The Deviramma Temple in Chikmagalur signals an episode of my life I can never forget. After a deeply satisfying year end vacation in Chikmagalur during the last week of December 2017 we ( me and my sister's family) headed back to Bangalore, not before making a final stop at the Deviramma Temple. This was not a part of our plan though, and we would never know of this temple if not for the lady at the homestay who not only mentioned about the temple but also praised it with the grandest of words.
I for one, never pray to God. I have never had the habit of visiting temples. Obviously I wasn't enthusiastic about this idea. Somehow temples have never been the place where I could find devotion. Not to say that I'am an atheist. I do believe in the existence of a certain power but I could never fold my hands and pray to a temple God. This lack of devotion could probably be due to the fact that most of my school summer holidays were spent in the temple town Gokarna, closely witnessing the workings of the temples. As a young brahmachari the everyday summer mornings were spent walking around the temple town barefoot, pouring waters to the idols at the Bhadrakali, Ganesha temple and the Ishwar linga of the famous Mahabaleshwara temple. I clearly remember the Friday's at the Bhadrakali Temple, my mother's birthplace. My maternal uncle holds the responsibility of running the temple for a year once in ever 7 years. On Friday's there used to be a special Panchamruta Abhisheka followed by the bathing and cleaning of the Goddess Idol and the daunting task of Alankara - tying the special saree around the Devi and placing the delicate and precious ornaments over the Goddess. As a young boy decorating Bhadrakali with her many glorious ornaments, giving the thertha prasada to the devotees, seeing the mindless and crazy beliefs of all kinds of people, witnessing this whole mediator business of the priests much more of such experiences made me quite cynical about our well established belief systems, the religious practises and the interpretation of religion itself. And the Navaratri's - Well! those nine nights were a world on their own. Words cannot match the craziness that would be out on display during those nights. Bhadrakali being the Grama Devi of Gokarna meant that the entire town would visit the temple during those nights. The resulting scenes bizzarre! I would obviously bug my mother with hundreds of questions about various things ranging from the customs to beliefs to the current practises and the so called legends of Bhadrakali. My mother had no conclusive answers but she tried her best each time. At the end we would both agree to disagree but as I grew up my mother knew that I never really prayed to the temple God although I folded my hands in front of the idol. Therefore needless to say I was not excited about visiting the Deviramma Temple, but the lady at the homestay persuaded us. And so we decided to give it a shot, if not for the prayers but for the views that it promised to offer.
Much to my surprise I could feel certain energy as I entered the premises of the Deviramma temple. The kerala style Temple sat on a wide open space with the backdrop of the picturesque and the magnificent Deviramma Betta. The simple yet different architecture, the open space, the cool breeze and the beautiful mountain view, all put together was a treat to the eyes and certainly elated us as we didn't expect anything like this for a temple. In short the Deviramma Temple was a quiet little Gem, a unique and an interesting place. As I approached the Goddess I could feel a certain vibe, a kind of a bliss and a rare devotion evoked within me. Can't remember the last time I had felt this way. There was a sudden urge within me to fold my hands and pray. They say you should never share what you pray! Since I am a bit of a rule breaker in these matters anyway , I must confess my prayers - I prayed for the good health of my Father. It was an instant thing. I didn't even think about it. Just prayed.
In a matter of 3 days since the visit to the Deviramma Temple, my Father had a heart attack. It was the night before the last day of 2017. A memorable year except for this ultimate day which couldn't have been more disastrous. My father was not a diabetic, his cholesterols were in control and he only had a slightly high BP since a year. So how could this even happen to him? We could not believe it and we kept thinking it must not be that! Nevertheless it was that and it did happen to him!
I still remember the panic that had struck me when I first heard the news that night. Sitting on the bed in my flat and trying to book the flight tickets I realised I was shivering. We had some immediate decisions to make, some question marks and a lot of doubts. And my feet wasn't even moving. My best friend and my roommate not only helped me book the flight tickets online, before I left he also gave me the best piece of advice ever. He said - I lost my father to a heart attack . When I heard the news my father was already dead. I could do nothing. However as we speak your father is still alive and as long as he is alive you must do everything you can to save him. The decisions you take for your father in the next few hours will not only decide your father's fate but in many ways also yours. So be brave. Be as calm as you can. Think through your decisions and you will only do the right things!
All through that night when my mother carried my father in the ambulance from home to Manipal, I along with my sister waiting at the airport, boarding the flight to Mangalore and then the taxi drive to Manipal - all the while we just kept praying to God. By then we had already made some decisions, we needed some luck. We hoped and prayed to God that he survives the distance. He did!
When we entered the hospital , we first prayed to the Ganesha idol. I kept praying everyday till my father was discharged. In the end I must say we also did the right things, took the right decisions and everything worked out just in time for us. My father was discharged in 3 days, and its been over six months now already. He has done well uptill now and is doing just fine, touchwood!
If I look back now, I can't quite understand what this whole episode was trying to tell me with respect to my beliefs about prayers and temple God's and idol worships. Why did I suddenly pray to the temple God? Is there someone who hears our prayers ? If yes, the first time I prayed and it just went all wrong! Why? But what if the power of these prayers saved my father? The more I try to make some conclusions the more confusing it gets. At the end I really don't know what to make of all this. Probably when I am older and hopefully wiser it would make better sense to me maybe. For now I can only say I know the meaning of fear much better than before, something I thought I already knew when I had lost my brother a decade back. And one thing is for sure - I will never forget this episode ever!
