Son of a Crutch

Vanakkam Welcome back to our show, “Health is Wealth”, I am your host Priyamani Naidu and today we have with us the Yogi, Philanthropist and an Animal lover Mr. Prasanna Subramaniam, from an internationally acclaimed and national award-winning organization “My Right-Side Yoga”. 

 

The audience applauds and Prasanna nods and bows to everyone. 

 

“So, continuing our conversation sir, when did you first saw yourself becoming a successful Yoga Teacher and that too with this…”, says Priyamani.

 

Prasanna: Let me help you in completing your question…How could you become a yoga teacher with this Physical deformity? Am I right? He grins. 

 

Priyamani shooks her head and replies, “Yes, but this is more than a deformity. I was shocked to see you doing Yoga-Asanas when I first came to invite you to my show. It was unreal”.

 

Prasanna laughs and takes a sip of tea placed on the center table. The audience responds with a huge applaud. 

 

Priyamani: “Sir, Please tell us about your story. The audience sitting here in the studio and watching us live on social media wants to know about you and above all your biggest fan is sitting right next to you, interviewing you, wants to know you in detail” 

 

The audience cheers and demands to Mr. Subramaniam to talk about his journey.

 

Prasanna: “It feels amazing to see this response from such a beautiful audience. Never have I ever thought of this, but today I am on your show and the love I am getting from the audience, I believe it is about time for my past to come out in front of everyone”

 

He takes a huge breath and says, “It were a burning summer of 1961, I was born prematurely to an unmarried ethereal beauty. Beautiful she was (takes a pause).

She was fragile 17 when I came out of his womb. Every young, old and even gravely old man used to desire for a bed-warming night with her (Prasanna muses for a while). After I was born, her parents who named her after the Hindu goddess, Parvathi, left her alone on the streets of Dindigul, a small place near Madurai. All she had was, a bag filled with her clothes hung on her left shoulder, an empty stomach, and a crying baby on lap, begging the mother to feed him. I surely did not get my share of milk; probably it wasn’t in my destiny (grins). I still remember that we had our shanty beside a coconut tree, which was the only source of food for us. My mother was a great cooking artist, as she could cook 5 different dishes with the same coconut, truly an artist. She hated to cook for me, maybe because she believed that I am the only reason for her pain and sufferings.”

 

“Can I have some water please?”, asks Prasanna while interjecting the story. 

 

Priyamani calls for a glass of water. Subramaniam drinks it all and says, “My mother once tried to kill me...” while gulping a portion of water and putting the glass back on the center table. 

 

These words of Mr. Subramaniam left everyone shocked and astounding. 

 

“What?”, asks a fearful Priyamani. “How could a mother kill her own newborn?”

 

Prasanna: Grins and says, “Pathetic isn’t it? In India, a daily report says that around 1200-1500 female infants were thrown in the dustbins or roadside drains last year and most of them were done by a mother or with the approval of the mother” 

 

Priyamani looks stunned for that while and inquires, “So, how did you know that your mother tried to, you know?”

 

So, before you answer this, It’s time for a quick break. We’ll be right back in no time.

 

Vanakkam Welcome back to our show, “Health is Wealth”, I am your host Priyamani Naidu and today we have with us the Yogi, Philanthropist and an Animal lover Mr. Prasanna Subramaniam, from an internationally acclaimed and national award-winning organization “My Right-Side Yoga”. 

 

Priyamani: “I love to tell this every time..”

 

Prasanna: “What?”

 

Priyamani: “That you are an animal lover. In fact, nowadays a lot of us are but no one is like you, I mean who thought there would be a crèche for pets. Thanks for this thing”

 

Prasanna puts forth a heart-warming smile towards Priyamani Naidu.

 

Priyamani: So for the audiences who have joined us now, Mr. Prasanna Subramaniam was telling us that her mother once tried to kill him. So, my question is “How did you know that your mother tried killing you?”

