I returned back to my sister's house. There was time in the evening for more discussion on her doctoral thesis. She had questions on the Indian interpretation of motherhood as represented through the scriptural literature. I tried to explain to the best of my ability. The concept of mother worship predates any iconic presentation of a masculine God. The woman is the representative of creation, so deserves respect. The earth is a mother. The food, trees and water are part of the earth. Everything has life. The earth mother gives life to all and nourishes all. It was time for packing for my trip next day. I had agreed to take my father's and mother's ashes from the cremation for immersion at the sacred confluence at Prayag, a holy pilgrimage location for the Hindus. The river Ganges originates from the Himalayas through glacier streams. Many streams flowing underneath the ice sheets pool together at lower elevation to become a visible mountain stream. The stream widens as it enters the plains but maintains the current of the melting snow at the glacier. The river Yamuna has a similar origin. It takes a different route. Both flow eastward. They meet at the location called Prayag. Hinduism celebrates the geographic presence of mountains, oceans, rivers and fertility. The early sages established their monasteries near Prayag. The celebrated city of Varanasi is seventy miles downstream. The area is rich in culture and tradition.
The morning began early. We have to go to Cuttack to fetch the urns from the house and then return to take the train from Bhubaneswar. Indian faith allows everything to function punctually for the religious ritualism. Everyone was ready by 6 AM and we were on our way. The morning travel was excellent. July with interrupted rains is beautiful outdoors. The earth is lovely green, the trees are clad with new blooms, everything is alive and well fed. I was seeing Indian landscape at her best.
July is also the beginning of the school year. The new year is a different anticipation for the child. New teacher, new friends, reunion with old friends, new books - children love new, they love the change. I cannot recall if the anticipation of the new is biological. I loved the new classes and loved the feeling of being "promoted." It is a small reward, but a recognition. I was seeing the anticipation in the children's faces. Some children walked, some were carried by their parents on two-wheeled motorbikes. Educating the young is the most important activity for any society. India struggles to create a wholesome education policy for her school going children. The system needs reform from the colonial legacy.
We reached Cuttack. Our house is easy to reach from the highway. We were there at 6:30 AM. The driver Nilakantha is a resourceful man. He had helped us to dig out the urns the first day. He got them out again. My sister quickly did a candle worship to the urns. She offered obeisance to the burial location. We thank the earth for having retained the urn till we returned. I put the urns in a special bag I had carried with me. With our job done and my mind focused, we returned back to Bhubaneswar.
Immersion of the cremation ashes in a river is an old Indian custom. We do not have historical record when cremation might have been instituted for the disposal of the dead. Formation of life and the continuance of life became a part of serious philosophical speculations in India three thousand years ago. Through long years of analysis, the knowledge seekers settled on the cosmological principle that the life has no beginning and so, it cannot have an end. We carry the life only temporarily in our body. The same life force operates through all who live. It was the creation theory at its best except the question of creation remains unanswered. It would be beyond the human comprehension to know what happens to life after one dies. A logical analytic speculation ensued that death is only a transition state for many more future births. Such speculation became the basis of the modern Hinduism.
That one has a rebirth makes it an interesting play for a Hindu. One has little idea if one's deeds are right though we perceive what deeds might be righteous. Philosophers declare various paths of righteousness. A point is made that a completely righteous person escapes the trouble of renewing a life. Whatever wrong a person might have done knowingly or unknowingly can be washed off through holy water. We can wash our body in holy water many times during our life and we can let our ashes be immersed in holy water after our death. What water is "holy" could be a function of popular acceptance and cultural tradition. The ritual has moved to other religions in various covers.
I am supposed to be accompanied by Dr Laxmicharan, an old friend from MIT. A brilliant experimentalist, he was part of a team of cancer research in the early days of cancer discovery. The leader of the team was awarded a Nobel Prize a few years ago. Having retired from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai, Dr Laxmicharan has created a new laboratory in an institution in Bhubaneswar. He and I travel together in India. He is an affectionate person and treats me like an elder brother. I love his sincerity and his earthiness.
We were supposed to board a fast train called Rajdhani express that runs between Bhubaneswar and Delhi. In my earlier travels in childhood the trip was in two parts and it could take two and half days to complete. With a faster train and reduced number of stops the time is shortened to twenty five hours. We drop out half way and take another train to Allahabad, which is the new Islamic name of Prayag. Our train was supposed to leave at 9:15 AM.
My sister and I planted ourselves right at the front of the railway station such that we become seemingly visible to the incoming passengers. There was a wide stairwell through which the passenger would descend. Some could be directly driven to the entrance. It was almost going to be 9 AM and no Laxmicharan was in sight. I did not know if I was doomed if I missed the train. There was a certain amount of nervousness and anxiety in waiting. The telephone connections were not working. Various other passengers seemed to notice our condition and inquired if we needed help. India is indeed a land of friendship!
My friend showed up. He had towed another young person with him. I was introduced to the new person. In stead of a two person team, we were now a three person team. Laxmicharan had thought through that two senior people may not be ideal for difficult transactions to go to a river. We did not talk about any vulnerability, but I silently admired his judgment. That a younger person was available to go with us was a blessing by itself. As it turned our Sri Soumyaranjan was more than a blessing. He became the manager and the tactician of the trip.
We boarded our compartment. We traveled what is called second class air-conditioned two tier sleeper bogie. The long name is self explanatory. The bogie consisted of a dozen or so connected "rooms", each room of nine feet length and six feet width with a passage-way going through. It would seat and sleep six people, two tiers separated by four feet or so. The railways supplied a pillow, two bed-sheets and a blanket per seat. There was also a water bottle allotted to each seat. The windows were shut and the bogie was air-conditioned. Two Security policemen were posted for each bogie. Freedom has a price these days!
This arrangement was a bit exclusive than what I traveled with my father in younger days. I would travel with a contingent of people who may occupy half the bogie. It was three tier and the windows would be open. Air would rush and there would be a sense of travel jubilation. My father would start singing and others would join. It would appear that they were going to a picnic. The train went slower those days. Everybody had time to meet friends at each station. The present journey was more impersonal and businesslike. I had carried newspapers and the local periodicals. The train journey is a time to catch up on the world events. The train also had WIfi. Somayaranjan had gadgets to handle Wifi. Laxmicharan wanted to take a bit rest. Our journey started.
