Astrology and I

My previous blog posts have covered some of my school days, so referring those may be useful to comprehend this present one fully . ....I never knew that there is something called astrology till I reached 5th std when our village temple was all set for a Kumbhabishekam after a long gap of some 20 years. My father was one of the committee members of the temple management (hereinafter referred to as the "CMs") and so he had to travel a lot for collecting donations, arranging sponsors for various events etc. I also occasionally accompanied him to various places esp. Private Ltd companies where some top shots like CEO, CFO, Director etc were Tambrahms (Tamil Brahmins or Palakkad Iyers to be specific). These top shots used a portion of their Companies' funds for religious matters (Corporate Religious Responsibility or CRR as an MBA may call it). Hence my dad's visits became fruitful coz of the CRRs of the TamBrahms.

One fine morning, the CMs came to our house asking for my father. I told that he is performing his Sandhya vandhanam (That was what I was supposed to tell visitors even when he was having idlis). After he came back from his prayers, the CMs said " Nammakku nalla oru jyotsanai paakkanam. Chela thadasangal ellaam irukku. athukku chela parihaaram pannanam". My dad replied " Chupparama jyotsyarai venam nnal paakalaam. aana avarukku konjam thallalai".....The Talayalam conversation went on, but the gist of the conversation was this " The CMs believe that there are some bottlenecks for conducting the kumbabhishekam and hence they need to consult an astrologer for doing certain pujas to remove those bottlenecks. Later during the day my father told this to my mom and I heard him say that it will be better to pray to lord Ganesha instead of consulting an astrologer and doing pariharas. He probably told to himself, "Who is more powerful than the God himself!" (He being an accountant might have thought why should they incur unnecessary cost ; ...the astrologer guys are superb, they may demand things like Gold Chain etc as a parihara for removing bottlenecks; enna koduma saar ithu)

That day in school, my thoughts were like this : 1. Who is an astrologer? 2. How is he important than the GOD himself (Perhaps this thought was borrowed from my dad)? I asked these doubts one of my classmates who is a very pious guy (at least I believed he was pious coz he used to wear the sacred ash that too three distinct parallel thick lines//perhaps arcs// on his forehead ) and supposed to know everything about God. He told that astrologer is somebody who can see past, present and future by doing some mathematical calculations. I still think that this guy is a genius coz at 5 th std this guy was able to define something that too with some convincing logic. He told a lot more also as he understood that I didnt know anything about this topic, which was a pretty big opportunity for him to capitalize

.....When I finished my 7th standard, I joined a Boys-Only-School (when u read this phrase u r supposed to show sympathy) and continued my education still securing top positions in the exams. Then slowly my percentages came down and I got pushed down from 1st to 8th Rank among all the divisions. At home my mom's discussion topics were either zeroed down to my sister's marriage or my deterioration of education; the main yardstick being MARKS....One Sunday we all went for some shopping and while returning my mom asked my father whether we could meet an astrologer for knowing the right time for marriage based on my sis's horoscope and also about my education. I think my mom had planned it already since she had carried the horoscopes of all of us with her. My dad told her that there is a panikkar (I was sure, the fees would be less, otherwise why this particular astrologer ?) near our house who is considered as an expert in this. So the plan was kept in abeyance.........

DAYS PASSED and my tenth standard exams started and my dad used to accompany me to the school everyday and he had even arranged an auto-rickshaw for daily pickup. I felt embarrassed since all other students were coming on their own, but my dad insisted on coming along with me. There were also other embarrassments to my credit viz. no moustache and mix voice (FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW:When boys attain the age of puberty they lose their childish voice and acquire a male voice, but during the transition period the voice would a Mix voice)

There were exams for twelve subjects and I had completed ten of them. When I returned home after completion of the tenth exam, my sister came to me and told that my parents had shown my horoscope to the astrologer and he told my mom that I wont be able to write the SSLC exams. She also told me that which is the reason why my dad accompanies me to school that too hiring an auto-rickshaw (which was a luxury at that time considering my dad's financial condition). I told that nobody can predict future(...now I understand MBAs CAN, esp. those working in the Forward and Futures Market) , if somebody can then why do mishaps occur. She argued that nobody should be sarcastic about astrology and asked me to revoke my statement. Then to pacify her (usually I pacify her when we ague or quarrel -quid pro quo- the reserve cream biscuits which she keeps with her) I told that God can even prevent what is supposed to happen in future and hence I wont worry about any prediction. I went to the nearby Siva temple in the evening (I will not do EOD without going to this temple...I am sorry EOD is End Of Day which is a normal bankers' slang) and after I returned I started studying for the next day's exam. Suddenly I developed a severe pain along the right side of my neck and it extended to the right shoulder and then to my entire right hand. I felt my hands heavy to lift. I shouted and cried and my sister and mom came running towards me. My mom did some hot water therapy but the pain didn't subside. Then we went to a nearby clinic where the doctor said that it is a kind of a sprain and it will get cured only in 2-3 days. When we came back home my mom and sister started crying and they jointly said that the astrologer's predictions came true. My father who had gone to office returned very late that night and he also became very sad and upset seeing my plight .

But I was very confident and I felt that if I take the medicines that night I will get cured the next day. I had a disturbed sleep (coz I dreamt a lot) that night but my sis,mom and dad didnot sleep during that night. When I woke up in the morning I tried to see whether my hands are on their own, but unfortunately they were not. Then I began to think of Plan B i.e. write the exam using the left hand (Fortunately I can write using my left hand also but very slowly and with a handwriting that could be compared with somebody's who writes for the first time in life). I would be able to at least write the answers till I get a pass mark (I think 20 Marks). With these thoughts, I consoled my parents and sister that I wont fail in the exam let whatever hardships come on my way. I also said that I sincerely believe in the power of the Supreme Being and hence He wont let me down. My mom gave me a cup of coffee (we call it a 'tumbler') and when I finished my first sip, I heard some sound near the front door of our house and I realised that it was the morning newspaper. Since I had the privilege to read the newspaper first, my dad took it and gave it to me. When I unfolded the newspaper, the first news I read was "Pattambiyil SSLC chodya paper kathichu, innathae pareeksha maatti vachu". The detailed news was that some miscreants broke open the Strong Room where the SSLC Qn papers were kept and then lit fire, motives unknown!

PostScript: After 10 days the postponed exams were conducted and I scored 99 out of 100 in the Maths 1 and 2 exams. -I missed the 15th Rank in the State for 8 marks. From that day till date I have always advocated that though people may believe in destiny, they should also understand that selfless devotion towards the Supreme Power can override any hardships..... Jai Ganesha!