absolute devotion, she walks....
alone, in ten thousand women,
a river to an ocean, O Vittala!!!
Her daughter, Rimi, had calmed down now, and was asking about help in completing her homework right away because of something about with Raghav somebody, to the wari something tomorrow. Who was this Raghav? How did her daughter already have friends? Three months in Pune, and Suchitra only knew 2-3 neighbours who were also new to the city.
The phone was ringing and Suchitra answered it. Apparently, Raghav's mother, Mrs. Kulkarni was also a resident in the same apartment building. She was about to come and visit her. Rimi had been listening eagerly to the one-sided conversation but seemed to have guessed the discussion from the other end. She said, "Mummy! He is my friend, Raghav, in my class. She is bringing something for you to eat!" Suchitra was worried. Something to eat? Why? Why would someone bring something to eat at someone else's house? Again, she felt guilty in thinking in such a manner. What was wrong with her?
Mrs. Vandana Kulkarni was a very affectionate, happy and refreshing lady. Already, she was beginning to like her. She had brought about 10-15 puran polis with her, hot and freshly made. OK, she could handle this, thought Suchitra. She knew about puran polis, and went into the kitchen to heat a bowl of ghee. The kids were happy and were working on their homework books together. They seemed to be eager to get it done very fast.
Mrs. Kulkarni was reading the Times of India with a very serious expression. She looked up at Suchitra and said, "This paper is not like our Marathi newspaper. You will never be able to know about the palkhi. It is more than Dussehra or Diwali or Holi. Even bigger than the Ganeshotsav." Declaring thus, she spoke about the Dehu-Alandi palkhi and its annual journey to Pandharpur. She told Suchitra about the lakhs of pilgrims called warkaris, who made the sacred pilgrimage, considering it to be their bond with Panduranga Vittala. Finally, she declared that, since it was a holiday tomorrow for the children, they could go and visit the palkhi, and watch the warkaris walking by from Alandi to Pune city.
The next day, Suchitra and Rimi were standing in a huge crowd on the pavement, with Mrs. Kulkarni and Raghav. This road would be the main route for the Sant Dnyaneshwar palkhi from Alandi enroute to inner Pune city. Suchitra held Rimi's hand tightly, unused to Pune's crowds, though she was quite familiar with the Durga puja celebrations in Kolkatta. Those were what you would term as 'crowds', she thought to herself. The scene at this moment was just like people waiting to cross the road in any traffic junction of Kolkatta.
Someone came and attempted to place a sacred chandan mark on her forehead with a small rod, and Suchitra tried to refuse, but Mrs. Kulkarni asked her to allow it, for that would help other devotees recognise her as one of their own. She looked at Mrs. Kulkarni's forehead mark, ashtagandh, as she called it, and thought, well, it was okay. It looked nice. Rimi was standing quietly, and listening to Raghav explain something about a bullock-cart that would come with the pilgrims. He was telling her about its importance and that the rath, as the cart was known, would carry the sacred symbolic paadukas of Sant Dnyaneshwar and that there would be a surge of the entire crowd to rush to seek its blessings when it would pass by in front of them.
The palkhi was just about beginning to increase its numbers. There seemed to be city pilgrims walking in front eagerly, and they would be followed by the first of the banners and flags announcing the actual dindis who were in disciplined groups, ahead of the rath, the the sacred bullock-cart, with Sant Dnyaneshwar's paadukas resting in them. Each dindi, or organised group of warkaris, were walking proudly, happily, for this was the first day of the palkhi. The warkaris were signing, chanting and keeping pace among themselves and the sounds of the cymbals seemed to overpower all other sounds of the road.
Suchitra kept a close watch on the eager faces of Rimi and Raghav, while Mrs. Kulkarni was happily waving at the warkaris, who were waving back at her with chants of "Om Ram Krishna Hari! Om Ram Krishna Hari!" An oldsih looking warkari, with a veena, came up from behind Suchitra, to walk into the palkhi. Some local boys and ladies touched his feet in respect, and an eldrly lady placed some money in the warkari's hands. "It is the tradition," Mrs. Kulkarni explained, "These are 'mahinyache warkaris', and they move about through the month. One is blessed when one helps them. Come, let us also take his blessings."
