Abode Of God

Prathmesh, who had come to see Udaipur along with his wife and two daughters, prepared a plan to visit the temple of Lord Shrinath. They reached Nathadwara after an hour’s journey on the bus. The temple was a kilometer away from where the bus stopped. Some people took a rickshaw but Prathmesh decided to walk along with his family. Actually, he did know how far the temple was. Going through the alleys in the hot weather, Prathmesh and his family reached the temple after an hour and were fully drenched in sweat.

As soon as he reached the temple, some of the touts surrounded him. They were asking him to Pay Rs500 and go for the VIP darshan. Rs500 was not a big amount for Prathmesh but he believed that everyone should go inside a temple the same way without any special favors. He noticed that the doors of the temple were closed and that the temple would open in another fifteen minutes.

As it became closer to the temple opening time, the crowd began to swell. Some of the devotees were making arrangements to safeguard their footwear. Many of the elders saw the heavy rush of pilgrims and decided to stay back and safeguard the footwear. Seeing how excited Siya and his two daughters were, Prathmesh decided to stay back and asked them to go inside the temple.

As soon as the doors were opened, there was a heavy rush. One didn’t have to walk as the heavy crowd pulled the people along. The heat and crowd were taking a toll on the people. As soon as she reached the small hallway in front of the idol, Siya noticed that some people were coming from a door at the back. She asked the woman next to her “Who are those people?” The woman answered, “They are V.I.Ps.”. She then noticed an elite couple standing in front of the idol. Due to this, the idol was not visible to Siya.

After a few minutes, Siya noticed that the crowd had thinned down. She could move her hands and legs freely and take an easy breath. After such a harrowing experience, this felt like meeting god. Siya realized that she came out without seeing the god inside the temple. She did not have either the courage or the strength to stand in the queue again.

Prathmesh asked her “Were you able to see the diamond in god’s chin?”

Siya, who was tired, said “I was neither able to see Lord Shrinath nor the diamond. But I saw stars for sure.” Prathmesh immediately became disappointed. He left for the bus stand with his family