fहndi - Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya

Is this the truth — this squeeze -outof lifelong hopes, battles and pleasure-pains,this handful of ashes? Or is it oncemore...'vaasaansi...')The cheif assistant or official of thetemple stacked into the children's hands,a mound of Prasad made in pure ghee 'youcome here so rarely...' he complained withauthority : looking like an influentialnational leader. Son Number One foldedhis hands with respect.'You know the problems we have,mahantji...'The women did some buying in thesmall, congested bazaar. The aunts andaunts-in-law bought strips of cloth withram-ram embossed on them, garlands ofsandalwood...for their own last journeys.If they kept them after taking dips in theGanga, there would be some provisionstanding ready for their last hours. Thegirls bought garlands made of sandalwoodpowder. These were in vogue now.Crossing the river again they returnedto their ashram. After a dinner of purevegetarian food cooked in equally pureghee, served in silver plates, they went offfor rest.They had secured the mahant'sblessings, putting in into the donationboxes mornings and evenings hefty sumsfairly beyond their means. The mahantpressed them to stay on a day longer, towhich Worthy Son Number One pleadedhelplessness. ' Resting at peace on the banksof the Ganga is just not writ in ourdestinies, mahantji! It's only because offather that even our coming here hasmaterialised... you know it...''True, very true. Only because ofworthy sons like you has even a modicumof a sense of duty survived...'On the way back, Varma-ji pressed fora darshan of the sanyaasini maa who wasthere at present. Sharma-ji had already beendispatched to maa's ashram — on areconnoitre, sort of.The sanyaasini maa was staying in aworn-looking ashram amidst narrow,circuitous lanes. Seated on a platform ina longish room, clad in pure white, shelooked like devi Saraswati. Worthy SonsNumber One and Number Two tried toask her questions of spiritual cum everydayimport, to which she gave brief replies ofa sentence or two. Perhaps they wereexpecting handy solutions to some problemor the other they were faced with.Somewhat disappointed, Worthy SonNumber one turned to his womenfolk :'You have any questions for Maa?'' Maa's darshan we have had : nothingmore we need...' Paternal aunt folded herhands and spoke for all.And then, nobody knew why, theyounger daughter, all this while aloof andfar-away seeming, burst out in brokentones, 'I am very depressed, Maa...' It waslike one who'd struggled long for releasefrom the hangman's rope stifling her, or,like one drowning in deep waters makingfgndi •April-June 2013 :: 117