Tantra in the park

Lingaiah was a thoughtful person, with an analytical bent of mind. Today, as he entered Lalbagh, he was thinking of the people who walked in the park with bags in their hands. Why did they burden themselves with these bags, when they could walk freely? After all, they had come to the park to walk, not to buy stuff.  Then, as he continued to think about this, he realized that maybe people did buy stuff, after all – fruits and vegetables, mostly – from the HOPCOMS shop in the park. And then, there were the feeders, too, and this set was the interesting one he thought, as he discovered that he could categorise them into at least four different groups.

One set of persons were dog-feeders – the bags that these people carried were filled with packets of biscuits, which they periodically opened and threw to the dogs, who had grown accustomed to these early-morning treats. Another group carried sugar in plastic bags – these were meant for the ants, so that these people had eyes only for the ground on which they were walking – the sky, the trees, and the birds were generally ignored. A third group carried seeds with which the doves that congregated around the floral clock near the Maharaja’s statue were fed. Occasionally, you could see these people placing seeds in the hollows of trees as well, where the parrots and the squirrels competed for them.  Almost every day, you could see hordes of these creatures around the bench which was below the huge tree near the Lotus pond. And before the bamboos in the grove near the steps which led up to the lake were cut down, you could also see monkeys getting their share of bananas or sometimes, biscuits, from the fourth set of bag-carriers.

Fortunately, Lingaiah thought, there were no cows wandering around in the park. There had been deer, rabbits and fish at one time in the park. But the deer-park had gone, and the rabbits and the fish which once were housed in the now-dilapidated building near the Maharaja’s statue had vanished, as well. Of course, one could still feed the fish in the lake, or the lotus-pond, but not many people seemed to do this. 

Now that Lingaiah had these people with the feeding bags nicely categorised, he wondered what had motivated them to feed these creatures. It didn’t seem like they were driven by feelings of compassion and the like. And then, it struck him, most probably, he thought, these people were following astrological suggestions. 

Feed the dogs, and you will escape Saturn’s wrath, and help stave off the ill-effects of Rahu and Ketu. Ants were special for people afflicted with Rahu in a bad position in the horoscope. Feeding birds helped those facing problems with their careers. And this was also good for people facing educational difficulties. Feeding the monkeys, of course, helped propitiate Hanuman, and who doesn’t like that? 

Lingaiah had been having trouble in his life, of late, and, although he was scientifically minded, he had been consulting astrologers – because nothing that he had tried seemed to be working out  in his favour- which was how he had picked up this lore. His boss ignored him in the office, and treated him badly. He had tried to get other jobs, but no one seemed to want his skills. He had recently attended an interview – in which he thought he had done well – but there had been so many disappointments of late in his life, that he had given up on hearing from them. 

The astrologers – and he had consulted more than one of them –  told  him that all this was happening because he was running  the period of the Budha Mahadasha, and Budha -or Mercury- was ill-placed in his horoscope, leading to his present difficulties in his job. Apart from other remedies – like wearing an amulet, and a ring tailored for this situation-  the renowned astrologer Ganapathi Bhat had also suggested that he feed birds on a regular basis to get some relief from the present situation. He had done the other things that the astrologers had suggested – visited temples, done rituals, and so on – but the bird feeding thing he hadn’t much faith in – it seemed so strange to think that this would help him.

His health wasn’t good, either, perhaps because of his job situation.  He had been diagnosed with  high blood pressure, which needed immediate attention. His doctor had advised him to walk regularly – for an hour at least – and this was one of the reasons why he had taken to visiting Lalbagh regularly.

Under the tree, in a distant corner of the park, beyond the topiary towards the west of Lalbagh  there was a small picture of the goddess Mahishasuramardini, or at least, that’s what it looked like, from a distance.There was kumkum on the picture, and the burnt-out stubs of agarbathis, and pieces of coconut and shreds of flowers around. Had someone started feeding the gods as well?,  he thought.

A puja  had been performed there, under the tree – but who, and for what purpose had the ritual been performed? The marks around the picture appeared to be fairly recent, so whoever it was who had performed the ritual, was probably still in the park. Lingaiah walked up to the tree, and looked around carefully, but didn’t see anybody who looked like someone who would have performed a ritual there. There was a young lady nearby who seemed to be intently interested in one of the trees around that area, but there was no one else in sight. Somewhat surreptitiously, Lingaiah took the pieces of coconut lying around and put them into his pocket. He would follow the astro-feeders – as he now thought of the people who fed the creatures around in Lalbagh – and feed some creatures himself.

He resumed his leisurely walk – he was not one of those who walked at speed, as if they had appointments to keep, preferring instead to stroll, looking around at the park – keeping a look-out for likely coconut-eaters. He remembered hollows in a couple of trees near the Bandstand, where parrots and squirrels were regular visitors. He had often watched them quarrel over some seeds that people had kept for them there. Feeding them the coconut pieces might  might be a good idea, he thought, as he changed direction and headed back towards the Bandstand.

If you come down from the topiary, past the fossil exhibit, and another of those non-working fountains, you will reach the Bandstand. Turn right just there, walk a few steps, and take the little path that leads back up to the road near the Rose garden. And there were the trees that he had in mind.There were not many walkers in that shady area of the park, with most people preferring to walk along the broad paths, rather than the little ones.

When he reached the trees that he had in mind, he found that the hollows were crowded, with two parrots and a squirrel squabbling over the seeds that had been left there.  After watching them quietly for some time, he took out the coconut pieces and slowly – ever so slowly – so as not to disturb them, he placed them there. To his delight, the little creatures gave up on the seeds and began to inspect the coconut pieces.  And as he watched, all that he had put out had been eaten. He was pleased at the thought that he had not let the coconut pieces go to waste – after all, it was prasadam, and that should never be thrown away – as he resumed his walk. 

His wife was waiting for him when he reached home – a courier had brought an official-looking communication for him, she said.  When he opened it – tremulously – as it seemed to have come from the last organisation that he had interviewed with – he found to his delight that it was a job-offer. This was something that he had longed for, but never thought that he would really get  – his troubles seemed to have ended. At the very least, he thought, his luck had changed, and he wouldn’t have to worry about that Budha Mahadasha any more.

After he got over the initial excitement of receiving the job-offer, he looked back to what he had done to deserve it. He had indeed done the rituals that the astrologers had suggested and perhaps the gods had guided him to Lalbagh and the puja done under the tree, and he had fed the birds and the squirrels unthinkingly, doing the last thing necessary to get over the dosha in his jatakam…

Perhaps the gods had worked for him in this unusual way… 

He must visit Ganapathi Bhat and thank him for his advice, he thought.