Banished from Mumbai to Bihar, my thoughts were unsettled and my mind in a whirl during my journey from Mumbai to Patna via New Delhi. As our plane neared the Patna air-port, I looked down the window and saw the Ganges flowing in all her majesty. The river must have been at least 5 kilometers wide and in full flow. It was an awesome sight and lifted my spirits.
At the air-port, I got a VIP reception. My friend, Mr.Rajesh Bhatnagar, Zonal Manager of Patna Zone was there, along with his deputy and my batch mate, Mr.Vaidyanathan (who is now no more). Also present was my new boss in the audit department, Mr.S.K.Kundra. Actually, they had come to see off our Executive Director, who had come on a visit. Since they knew I was arriving by the in-coming flight, they stayed back to welcome me. Extremely nice of them.
I took up residence at the Officers’ Association Guest House. The stay was comfortable and the food prepared by the caretaker, Pahadi, was like home-cooking. Only thing was, he was quite whimsical. In the mornings, he would arrive at 6.30 and announce,”Saheblog, wake up, wake up! Tea is ready.” At 7 O’clock, when I come out of my room, ready for my tea, he would be sitting in front of the TV, reading the newspaper and the water for tea was yet to be boiled!
Towards end of September, once when I was visiting my friend Jagath Kumar, he asked me,” The Art of Living People are conducting a basic course. Are you interested in joining?” I said “Yes”. At the last minute, Jagath pulled out since his daughter Vidya was coming for her holidays and he wanted to be with her.
I had heard a lot about Shri Shri Ravishankar and was curious to know what “Art of Living” was all about. The 6 day course, conducted in the early mornings, was wonderful. The “Sudarsan Kriya”, a breathing technique developed by Shri Shri Ravishankar, helped me in achieving calmness and peace. At the beginning of the course, they advised us that it will be beneficial if we do not take tea, coffee and soft-drinks like Coca-Cola, for the duration of the course. I decided to give them up altogether. My moment came when I told Pahadi that I will not be taking his tea in the mornings, any longer. The look on his face was worth it.
In October, I went to Jamshedpur in connection with the audit of our Main branch there. The Zonal Manager of J’pur Zone, Mr.Bavda was an old friend. During my stay there, I met my cousin Tara and her husband,Mr.Vijaya Kumar, both of whom I haven’t met in 30 years or more!! They were staying in Tata Nagar, the township developed by the Tata Steel Company Ltd. It is a planned city and worth a visit, to see the excellent tree-lined roads and neat houses with gardens.
From J’pur, I went to Puri and had darshan at the Jagannath Temple. I also visited the famous Konark Sun Temple, near Puri. On my way back to Patna, I stopped at Gaya and spent a day with my friend from Allahabad days, Pankaj, who took me to the Vishnu Padam Temple and then to Bodh Gaya, where Shri Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment. Recently, I read an article in which Shri Buddha is listed as one of the major Avatars of Maha Vishnu. The writer says that after Sri Krishna, Sanatana Dharma, the real name for Hinduism, degenerated into mere rituals and senseless sacrifices and it was Shri Buddha who preached a simple life of non-violence, universal love and truth, the basic tenets of Sanatana Dharma.
On my return to Patna, Jagath Kumar invited me to attend the chanting of Shri Vishnu Sahasranama (the 1008 names of Maha Vishnu) at the local Shri Ayyappa Temple. My wife used to chant it but my acquaintance with it was meager. I had difficulty chanting it at first, but slowly I improved.
In January 2002, a Satsang was formed for chanting the Sahasranama on a regular basis.The moving spirit behind it was one Mr.Mahesh Kumar, an officer in our Bank and his wife, Gita. Every Sunday morning, at 9, we would assemble in Mr.Vaidyanathan’s flat and start with the Gayatri Mantra, then Purusha Suktam, then Narayana Suktam, followed by the Vishnu Sahasranamam. It ended with the chanting of several Shanti Mantras and Arati. After wards, every one was given light refreshments. We had a regular assembly of of about 35, comprising of gents, ladies and 4 or 5 children, including the 2 children of Kumar. The group consisted of people from Bihar, Punjab, Maharashtra, UP, Andhra and Tamil Nadu. People from Kerala were in majority.
When Mr.Kumar was transferred to Pune, I was made the convener of the Satsang, though I was poorly qualified for the task. A notable feature about the Satsang was that a young Malayali Christian woman joined our group and was followed by another Malayali, a young man of Islamic faith. Our group really became non-sectarian.
I was really enjoying my stay at Patna. The disappointment in Mumbai was behind me.The feeling that my life was reduced to ashes was gone. I found my boss, Mr.Kundra to be one of the most brilliant persons I have met. His knowledge was vast and memory, phenomenal. He could rattle off all details of any officer who had worked in Punjab during the past 30 years or so. He was a great story teller with a vast repertoire. I spent hours, listening to him hold forth on varied subjects like Indian polity, economics (international as well as domestic), the stock market etc etc. In his illuminating presence, I sometimes used to wonder about my own capabilities!! He used to give me a lift in the evenings and twice a week, go to the local vegetable market. I would tag along with him and he would hold forth on the many vegetables kept on sale, their essential qualities and best way to cook them. He was the indulgent teacher and I was his wide-eyed novice. A person of very sweet nature, he could be very forthright and outspoken, qualities which displeased his superiors, leading to his banishment to Patna.
In May 2002, Rahul completed his examinations and I brought him and Jayshree to Patna. We got a nice flat on the 7th floor of a 14 floor apartment building, diagonally opposite to Mr.Vaidyanathan’s flat.(My mother once asked me,”Are there such buildings in Patna?”. Another friend asked,” You are flying to Patna? Is there an air-port in Patna?”). While we were there, I got an opportunity to go to Darjeeling and Gangtok, and took Jayshree and Rahul along. We flew from Patna to Siliguri and traveled the rest of the way by car. It was a memorable journey.
Couple of months after we moved in, the door bell rang at 4 in the morning. Wondering who it could be, I opened the door. Vaidyanathan stood there. He said,”I am not feeling well”. I looked at him blankly. He said, “I am not able to breathe; can I come in?”.He came in and sat down. Seeing him struggling to breathe, I rubbed his back. I sent Jayshree to wake up Amrinder, an officer of our bank, staying accross from our flat. I telephoned Jagath Kumar, staying in the next building. We took Vaidyanathan to a hospital. There, he went into a coma. He had suffered a massive heart attack. For a few days, it was touch and go. But after a week or so, he regained consciousness. A very friendly and affectionate person, he was very popular with every one. He was shifted to Mumbai where he underwent an emergency operation and made full recovery. He passed away in 2007.
After Vaidyanathan left, the Satsang was held in the premises of the South Indian Cultural Association building, where it is nearing its 10th anniversary. We also held Satsangs in the houses of devotees who used to sponsor the function.
In December2002, while I was in Kolkata to attend a promotion interview, Jayshree telephoned to say that there was a call from a friend of mine, saying that my transfer to Kerala has been approved by Head Office. I was already shortlisted for appointment as an instructor at our Management Development Institute (MDI) in Mumbai. I did not wish to lose my chance for a posting to Kerala and be near my aged parents.(My father was almost 90). With great difficulty, I managed to wriggle out of list for MDI.
Finally, in the middle of March 2003, I was relieved from the Bihar Audit Department and left for Kerala. Looking back, those 18 months in Patna were glorious and in many ways changed the course of my future life.