Lord Krishna And Shravan

Kamakshi brought a cup of steaming hot coffee and placed it near Sadhashivam. 

"The monsoon will start in a week and tomorrow the kids are landing too," she said, wiping her forehead with the pallu of her saree and sat near him. 

He put away the newspaper he was glancing through and took the coffee cup in his hand. There was a smile of contentment on his face. He always had, when he sipped the coffee made by his wife. She prepared the best coffee...according to him.  

"All the kitchen work is over ?" he asked her.

"Yes. I have made the milk halwa that our son loves; the mysorepak for our daughter-in-law and some mixture and ribbon pakoda. Now, we await their arrival. Little Shravan loves to eat everything. "

Their son Vittal, daughter in law Veena and little grandson were arriving from U K the next day. They would be landing in Tiruvananthapuram in the early hours of the day and driving down from there to this little town. The couple was excited. Shravan will be four years old and he always had a barrage of questions.

"Why are you doing this pretty design on the ground, Paatti?" Sharavan asked Kamakshi as she drew the kolam on the earth on which water had been splashed.

"I do this little boy with rice flour so that the ants get their stomach filled up. These are little acts of charity".

Later on, he stood away at the threshold watching the ants coming in a row.

There was a squirrel too trying to eat the rice powder.

"Paatti, Paatti, " Shravan ran inside pretty excited.

"The ants are carrying the rice powder somewhere."

"Yes. Shravan. They are carrying this to their home to save for a rainy day. They save a lot of food. It is their habit or maybe their wise decision."

Shravan wanted to know a lot of things and Kamakshi and Sadhashivam patiently responded to all his questions.

The son and daughter-in-law left for Madurai to the latter's brother's home after staying here for two days and little Shravan refused to go with them. He enjoyed staying with the old couple and listened wide-eyed to all the stories that they told him. The house had a huge backyard with mango and jackfruit trees. There was a nice garden too with fragrant flowers. A cattle shed stood in a corner of the backyard with a cow and the calf. The boy loved the smell of hay and fresh grass. He watched in awe at the calf rushing to the cow and drinking milk. He loved the milk that Kamakshi gave him to drink in a small silver kendi That was a small vessel which had a spout like straw to suck the milk 

He was fascinated to no extent by stories from Mahabharatha . He fell in love with Lord Krishna and his antics. He kept nagging the couple as to when he can have His darshan .... Lord Krishna' s. The couple did not know how to answer this question. But they kept telling him that he will have the darshan if he prayed sincerely to Lord Krishna every night before he went to sleep.

 The monsoon started with all the squalls and sheets of rain. Little Shravan sat in the patio watching the rain.

"Paatti..In Sussex too it rains. But not so heavily. This looks beautiful. But I was scared of the thunder last night! It woke me up!"

Kamakshi told him, "Chant Arjuna...when there are peals of thunder. The thunder will not harm you."

"Why Paatti ?"

Now, Kamakshi was in a predicament. How to tell the boy that Arjuna was born with the grace of Indra who evoked storms, thunder, and lighting?

She simply said,

"Well. Arjuna has the powers of Indra...when you utter his name, it is as if calling out to Indra. Okay?"

Shravan went to sleep.

Well past midnight, Shravan woke up hearing someone calling him with much love and affection. He opened his eyes.

Wow!! Who was standing here? It was Lord Krishna. In flesh and blood. As his Paatti had told him...

He was bluish in colour. He wore yellow silks. He had a Thulsi garland around His neck. There was a crown too with peacock feathers.

The boy was stunned. He was experiencing so much joy and happiness.

Lord Krishna sat near him on the bed. 

"Shravan. I have come here to answer your prayers. You have been wishing to see me. You must be a good boy always. Study well. Be kind to all. Do not fight with anyone. Listen to everything that your parents say."

Little Shravan looked at Him... speechless.

Lord Krishna got up

"I must go now. Remember all that I said to you, my child"

There was the fragrance of sandal paste in the room. Just like the Guruvayur Temple Sandal paste. Shravan recalled..he had gone there two days back with his grandparents before the monsoon started..

"But...my paatti and thaatha will not believe me if I tell them that you came."

Lord Krishna smiled.

He handed over His flute to little Shravan.

"Here. Keep this . Do not talk about this to anyone else other than your grandparents and parents. Keep this always with you. I must go now."

Little Shravan went back to a sleep.....his heart full of happiness, clutching the flute in his hand.

Little Shravan was fast asleep the next morning when Sadhachivam walked through the puddles of rain to the next street. The rain had stopped but there was a slight drizzle. 

He did not have to knock on the door as the door was already open.

In the verandah, Kunju Nair was seated reading the paper.

He glanced up to see Sadhashivam walking in.

" Come, come. At this early hour? The paper is also early today."

Sadhashivam folded his umbrella and put it away in a corner for the water to drain.

"I really don't know how to thank you Kunju. The boy is clutching the flute to his heart and sleeping still."

Kunju Nair was famous there for the particular dance item called " Krishnanaattam ". He was extremely handsome too. It was a family art that he was continuing to practice.

"Sir..I have never felt so satisfied in my life as I was last night. It looked ...well... I was not acting..the little boy believed that I was indeed the Lord. What a satisfying role I have played !! The best in my life."

Sadhashivanm told him,

"I shall give you money to replace that flute Kunju. You should get a new one ."

Kunnju Nair smiled.

"No Sadhasivam Sir...that flute has gone to the place it has belonged all this while. I will get myself another one. You should not be giving me any money to buy a new one."

His voice had a tremble in it and his eyes were filling.

It started raining heavily outside.