Monitoring The Water Pump

Prologue to the essay

A religious celebration called ‘Navratri’ comes every year before Deepavali, a festival of lamps

and lights during the months of October November and it’s very strictly followed for nine days. All nine days continuously without any sort of breaks. It’s a religious celebration of worshipping three goddesses namely Goddess Amba devi who is depicted with eight hands and a sword lying in her feet and a tiger in her background. It is Symbolical of demolishing the evil forces. Goddess Lakshmi who is portrayed as six armed, wearing a red sari and holding in her hands a fire disc, a conch , the holy pitcher, bow and arrow , and a lotus while the sixth arm is ‘abhaya mudra’( equipoise shape) and a full flowing gold coins. The third goddess Saraswati came from ‘Saras’ meaning the one has essence and is flawless. She is a symbol of knowledge simply alluring like beautiful woman. She is a fair Goddess with four arms, wearing spotless white sari and seated on a white lotus. It is very seriously solemnized especially by women. The people of Bengal worship Goddess Kalika all the nine days.

Starting the water pump at Amba Mata temple

The festival of Navratri comes in one of the years as usual a matter of routine. Once in a year for nine days the pujas and worship of three goddesses, Saraswati Maa, Lakshmi the goddess of wealth and Ambe Maa goes on. Three days to each of the goddesses. Its mostly very seriously solemnized especially by women but men also can join. The Bengali people do the worshipping of Goddess Kalika mata all the nine days. There was a temple of Goddess Amba Ma in one of the central location of several temples of Jabalpur. During the Navratri celebrations the most ardent devotees worshipped Amba ma and also Lakshmijee and Saraswati four times every day. On other common days of the year the people held aarti twice a day. But during Navratri, Aarti was held one early morning, one in the afternoon, one in the evening, one at night before retiring to the bed. In short period of time there sprang up two groups of devotees. One group was of the trustees and other group was the Bajrang Dal and both demanded supreme position for special precedence in performing and accomplishing the aarti. There began a heated discussion becoming the target of rivalry. A senior gentleman in the group of trustees came for with a solution of the issue. He suggested that the aarti that begins in the morning at 6.00 am should be done by the temples trustees group. The second aarti at 11.00 am should be handed over to the Bajrang Dal. Thereafter the third prayers with aarti to be executed at 7.30 pm in the evening by the trustee group and it’s only the fourth and the last one that was fixed at 11.00 pm should be handed over to the Bajrand Dal group of young men. This was quite a fair settlement of the dispute between the two wrangling parties. It went on quite smoothly for six days in continuous succession but something went wrong on the seventh day of the final aarti that had been allotted to the Bajrand Dal group. The young lads of the trustees group began fumigating without any substantial reason. After the afternoon aarti of seventh day they began to gossip in a discontented manner that they were the founders of this Amba mata temple and for last three days of Navratri we should be entitled to the 1st prayers and aarti and would not all ow the Bajrang Dals to perform it. This was a prerogative they suddenly demanded only out of self-ego and claim of more ownership and also against the peaceful settlement. But the devilish Satan in them grew as large as a fat pumpkin and they wanted to preemptory impound on the last aarti celebration. Soon they hatched a wicked plan of conspiracy not to permit them doing it on the seventh day. This decision was absolutely a gross injustice, erupting so suddenly like a volcano bursting in the open space. It was a most wicked plan provoked by minds that are absolutely vicious like a dangerous dog always quite likely to bite. An unprovoked plan ejecting out of pride, puffed up ego and illogical domination. The priest of the temple who prepared sweets, prasadam or even the salted all the four sessions was seated at the entrance with the whole large Thali of the sweet prasadam made out of pure ghee, sugar and flour. It was also fairly and fully sprinkled with cashew nuts and powdered cardamom. A prasadam (offering) but also a delicious sweet just melting on the tongue. The Bajrang dal group came dancing and singing in ecstatic of holistic joys praising the Goddess Amaba devi who fulfilled all the wishes of the devotees and also demolishing and slashing the evil forces. Look here in these antagonist forces becoming devil intentionally in the way of aarti of a goddess who was an enemy of evil doers. They were all coming joyfully with the beating of the dholaks and drums. As aarti of a godesss who is herself against evil elements and the temple trustee group themselves becoming evil forces who wanted to overrule upon the legitimate compromise to be illogically pushed and trampled under their feet. As the Bajrang Dal reached the temple premises and intended to enter the doorstep, the priest who sat there blocked his long legs spreading to block them. The monitor of the Bajrang group who was a mature man of patience asked “Dear Panditjee kindly permit us to enter the temple. The time for aarti is getting late my brother.”