 

Prasanna: Hmm…Interesting question it is but I am not sure that you would like the answer to it. Still, I will tell you the story. “So, I was 8 by then and my most time was spent doing nothing. I had a 3-feet bamboo stick with me, which was my only friend. I used to talk to it for hours, but it never replied. I asked it to reply. I begged it to reply, but it never did. That day, I threw it and swore not to talk to it”. 

 

My mother did saw me doing this. She came to me furiously and said, “Idiot, It is you who needs the stick to walk, not the vice-versa. This stick doesn’t care about your feelings like your father didn’t care about mine. If I knew that, you are growing to be a paralyzed half-body creature then I would not have resisted myself from feeding you poisoned milk that day”. 

 

 “So, It was your mother who told you that she tried killing you with poison?”, interjected Priyamani.

 

Prasanna (nods): “Ah-ha”

 

Priyamani: “But why? I could see her pain but killing your own son is what I feel is not a solution to it.”

 

Prasanna had no answer to Priyamani’s question hence said, “God knows! Maybe she wanted to kill her pain, not me” sighs. He continued, “So, One bright evening, I was sitting beneath an Alandur Mango tree, with my friend, alone. While I was busy cursing my paralyzed left body, I heard a distant shout, “Hey you, cripple. Pass that ball to us”. 

I felt an inner bliss, as for the first time one of those boys spoke to me. “See, he is talking to me”, said I to the bamboo stick. 

I followed his order and started looking for the ball but due to my paralysis, I could not move my body with ease.

 

As I was causing delay, two of the boys came running towards me, found and picked the ball up. 

One of them said, “You are slow like a bi*ch” while showing the ball.

The other one replies, “Why will he be not, he is the son of a bi*ch” (he winked towards the other boy as he makes a circle from his left hand's thumb and index finger and firmly slides the right hands middle finger in and out multiple times)

 

They both laughed out loud. “The lucky b*st*rd” I heard while they walked away. 

 

That day, I cried...I cried from my right eye. I got so much infuriated with their words that I ran towards the shanty with my lame leg. As I entered the shanty, I shrieked at my mom, “Am I son of a bi*ch” 

My mother looked at me and said, “Who said this to you?” 

“Those boys”, replied I. “Answer me”

“They are not wrong”

 

Priyamani(interjects Mr. Subramaniam): “What? Wait. Your mother said this to you? I am very confused. I can’t actually understand the state of mind of a woman who agrees on the fact that her son is being called ‘son of a bi*ch’.”

 

Prasanna (after a few seconds pause says with wet throat): “My mother used to tell me that we all are God’s sons and daughters and I believed it (clears throat) I believed it because she was the only one who used to talk to me, but from that day onwards I stopped, actually totally quit believing on my mother”. Prasanna gasps.

 

Priyamani: “Do you need some water?”

 

Prasanna shooks her head and gestures that he is fine.

 

“Then, what did you do?”, asks Priyamani.

 

Prasanna (continues): “I decided to ran from this tag of ‘son of a bi*ch’ and reached Madurai. In Madurai, I am living since 1969 and I did everything from boot-polishing strangers to car washing to earn my share of bread, and yes I learned Yoga and now here I am, I hope I am doing a good job”

 

The audience applauds and the host interjects. 

 

Priyamani: “I am sure you are doing a great job, but how did you learn this exceptional art of Yoga. I mean, who was your teacher?”

 

Mr. Subramaniam: “Ms or Mrs.?”

 

Priyamani: Ms. It is (grins)

 

Mr. Subramaniam (continues): So sorry. “Ms. Priyamani actually, I didn’t go to a teacher to learn yoga. Frankly, the yoga came to me. Believe me; I had nothing to do in my life. Whenever I used to find any time in between car washing or shoe polishing, I used to sit alone, close my eyes and think of my past. One day, I was sitting in a park and saw a few oldies doing yoga moves. I liked the way, they were doing it and I just copied them and with time I started learning it through books and later on through videos. By then I would be around 15 when I started, I guess.”

 

“Wow, this is amazing. He deserves a huge round of applause, Didn’t he?”, says Priyamani while looking at the audience. Audience applauds.

 

“Thanks a lot, Thank you very much. I am honored with this gesture of yours Priyamani and this lovely audience. I am glad that I came to the show”.

