Read about the demise of Mr Jagannath Kunte. He had been living apart from his family from 2006. He must have visited the river Narmada for umpteen times. He has documented his experiences in his various books. ‘Narmade Har’ among them is the most detailed account of his travel & experiences that made him what he is.
The shoolpani jungle till date remains an enigma. The experiences are unique for every individual who walks through. It is believed that only those who sincerely want can complete the journey. If a group of 40 sets out, not everyone has the privilege to complete it. Most able of them may have a call from home about the demise of his aging mother or someone else gets unfit to finish it. Many routinely abandon in the middle.
My fascination began with a book by G N Dandekar, ‘Kuna Ekachi Bhraman Gatha’ which describes his journey as a novel. It has a beautiful widow for whom he develops feelings. The fresh fragrant flowers of Mogra… the lion he meets in the jungle. The word pictures are perfect to land you in the very place. If I roamed about in the jungles & walked till I had blisters on my feet, I loved meeting the beautiful Yashoda who is perfection incarnate!
I have not had the chance to really feel the cool waters or get purified off my past sins, but I have the good fortune of people around around me going there & filling me up with so many memories.
Bharati Thakur with her friends visited & came back to with a vow to help the people living on the banks of the river. They are doing a very good job. If we think of the world being materialistic, those who walk along the banks are never short of food. Some even offer money to them. The people there think of the ‘Parikramavasis ‘ as their duty to feed & take care of them.
It makes me think of the story, how much land do we need? Three feet at the end… nothing more! And yet we toil so hard to make money. What do we have in the end ? Our good deeds !!!
One waits for her to call you. We call it, ‘Mata ka bulava’. One doesn’t plan such things , they happen! Maybe the time is not yet right to travel. One more thing, recently those who went on foot in this Covid time have some good stories to tell. They never faced any difficulty, someone was there to guide them, to rescue them or show them the way.
If it is a miracle, there is hope that man looks up to the shakti & gets inspiration to achieve the impossible. Ordinary people growing in stature, we can but see & admire.
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