“You won’t be permitted today at this time.”

“The trustee group would perform the aarti. The senior of fifty years still continued with polite courtesy. The man was still calm and placid. “Pandit jee how can you break against an agreement mutually agreed upon? I request you to please allow us to enter”

By this time the trustees young fellows came with bamboo sticks and even stormed them on the group who had been patiently waiting for their monitor to give them orders. Thereafter their senior monitor addressed his boys to avoid their lathi attacks. All those who have been spared should enter in and begin the aarti. The two boys who had been wounded I will myself take them to the medical clinic.

“Go in I order the ones who are quite well”

No sooner he ordered them to enter the Pandit priest threw the whole gigantic thali(plate) in the temple hall. But it is indispensable to begin the aarti in the space of the hall. There is a holistic prologue before the real beginning of the whole aarti and there is also an epilogue and prostrating before the goddess for her implicit blessings and pleasure.

Now you just kindly imagine my dear readers any of the devotees whether they were of the trustees group or the Bajrang Hindu Dal group how could they enter in the temple when all over the Prasad halwa was spread. No devotee could trample upon the thrown holistic prasadam. When its given to the devotees they take it close to the eyes and even kneel with sheer devotion. It’s not merely a thing for satiating the tongue but something believed to have received from the hands of the goddess herself.

Thereafter there spread a gloomy situation. The Bajrang boys went back with weeping tears shouting sad loud whines. “Oh Maa Amba we are very sorry. We failed to perform your aarti. Oh Maa how could we trample our feet upon your holistic prasadam?

The temple boys too could not perform the aarti because they too could not walk upon it. It also could not be removed with a broom. No one would use a broom for the holy prasadama. The aarti could not be done and Amba devi maata stared there in awe struck. There seventh day last aarti could not be done; the fourth Pooja could was not solemnized.

The priest who had thrown the prasadam collected the whole in that large dish (The large round tray made of silver and bronze metal). Her daughter collected it with a big towel and it was fed to the cows in the cowshed behind the temple's courtyard. Thereafter the whole hall was washed with a phenyl dipped water buckets and turned into shining glowing smelling fragrance received from the rose administered scent drops. He had to miss with the first aarti that had to be started. The oil lamps had been ignited and the incense cents blew the whole air. But he had forgotten to switch on the motor pump which he would the first thing early morning. The trustees’ boys reached the precincts of the temples door. The priest ascended the staircase just close by the front part.

As soon as he clicked the switch on he got current shock and the priest fell down and could not get detached from it. He cried and shrieked with loud stirring whines “Oh baap re… (Oh my he….ll oh! ) Hearing his loud yelling shrieks his daughter Lata came to help her father. Her mother had already expired two years back. She also got fastened to the electric connection. There boys came rushing and running up the stairs. What they saw was a most shocking surprisingly tragic happening. Both the father and the daughter struck by the current lay dead with their faces becoming as blue as the surface of any of the oceans.

The boys saw and stood aghast. The boys called the electric station officer “Oh My Officer Guptajee send the electrician immediately. Come soon check the leakage in the wiring connection. The priest along with his daughter has fallen dead. Just soon after two technicians came riding on a Honda with their electric repair supply. They came upstairs. The main box was switched off. The bodies were separated from the electrical connection. Again one of the young men switched on the main box and looked into the whole connection fully and minutely each and every inch. They also touched the switch connection. They switched on without any gloves with their bare hands. Both the young person switched it on and off twenty times but there was no current shock. The whole wiring connection had no leakage on it and it was found in perfect right order. How the priest got the electrical shock how his daughter too died remained an eternal mystery that did not have any logical explanation.

Finally the trustee’s group came to comprehend the tragic consequences of their wild inimical egoistical revengeful illogical insult. The Amba mata who shot them dead as her punishment for throwing the whole prasadam in the hall. Her wrathful eyes struck them dead because the aarti had not been performed on the night before.

Epilogue

On giving a parting footnote to this essay it can be summed up as the basic negative traits of pride, rivalry and sense of inflated superiority in them leading to ego diverting into unjustified direction. Goddess Amba, Saraswati and Lakshmi are all integrated representative of Lord Krishna, Shri Ram or Christ. God expects from the devotees total surrender into him, faith and genuine relationship of love. This cannot be ever developed in the people who are puffed up with pride and entering into fighting and ushering brawls, wrangles or beating.