Mrs. Kulkarni and Suchitra went up to the elderly warkari, touched his feet, and they gave him some money. He did not seem to notice the money, if at all, but kept strumming the veena, and kept reciting, "Om Ram Krishna Hari!" without any break. He was waiting, looking for a break in the group of dindis, to start walking alongside, without disturbing anyone. Suchitra turned back to catch hold of Rimi's hands, and noticed that Raghav was by himself and her daughter was not to be seen. She asked Raghav, in panic, "Rimi! Where is Rimi?" Raghav also looked around, and seemed to realise at that moment that Rimi was not with him.
Mrs. Kulkarni asked Raghav, and he looked scared. He said, "I do not know. She was standing here, next to me, just now. I was watching her, and I had just turned about to see the palkhi. When aunty called out, I saw that she was not there." Suchitra was running about in the crowd and asking everyone. The group of local boys and ladies who had been standing nearby were also moving about, searching. Mrs. Kulkarni stood at the same spot, with Raghav, holding him by his hand, and was calling out, "RIMI, RIMIIII!!!"
The elderly warkari, with the veena, turned around at the noise and came up to Mrs. Kulkarni to enquire about the matter. He was told about the missing daughter. He looked at Raghav and asked, "Do you remember, boy, if she wanted to go somewhere? To buy any biscuits? or go to fetch drinking water? or, did anyone ask her to go with them?" Raghav turned to his mother, who nodded assuringly, and asked him to reply. The boy answered, "No, she was just standing with me. She is new to Pune, and she would not go anywhere. Her father has given her strict instructions, she told me. Her mother has brought everything, biscuits, chocolates, water and some tiffin also."
Suchitra came back to the spot and asked Mrs. Kulkarni if she had any luck. The elderly warkari looked at her and asked if Rimi had asked her about going anywhere. Suchitra heard the kind voice and the question and broke down, crying and saying, "Oh! It is my fault. I did not keep holding her hand. I left her hand for only one small moment, and she was gone. What will I tell her father? Why did I bring her to see the palkhi? What if my daughter is lost to me? How will Panduranga Vittala and the palkhi and all the warkaris help?"
The elderly warkari heard the anguished plea from Suchitra, wanting to know about how Panduranga Vittala would help. He strummed his veena, recited silently, "Om Ram Krishna Hari!" and said to Mrs. Kulkarni, "O tai, it is said that Panduranga Vittala and his devotee are but like mother and child. How is it that one can be separated from one another? If she was here as a devotee, she would be with Vittala, where else? For a child, how will she know that is capable of not having any devotion?"
Mrs. Kulkarni nodded in agreement, and tried to console Suchitra. The local boys had gone out in search of Rimi, and the ladies had started asking the local policemen and home guards to help. The elderly warkari told Suchitra, "Beti, this is the palkhi, and today is the first day. Seek his blessings, for your daughter must be somewhere nearby. Do not worry. She is not lost. When you are with Vittala, your devotion to him is like a ball of fire. Do not tie it up, as Tuka says. Let it be open and seek its comfort."
Suchitra thanked the elderly warkari, and replied, "Brother, thank you. She is a good girl. She would not go anywhere without any permission. You are correct. She must be somewhere nearby. As you say, Brother, Om Ram Krishna Hari!!! I pray, Vittala, that my daughter is safe, and she should be returned to me safely." Saying thus, she turned to search for Rimi, asking people if she had been seen anywhere. The local shopkeepers, residents and hawkers were all being asked similarly by the boys and ladies who had seen Rimi earlier.
