Kamakhya to Kanyakumari
To soothe her frayed overworked nerves, Nandini Sarkar traversed Assam, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu on a rejuvenating journey—a veritable massage for the body and soul!
Once in a while, I get trapped into long and vicious spells of work. During such cycles, I’m barely sleeping. My daily sun-bathing and energisation exercises come to a screeching halt and my Kriya
Yoga is also on the back-burner. It’s only work, work, and more work. I try to silence the voice of my soul by telling it that the work is important and is going to be of service to others. My soul remains unimpressed and prods me to get real. It reminds me that I’m soon going to fall sick and have a total burnout. However, even though I well know the consequences, I’m possessed by the devil. Last year, I hit such a nadir in December. My pressure fell to ridiculously low levels, a doctor had to be ar summoned, and I was unable to go to work for three days on the trot. Divine grace manifested in the form of our family friend, Ajay Jasani, who insisted that we travel to Assam and enjoy hospitality at the famous Deha tea estates in Jorhat. Ajay is a self-made, self-taught, tea trader, who has been working since he was 10 years old and has built his business from scratch. When a man of this indefatigable spirit and willpower makes a recommendation, it sure counts. The Deha tea estates, we were informed, are owned by the iconic tea-garden man, Satyanarayana Aggarwal and his able son, Bikas. My husband, Sushobhan, the ever-nomadic Bong, jumped at the idea of travel as a cure for illness. Soon, Sushobhan had worked out a great sounding plan. Our family of six eager travellers, with parents and children in tow, was soon on its way for a year-end break to the incredibly lush and green Assam. We would relax, bond, and unwind over endless cups of Assam chai.
Preparing to enter the land of the Rhino
For us, the journey of a thousand miles always starts with prayers for divine support. We started by seeking blessings from the Divine Mother at the famous Kamakhya shrine in Guwahati. Despite having a special entry pass, we had to wait in the serpentine darshan line for nearly two-and-a half hours.
Lesson 1: In the journey of life, your patience will always be tested. If you can stick it out somehow and go with the flow, victory is yours. Standing in the line, we chanted, did japa, and prepared ourselves for the joy of imminent darshan. Finally, when we reached Mother’s yoni and the priest singled us out to receive coins from the altar, we felt the Divine Mother’s loving approval! Patient sadhana is a prelude to reaching the goal, and there are always sweet rewards in store, as we soon discovered from other unfolding events.
Lesson 2: Plunge into the ocean of samsara like the great karma yogi Vivek, having full faith and overcoming all fear.
The Divine Mother Kanyakumari, who had done tapasya on the opposite side of the rock and has a famous temple dedicated to her, had inspired Swamiji to sit and meditate on the rock. Swamiji had ended five years as an itinerant monk, travelling all over India and needed divine inspiration to formulate his vision for a new India. This vision came to him as he sat continuously on the rock for three days, 25–27 December 1892.
As we sat on the rock for three hours, with an incredible oxygen-rich wind blowing all around us, refreshing and re-energising us, we ourselves took a renewed pledge to love, serve, and leave the rest to God. At the confluence of the three seas and the temple of the Divine Kanyakumari, we ended our journey with thanksgiving for an incredible journey of healing and inspiration, through spiritually Incredible India, that started from the Mother’s lap at Kamakhya and ended at the Mother’s feet at Kanyakumari!
Our chatty driver, who had taken a liking to us, led us to the Navagraha (nine celestial bodies) temple, 10 kms away from Kamakhya. Most tourists are not aware of this ancient and ‘awakened’ or jagrata temple since the tour operators rarely take people there.
Lighting lamps at each graha and chanting the Navagraha mantras was a beautiful, moving, and cathartic experience. The hoary temple and the hoary mantras added to our feeling that an event of spiritual cleansing had just taken place for us.
Like the rippling fields of Bodh Gaya, with its expansive blanket of white kash flowers, the rippling tea gardens of Dibrugarh charmed us at first sight. The warm winter sunshine, lighting up rows upon rows of green tea shrubs, uplifted our minds and took us right into the bosom of divine nature. Darshan at the Jagannath temple in Dibrugarh, a prototype of the famous Puri Jagannath temple, delighted and gladdened our hearts. It’s easy to spend a couple of hours at the Jagannath temple, admiring the sculptures in the different temples inside its boundary, the wonderful murals, the peaceful silence, and sitting quietly under the azure blue sky, soaking in the divine vibrations.
