Beautiful Puttaparthi.

I'm typing this from Puttaparthi, India.
Arrived on 3rd June early early morning, at 3am.
Bilal was a totally sweet and kind soul;
He came with the driver to the airport in Bangalore;
Suprised me with a bouquet of roses! :)

The drive back to Puttaparthi from Bangalore was 2 hours plus.
I pretty much slept the whole way through.

On the first morning in Puttaparthi;
I was suprisingly awaken by silence.
Nothing heard, no chatters by the streets like it used to be;
Not as much honking;
Just quiet Puttaparthi.

I learnt not to compare.

A few interesting incidences has happened in the past few days.
On the morning of 4th June; (I couldn't sleep the night before)
I decided to get up at 5am, got into my white Punjabi suit;
And went down for my morning chai (tea).

I got back to the room, got Horus and his tripod to go for sunrise.
I climbed the steps up to the Wishful Tree;
Boy was that a good exercise!
And here is the hilarious part.
In January, I sat by the stairs near the tree and watched the sunrise.
When I sat there that morning;
All I saw was a tree.
Only then did I realize that the tree grew!
I literally laughed at myself at that moment, no kidding!

The best story has yet to come;
Let me enjoy my lunch cooked by Bilal first.
He cooked me his very yummy cheese tomato paneer!!
Will continue after lunch. :)

*****

I just had a feast;
2 mountainous plates of rice and paneer!
And Bilal even packed some for me to bring back to the room.

Okay, as promised I shall share the climax of my trip thus far.
I attended Darshan yesterday at Sai Baba's ashram.
It was an extra long Darshan, it was different than usual.
Baba made sure almost everyone got the prashad.
Prashad is food that is blessed by Baba and given out to devotees.
I got a mango!

Baba was in his chair and was pushed through a path;
His students sat along the path that divides the men and women;
As Baba was pushed along the path, everyone stood up.
And I just stood up and walked towards the end of the gate.

THEN.
I looked at my little pouch and realized that everything was gone.
There was only my packet of dry tissue, coins and my room key inside.
At that very moment, I panicked; I really did.
I rushed back to the place I was sitting at, nothing.
I checked the place I was standing at, nothing.

I think I was like headless chicken running around.
Well, not really;
It's just a metaphore.
I told the volunteers that I was pickpocket-ed;
And my money and passport were all gone.

At that very moment, a gazillion thoughts were running wild.
I was freaking out.
I was thinking, what was Daddy going to say?
What if Daddy flies over?
What if, what if, what if.
These 2 words are to be a freaking TABOO!

I held myself together, refusing to shed a tear.
I got my slippers and walked to Bilal's shop.
As I saw Bilal, he asked, "How are you?"
I immediately started crying on his shoulder.
Ohmygosh.

It was absolutely relieving to shed tears in such a situation.
I felt like a washing machine inside!
Bilal said something that really tickled my tummy.
He said with all confidence, "Don't worry, I'll get you a new passport!"
Gosh, in these times of crisis;
Bilal really really played a huge role of emotional support.

He accompanied me to the police station in Baba's ashram;
I met the inspector there and told him what happened.
He asked me to go to the police station outside instead;
To meet with Inspector Ravi Kumar.

The inspector and his officers were really nice.
Aside from explaining to him the incident;
We had a very interesting conversation.
As he found out that I am but an 18 year old like his daughter;
He spoke with an open heart of care and concern.

He suggested that I go back and write a report;
While we wait till the next day to see if anyone returns it.
Talking to the inspectors made me much more calm.
By then, I was pretty much back on my feet.

The funniest part is this;
I am currently reading the book, 'A New Earth'.
Yesterday before Darshan, I stopped at the part about identification.
It was about attachment to things when I label it as 'mine'.
1 question that was written in the book popped up;
It says, "Do you feel diminished by the lost of your thing?"

It is indeed true.
When I label something as mine, I identify it as part of myself.
How can I lose my well being just because I lose a thing?
Does that thing belong to me, or do I belong to the thing?
It worked similarly for me as to the loss of my passport.

So, after finally settling down at Bilal's shop;
Having my bottle of Pepsi;
I walked to Sai Towers to have my dinner.
It was rather remarkable to have met some lovely people there.
A lady from UK celebrating her husband's birthday;
3 ladies from Bangalore who's associated to the Penang Baba centre;
I even got a slice of birthday cake from the lady from UK!

Hanif, who owns a jewellery shop was so kind.
After hearing what had happened;
He immediately offered help in every way.
This loss had taught me a very valueable lesson;
I am truly touched by all their kindness.

As I walked back to the hotel;
I bumped into Mehraj, another shopkeeper.
I bought 3 bags from him yesterday afternoon before Darshan.
He and his friend asked me if I lost anything;
I practically nodded my head like a gazillion times repeating YES!
He said a person called the shop just awhile ago.
That person asked if there was a customer from Malaysia at the shop;
Because there is something that may belong to the customer there.

Mehraj gave me his name card after I bought the bags.
I had kept it with my passport in my pouch.
That person called the shop because of the name card.
But Mehraj's friend forgot where that call was from.
THANK GOD for caller ID!
We managed to track the number and called them back;
Only to find out that it was Sai Towers reception!

Mehraj's friend accompanied me to Sai Towers;
AND OHMYGOSH, THE PASSPORT!
I showed the receptionist my IC and I got the passport!
The passport, my pack of wet tissue, a receipt, Mehraj's name card;
Without the money.
I am still extrmely grateful for the return of the passport!
Really, really am thankful for it.

I went back to Mehraj's shop and thank him and his friend.
I was most delighted!
I literally skipped back to Bilal's shop and told him the good news!
He revealed that he actually felt terrible when it happened.
But he had to stay strong to support me;
It was very brave of him to do that for me.

Praise God for all that has happened.
I hit rock bottom and went up sky high in the matter of hours.
It is amazing.
I learnt so much in just a few hours.
Staying calm, keeping myself together when I'm on my own;
I feel that it adds to my self esteem, really. :)

Well, that's all for now.
This is by far the most lengthy post I've written!
Amazing, amazing, amazing. :)

I still very much love Puttaparthi.
It is home.


Lovingly,
Eeping @ Sasha