 

“We are much obliged to have you on our show”, replied Priyamani. “You must be knowing this… You are being revered the most by our Youths, So would you like to say something to them, any success guidelines..?”

 

Mr. Subramaniam: “Again, I feel lucky to have an audience like you, people like you, who gave an opportunity to this paralyzed, purposeless and hollow kid to develop a skill and show it to the world”.

 

Audience applauds.

 

Mr. Subramaniam (continues while looking at the audience): “By God's grace, you all are fit, healthy and complete. The sense of completion, physically, makes you focus on developing your mental skills rather than trying to improve your physicality (like me). I was very much confused (grins), seriously, I used to look at kids playing football, cricket and see them running makes me realize every second that I have been designed imperfectly. Did God’s Intern design me?” (Laughs)

The audience laughs and applauds.

 

“Seriously, I used to”, Mr. Subramaniam tries to continue but couldn’t because of continuous audience applauding.

 

Mr. Subramaniam (continues): “I used to believe this because why would a perfectionist like the almighty do a blunder like this. But now, I realized, I was not a mistake instead, I was an experiment”.

 

Audience cheers and applauds.

 

“An Experiment, which failed in the beginning”. He sighs. “Each one of you, sitting here watching me live, on social media or on their television sets, is an experiment. A God’s experiment designed with love, programmed with a skill-set which sets you apart from one another but, the core of the operating system is exactly the same”.

 

“What are we windows or an IOS?”, asks someone from the audience.

 

Audience laughs.

 

Prasanna (Smiles and says): “The boom of technology. My friend, if you had attended my Yoga-classes then you would not have asked this question. But, It’s good that you asked it here, I am getting a chance to tell it in front of millions of you amazing people. So yes, we are almighty’s best creation and we have an operating system which I guess is 1000 times richer than any windows or your IOS. I call it GOD. Obvious or Surprised? ”

 

Audience nods to Mr. Prasanna Subramaniam’s question.

 

Prasanna (continues): “Let me clarify, this G-O-D actually is an abbreviation and translates to G which is Guna meaning quality; O is Om the original yogic mantra, and D is Dhyana i.e. meditation. It starts with Identifying your Guna’s, the qualities which are equipped with; then understanding the meaning of Om, the sound of confidence and success; and the final stage is Dhyana, which helps you finding peace amidst all the chaos. You need not sit in the yogic pose always for the ‘Dhyana’. It is better to be called a state-of-mind and can be achieved anywhere and anytime. This G-O-D keeps our psyche and physique healthy”. 

 

“So, did you get your answer Mister”, asks Prasanna while looking at the guy who asked the question. 

 

He nods his head to Prasanna. The audience applauds and cheers for Prasanna. 

 

“Any more questions for Mr. Subramaniam”, asks Priyamani to the audience. She gets no response from the audience, “Okay no more questions”.

 

“I want to say one more thing if you allow Ms. Priyamani,” says Prasanna.

 

“Sure, It is all yours”, gesturing towards the stage ahead and the audience. 

 

Mr. Subramaniam (continues): “People have their parents or someone who you know, holds their hand when they start walking for the first time. Am I Right?”

 

The audience nods cheerfully. 

 

“I too had someone with me, who kept me standing even in the worst scenarios, it never left my hand like a mother, It guided my paths like a father or an elder brother. Here it is, ‘My Crutch’. 

 

The audience responds with soaring high cheers. Prasanna bows to the audience. 

 

Priyamani: “Sir, It was a pleasure having you here on our show. I am sure the youths out here and watching us at home would have learned a lot from your life’s struggle and journey. At last, I would request you to leave a token of love on our ‘wall of fame’. Please.”

 

Priyamani helps Mr. Subramaniam to reach out to his Crutch. Prasanna gazes it for a second, holds it and stood up to walk towards the ‘Wall of fame’. Priyamani passes a golden marker to Mr. Subramaniam and he writes-

“Discover the GOD in you. I did, Did you?” 

With Love Prasanna Subramaniam

(My Right Side Yoga) 

#SonofaCrutch

on the wall.