The Kaziranga trail
One of my favourite books as a child, was the award-winning title, The Kaziranga Trail. Hence, I was waiting with bated breath, to do the Kaziranga safari. Waking early at 3:00 am, we reached the Central Range at 3:45 am and were issued our elephant ride coupons. Peals of excitement rent the cold morning air as groups of six, mounted elephants from tall boarding points and entered the jungle. We were delighted with the ethereal morning light, traversing vast expanses of jungle tract on elephant back, darting after rhinos that were periodically sighted. The grey, one-horned rhino, with its layers of thick impenetrable skin, strolling nonchalantly on jungle roads or suddenly appearing right in front of our elephant, took us back to prehistoric times. We felt like prehistoric hunters, out in the jungle with its wild animals. The marvellous Assamese fish curry that we feasted on at night, after returning to our jungle lodge, also added to our contentment and feeling of being in the wilds.
Organically yours, Deha
Before proceeding to Deha tea estate, we were invited for tea and snacks at the Dibrugarh home of the owners. Sitting in their huge colonial mansion, with tony antiques and artefacts, surrounded by well-dressed sons, nephews, wives, daughters-in-law and brothers, Satyanarayanaji’s family presented a scene straight out of a Balaji TV serial.
A constant stream of visitors entered and touched his feet; food and conversation were flowing and laughter emanated from all corners. The patriarch has a large heart and supports a mission called Eklavya. The Eklavya
Healing Journeys
The Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari mission sponsors the education of children in remote villages of India, by providing teachers and learning materials. Satyanarayanaji has successfully spearheaded Eklavya across 10,000 villages in the North East. The next day,we travelled to Deha, which means, something that has emerged from the body or deh. The Deha Tea Estate has 266 hectares of land under tea plantation, providing employment opportunities to more than 1000 workers.
The world of organic tea
Early next morning, we sat on the verandah with Bikas, sipping tea and enjoying the beautifully landscaped gardens surrounding us. We played Hari haraye namah in the background as we chatted and Bikas told us it was one of the best mornings
he had ever experienced at Deha; a blend of the spiritual and the secular. Another morning treat was in store for us, as Bikas took us to his organic and spice garden behind the bungalow. With fresh, orange carrots eaten straight from the ground, tasting healing leaves plucked fresh off trees, spicy peppers to bite into and make you feel wide awake, a magic masala leaf that tastes like masala chai, and a Dilwale Dulhaniya... moment in the yellow mustard field, it was truly a healing and calming foray into Mother Nature’s warm and welcoming bosom. Deha follows the system of Vedic agriculture, which has been picked up from the Vedic script of ‘Vrikshayurveda’, a system which is self-sustainable and uses local ingredients to replenish the soil with the use of cow dung and cow urine.
Moksha at Mekosha
Recharged, I stepped into the new year, 2018. But January and February 2018 proved to be months of ceaseless travel. Hopping between flights and hotels, all the danger signs of another body breakdown started appearing on the horizon. This time, a dear friend Mamta, appeared as an angel in disguise. Mamta’s husband, Ram is a well know hotelier and one of the movers behind the Michelin-starred restaurant, Indian Accents, in Delhi. Mamta informed me that Ram had started Mekosha, an Ayurvedic boutique spa and resort, just off Trivandrum, in Kerala. Mamta and Ram graciously extended an invitation to take healing Ayurvedic massages and unwind at Mekosha.
Mekosha stands like a powerful testimony in the heart of Kerala, of how man and Nature can work in tandem, to create a thing of joy. It’s a Seven Senses kind of property on the banks of a meandering green river with the lush greenery that you can find only in God’s own country. It has its own organic spice and vegetable garden to delight you during mealtimes. There are heaps of seating points all over the three-acre property where you can just plunge into the heart of Nature, sitting by the side of a wide and expansive green river, under gently arching trees and listen to cooing birds enliven the atmosphere. They conduct yoga and meditation by the side of the river.
