Ever since
Pranav learnt to walk, he and his sister had gone to the Sunday morning walk
month after month for many years. With no weekend duty or fieldcamp as a NS
man, he was free and initiated the idea to join this month’s walk. “It was
wonderful to go back after so long and be welcomed so warmly… it really felt
like going to a family reunion”, Pranav remarked as we made our way back home
from the Sunday morning walk in April.
All Sunday
morning walks are special in their own ways. This month’s walk at Bishan Ang Mo
Kio Park, coincided with the Ching Ming Festival. It is known as the festival
to pay respects to the ancestors. As the park is right next to Tse Tho Aum
Temple, the day started with traffic congestions at the meeting point on Sin
Ming Avenue. But that did not deter most of us who turned up for the walk. We
were cheerful as if we were there for a spring outing, which by the way is
another significance of Ching Ming festival. (I love Asian Traditions as they
find a reason to cheer even on a solemn day.)
Ananya,
Deepika, Anjali and Sophia had all grown up since we last saw them. As they
chattered and rushed off to the play area, (reminded me of the days when Pranav
and Pradeeptha used to do the same), the rest of us started the walk. The park
looks like a green lung in a concrete jungle with Marymount Road as the
sternum. There are two parts to the park with lots of activity areas for man
and dog alike. With Buddhist temples nearby it is only appropriate to have
lotus ponds in the park. There were two of them, one in each section of the
park and are nice spots for photography, meditation and tai chi. It’s very
calming if you stopped and watched the bees play hide and seek between lotus
petals. In a calming place, would commerce be far behind? This is Singapore. We
soon walked past a spa, and many eateries inside the park. Eateries also
reminded us of the treat that awaited us at Krishnamurthy uncle’s residence. It
was time to head to his home.
There was a
warmer welcome at his house, as many more who missed the walk joined the prayer
session. The readings providentially have the most appropriate message for the
reader (and listeners too). Pranav and I were both touched by the words he
opened to read, “See how little outer circumstances matter… The only duty is
not to let oneself be troubled by anything.” Ananya and Deepika chanted Chapter
11 of the Bhagavad Gita, Visvarupadarshana yoga (The Vision of the Universal
Form). My experience can be best summarised by paraphrasing verse 14 that they
chanted, “...vismayavisto hrsta-roma… pranamya sirasa devam krtanjalir…” which
roughly translates as ‘filled with wonder, astonishment, and surprise, with
hair standing on end, bowed down the head to the Supreme Lord’. Krishnamurthyji
and Ramanathanji then provided us with a transition from the other worldly
experience (Visvarupa) to this world by chanting Bhagya Sukta, a Vedic hymn for
prosperity, good luck, and success, all of which we needed in abundance for the
month ahead. The delicious and sumptuous south Indian spread laid out by
Jayalakshmiji and Swati reminded us of the immense pleasures to be enjoyed in
this world itself.
-
S.N.Venkat
No comments:
Post a Comment