Come rain, two-wheeler riders are confronted with a problem: vehicles parked on sandy and loose soil surfaces are likely to tumble down due to erosion caused by running rainwater. A few days ago, my wife and I had gone for darshan at the Goddess Sri Kattil Mekkathil Devi in Kerala’s Kollam. I did not forget to take along my parking-help device, a sturdy fibre cup. With the moped at the parking slot on the mainland, I placed the device under the side-stand in such a way that even during torrential rains, soil or sand under the stand would not lose grip keeping my vehicle steady.
The temple is situated on the seashore with a stretch of narrow canal separating it and the mainland. The temple administration runs boat services to transport thousands of devotees daily to and fro. The ferry services are free, laudable in a world where we are even charged for answering the calls of nature.
Leaving our footwear a few feet away from the temple corridor, we had darshan of the Goddess and fulfilled the nercha (vow) of tying the Goddess-blessed bell to the holy banyan tree on the temple premises. On return, we did not find our footwear at the spot they were left. We then noticed them a few more feet away, probably the work of a responsible temple worker who must have felt the footwear was too close to the corridor. I thanked the unknown person.
We returned to the mainland. Wherever I park my vehicle, my sharp look on return would fall at the parking point to make sure my two-wheeler is safe. It was, but a different shock shook me. The parking cup had been pilfered. Devi won’t bear with me if I fail to reveal one thing here: the gentleman had managed to procure a crushed water-bottle and placed it in the cup’s place. To prevent my moped from falling. Hats off to that responsible pilferer!
Why should this loss, though negligible, occur to me even though our trip was to offer prayers? It could have been a divine punishment to me; yes, while offering prayers, I let worries over my vehicle’s safe or otherwise condition cloud my mind intermittently. In all meekness, I justified the godly sentence. Lesson learnt: No broken concentration during prayers.
E Sethuramalingam
Email: esrlingam@gmail.com