Mekosha feels like a rishi’s ashram from olden times, however, it has all the luxe amenities of a modern resort. We were welcomed with a soothing, fresh lime-cucumber-and-mint drink and escorted to our room. Mekosha rooms are huge suites done up very tastefully with eco-friendly designs, artefacts, and materials. Each suite has a large verandah overlooking the river and clusters of trees.
Prayers to Dhanwantari
At Mekosha, a bouquet of Kerala Ayurvedic massages and healing ayurvedic treatments are on offer and they form part of the room package. Soon after arrival, we were gently encouraged to start the healing massages. We were led to the Spa centre. My masseur, Shaiji, a gentle, smiling Amazonian, gave me a wonderful spiritual experience along with the massage. A devotee of Shri Karunakar Guru, founder of the famous Shanthigiri Ashram,
Trivandrum, she generated huge positive energy by chanting throughout the massage. Shaiji lit a lamp and chanted to Dhanwantari, the God of Medicine at the outset. Then, throughout the one-and-a-half-hour full body massage, she chanted various invocations to the guru. Entering the quaint wooden chamber at the end of the massage and then a typical Kerala washroom with brass tubs and brass mugs, and besan to scrub the body were very interesting experiences. Mealtimes at Mekosha are an organic and culinary delight. The brass plates and bowls, the organic salads and juices to begin any meal with and the cooling drinks to end the meal were a gourmet’s delight.
Anoop, the F&B Manager, does not allow a single item to be repeated at any meal. The beetroot and oat soup, the tasty local curries, and the lighter than light uthappams were a treat for our tasting buds. We chose to sit on the portico by the riverside and eat our meals. That in itself was a heavenly experience,
With a verdant and tastefully done up estate sprawling along a meandering and expansive river, Mekosha symbolises how man and Nature work in tandem to create a thing of joy., especially during Dol Purnima, when we sat under the light of the full moon, listening to the mantra chanting, pealing bells from the nearby temple and the cooing of birds.
From Mekosha, we made memorable excursions to the nearby Poovar Lake and the Vivekananda Rock Memorial at Kanyakumari. Gliding down the Poovar Lake for two hours, with the incredible greenery all around us, the migratory birds flocking on trees, and the floating restaurants to replenish our thirst and hunger was a magical experience for the senses.
The huge one-foot butterfish and the golden fried tiger prawns nested on a bed of green chillies is every Bong’s idea of a great vacation, and we were no exception.
From Poovar to the iconic Vivekananda Rock Memorial at the confluence of the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, and the Bay of Bengal was a nirvana moment. As we crossed the ocean to reach the rock memorial, we were reminded how the great Swami Vivekananda had plunged into its shark-infested waters since he had no money to cross the ocean.
The huge one-foot butterfish and the golden fried tiger prawns nested on a bed of green chillies is every Bong’s idea of a great vacation, and we were no exception.
From Poovar to the iconic Vivekananda Rock Memorial at the confluence of the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, and the Bay of Bengal was a nirvana moment. As we crossed the ocean to reach the rock memorial, we were reminded how the great Swami Vivekananda had plunged into its shark-infested waters since he had no money to cross the ocean.
The Divine Mother Kanyakumari, who had done tapasya on the opposite side of the rock and has a famous temple dedicated to her, had inspired Swamiji to sit and meditate on the rock. Swamiji had ended five years as an itinerant monk, travelling all over India and needed divine inspiration to formulate his vision for a new India. This vision came to him as he sat continuously on the rock for three days, 25–27 December 1892.
As we sat on the rock for three hours, with an incredible oxygen-rich wind blowing all around us, refreshing and re-energising us, we ourselves took a renewed pledge to love, serve, and leave the rest to God. At the confluence of the three seas and the temple of the Divine Kanyakumari, we ended our journey with thanksgiving for an incredible journey of healing and inspiration, through spiritually Incredible India, that started from the Mother’s lap at Kamakhya and ended at the Mother’s feet at Kanyakumari!
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