Suddenly, there was a shout. It was none other than Raghav. He was pointing towards the edge of the palkhi as it was walking by, and Suchitra could see, through the crowd, that Rimi was trying to get back to her from the road. She ran to her, pushing herself through the crowd, and caught hold of Rimi and brought her back to where Mrs. Kulkarni, Raghav and the elderly warkari stood. The local boys and ladies also came together, exclaiming happily that the threat had passed without any trauma. Rimi looked quite happy, peaceful and very calm.
Rimi said, excitedly, "Oh, Mummy! I went to see the rath, to see the paadukas, as Raghav told me. It was so beautiful. When he described it to me, I wanted to go and see it immediately. The rath was nearby, and I ran out to touch the paadukas, and someone, with a tall silvery-white staff hanging behind him, picked me up, and allowed me to sit with the priests on the rath. They allowed me to touch the paadukas and placed a garland around my neck and gave me prasad for you all. Here I am, back from the rath!"
Indeed, so it was, for there was a garland around her neck, and she was carrying some blessed offerings with her. The elderly warkari, Mrs. Kulkarni and the ladies nearby looked around puzzled, and looked at the passing palkhi, and again looked at Rimi, in a very strange manner. Suchitra was disturbed, and asked, "Why do you all look at my daughter in that manner? She must have just gone to the rath and got the blessings and returned. That's why we could not see her at all. She was on the rath."
It was the elderly warkari who answered, "Yes, my sister, your daughter that went away, to seek blessings in the rath and returned... she did so, but the point is that the sacred Sant Dnyaneshwar's rath, carrying his sacred paadukas, is still at a distance of 2-3 kilometres away. This is just the crowd that walks hurriedly before the palkhi, and the irregular dindis. The actual palkhi of Dnyanba is yet to come. But, your daughter is indeed carrying the garland from the paadukas. I would recognise them anywhere. Even the packet containing the sacred offerings. This is from the rath."
Saying thus, the elderly warkari exclaimed, "O Panduranga Vittala, you know that this small girl does not know anything about the palkhi, about prayers or about walking to Pandharpur. And yet, you cheat us all, so many lakhs of us, who seek you at Pandharpur, by picking her away and granting her wish? We are at fault, O Vittala, for we seek you somewhere else. Your name alone is enough, but, she does not even know your name and she does not even chant it. And, yet, you string us all together like pearls on a necklace!!!"
Glossary
Ashaadhi = the Hindu Calendar month during June-July
ashtavinayaka = the pilgrimage to eight sacred destinations in western Maharashtra, with eight of the most well-known temples to Lord Ganesha.
atya = Aunt, usually, father's sister.
beti = Daughter
bhagawantha = God.
chapati = cooked wheat flat cakes, like a roti. An Indian-style tortilla.
dada = elder brother
dhaba = roadside food place. With informal arrangements.
Dindis = the group-units of pilgrims participating in the wari.
Dnyanba = Sant Shri Dnyaneshwar of Alandi
Mauli = Devotee of Panduranga. Also a form of greeting in recognition of the other person's faith in Panduranga Vittala.
paadukas = the sacred symbolic feet-impressions of deities or sages
palkhi = the pilgrimage from Dehu-Sant Tukaram temple and Alandi-Sant Dnyaneshwar temple via Pune to Pandharpur in Solapur District, Maharashtra
prasad = sacred offerings presented to the deities. Some part of it is usually returned to the devotee.
rath = chariot, usually pulled by oxen during the palkhi from Dehu-Alandi-Pune to Pandharpur
tai = Sister
Tuka, Tuka says, Tukaram = Sant Tukaram of Dehu. His renditions in praise of Panduranga Vittala are the abhangs that are remembered through hundreds of years. They are popularly known as "Tuka says..."
vaikhunta = passed away. Gone ahead to the great heavens above.
veena = stringed instrument used by warkaris to strum and recite
wari = the annual June-July (ashaadhi) pilgrimage from Dehu-Alandi-Pune to Pandharpur.
warkaris = traditional pilgrims - devotees of Panduranga Vittala, the deity at Pandharpur - who walk from Dehu-Alandi-Pune to Pandharpur, covering nearly 200 kms
Yaa = Come. A form of invitation in affection.
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