ecstatic experiences one can have in Haridwar.
As the stars shine in the skies above, the lamps float in the
waters below. The entire atmosphere vibrates with the praise to
Ganga. Every one is spell bound and there is magic in the air.
As soon as the Aarti was over our dancers
started performing right there at that holiest of the holy spot.
The pilgrims stood still on the ghats and bridges as our Nadeshwar
players played the sacred music and the dancers enthralled them
with their footwork. They were struck by their beauty and grace.
It was a most enchanting night and the magic broke only after the
concert was over. Our presence helped the pilgrims to get over the
effects of previous day's tragedy. From there I got invited by
Shivananda Ashram to come and perform in the ashram at Rishikesh.
It was a unique opportunity for our artistes. At Shivananda Ashram
our artistes experienced great bliss while performing right at the
samadhi (place of eternal rest) of Swami Shivananda Ji Maharaj.
All senior Swamiji's and devotees from the neighbouring ashrams
also came to enjoy the performance. It was a visit of many
emotions and too hectic in the mass of humanity at Kumb Mela. When
we came back to Madras all the hundred of us were changed people.
(to be continued next week)
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