True stories -2Grandpa chronicles

True stories -2Grandpa chronicles

I was back from my trip to Banaras and I was telling in detail about the place to muthassan, the Ghats, the stunning beauty of the Aarti puja on the Ganges and the absolute inner peace that the place seems to offer.

He was nodding his head, listening intently and I knew he was reminiscing his own memories of the trip he made to the same places many years back.

"Did u go to Sankat Mochan temple?", he asked me. 

"No Muthassa", I replied. "I didn't have enough time to go there."

"I had this interesting experience when I went to Sankat Mochan.", Grandpa began, with a hint of a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. I could sense a very interesting story coming up, so I rushed to the seat on the floor next to his feet by the side of his recliner and prodded, "What was that, please tell me."

"When I went to the SM temple with your Muthassi, there were monkeys all around. We were warned not to feed the monkeys and your Muthassi was at her most irritable, hiding all the little eatables which we had inside her bag and shooing them off ferociously. I on the other hand, got a banana and offered it to the nearest monkey that approached me. 

The monkey took the banana, moved away and started eating it. It peeled the banana in full in one go and put the whole thing in, chomped on it and swallowed it, all within a few seconds.

You are not going to believe what happened next.

The monkey went to the nearby drinking water tap a few paces away. He (HE, was the word Muthassan used, not IT, I noticed. Avan - was the exact word) opened the tap with one hand, drank some water and then scampered off, but not before carefully "CLOSING" (!!!) the tap completely. Such a polished behaviour from Avan I never ever expected to see. Now you know why I believe the lower animals are our forefathers in rebirth.", Muthassan concluded.

He stood up to leave before he hit the home run.

"Kunje....Until one has loved an animal, a part of ones soul remains unawakened." 

And he walked away but not before making my life brighter richer and much more meaningful.