Pleasing Saturn

The Tata Sumo was speeding fast on the narrow roads leading to our religious excursion. The monsoon clouds were at their best imbibing all our tiredness. Our driver Ravi was driving it rough yet safe. After making an auspicious start with Shirdi Sai Baba we were heading to a unique shrine of Shani Dev - The Ruling Planet Saturn. On our way we halted on a road side dhaba for our breakfast. The village food consisted of aalu-parathas and fresh creamy curd. We walked behind the dhaba to discover the real country side view of cattle and low rise huts. We posed for pictures in sepia tone which reminded us of the old black and white days. After a quick pet-pooja we resumed our journey to the Shignapur Village which is strikingly different from any other village in the world. Supported by a strong mythology, this village is devoid of locks and doors on any residential or commercial establishment. The banks are also no exception. We were very excited to see the "Fear Less Village". Local legends claim that the village is 'protected' and no thief can cross its borders unharmed. Seeing this, one could realise how strongly this village challenges to stay away from the speeding security system of scientific and technological advancements. However, the aperture for doors had a covering of ply wood or in some cases a plastic covering which protected from rain water or insects coming in.

The pooja which we performed was unique in its own way. We were taken for a bath and given quick instructions,. "after having the bath you should not touch a female and should not speak a word till your rituals are over." We changed our clothes and after a head bath got clad in saffron attires. A dhoti around our waist and yet another stretch of a saffron which whirled around our neckWe stood mute and listened to him as his language showed paradigm shift from holy instructions to the commercial chapter. A basket of flowers with a garland of leaves, a small black doll symbolizing the deity and a small black cloth, horse-shoe and some other tantras and yantras carved on metal plates was all to be offered along with sesameme oil to the Shani Dev - The Planet Saturn who according to the Hindudu mythology governs The Shani dasha or Sub-period which accounts for our karmas. The shani yantra propitiate an afflicte Saturnrn and achieve Rajayoga through complete blessings of Sani. So strong is the impact that this deity happens to be the most sought out among all the planets. After hearing the scary impact, I was left with little choice rather turning down the cost of the flower basket and the yantras in it. He announced for aexorbitantnt 350Rs. I glanced at my brother and my friend but they were contemplating on reciting the shani mantra and I thought to stay littleel more disciplined till the pooja is over and so I remained quite and proceeded with them bare foot to the Shani Dev Mandir.

I had never seen a place so calm. A temple without priests and you have to be your own priest to offer your prayers. The deity is in the form of a black stone and has no canopy or covering. Several attempts to construct a shelter for the Black Stone in the past have gone in vain. Apparently, the planetary God (Shani) allows only its male devotees to perform the puja around its shrine. The flower seller had instructed not to look back while returning after offering the prayers. Wdidn'tnt turn back but we discussed about the whopped price. Several attempts of bargain went in vain and we were being conveyed from time to time that andeliberatete or undeliberate attempt to malign the people of this village leads to serious consequences due to the rage of shani-deva.

Deva re deva !! At least didn'tnt want to take any chance. We paid 1050 for the basket and its contents and 100 bucks for 1ltr osesameme oil. And if thiwasn'tnt less, there came three guys one after the other. The first claimed to cure pimples on the face in 15 days and the second one looked at my balding head and claimed to have strong and dense hairs in just 9 days. I told him that being bald is in fashion and am happy with it. For each of their product they had one strong punch line "This village has no locks and doors because people here are clear hearted and thedon'tnt cheat". wasn'tnt interested in verifying the same nor was in a mood to contradict him. Was happy on excruciating a shrine of its kind. We headed to Trayambakeshwar - A dream place for me ever since I came to Mumbai.

Ma Rewa

माँ रेवा थारो पानी निर्मल
माँ रेवा थारो पानी निर्मल खल खल बहतो जाए

अमरकण्ट से निकली ओ रेवा
जन जन करि रयो तारी सेवा
सेवा से सब पावे मेवा, असो वेद पुराण बतायो रे

This song left a heart rendering affect on me. I listened to it once and then again and again untill I could analyze it in my mind. Hearing "Ma Rewa" with my eyes closed I could visualize the shivering movements of the singer's closed eyelids may be with his head thrown back in some deep meditation, stretching the chords of his neck.

The folk song depicts the beauty and the life-giving of Narmada river. And the rhythm suggests the pain which people have been going through by the destruction of the river.

Narmada holds a strong and an important history. It was named as "Narmada" by Agasthya Rishi. Narmada means bliss and this bliss has been showered on people like Kalidas, Bhanabatta and Valmiki. It has been the savior of the dry lands of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Mythologically, Narmada is placed much higher above The Ganges. It originates from Maikal river in the Amarkanths. forming a traditional boundary between north and south India. Narmada is a river of its kind where its the only river which flows in a rift valley.

This river with so much of history and people's believe is under seize. A dam is proposed across Narmada. Half of the people go for the dam and the rest half oppose. The real cause eventually gets subdued in the dirty politics and Human Rights.

Right from 1921 when the first such anti dam movement started (by Senapati Bapat for Mulshi Dam) it had been a never ending debate of resettlement versus stop-constructing-the-dam. No body gets convinced by either sides of the opinion and celebrities, media and politicians keep adding fuel to the fire and locals stay burning.

The episode started way back in 1901 in an attempt to flourish the drought prone areas around Bharuch. No sooner did the issue came up by the Irrigation commission than it got shut by the British Rule suggesting that this Dam would ruin the soil. Years later Sardar Patel suggested to build up the damn so that the area could be more fertile and add more to the life of people. Almost 90% of Narmada runs through the state of Madhya Pradesh and the people were not happy. The issue of distribution of water led to the Water Dispute Tribunal between all the four neighboring states. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and nevertheless Rajasthan (invited by Gujarat on the argue that it would share its water with Rajasthan as well).

The concern of the tribals and people on the bank of river Narmada got sidelined. The inter-state politics got its stream. Politicians and Social activists geared up and recently celebrities from bollywood also joined the race.

The "Save Narmada" movement has seen several faces. Ideology, faith, science to generate electricity, drought, hope to kill the drought, politics, celibacy and is still to discover newer tracks.