” 5, 4 , 3 , 2, 1…..” Vrrrooom….Vishrant pressed his foot hard on the thick accelerator of his Mahindra Scorpio, and it responded with a mighty jump. They were off to a flying start in the mid-week rally sponsored by Michelin tyres. The rally had eight cars with sixteen participants. They left Dindugul at 4 pm sharp to Kodaikanal and had to be back the next day morning at 9 am. Normally the drive to Kodai takes about two and half hours.
The Mahindra Scorp’ in its elements (Photo credit: rjstyles)
His navigator Anant was quite amused, when he thought of this rally. They had been to many rallies before and never have tried anything like this. No specific timed halt’s, no specific route maps, just the destination to reach. But the catch lay there. The instructions from the organizers were quite weird and surprising. They had been instructed to visit the shopping area near the lake and locate a Swami in one of those shops. They will have to interact with the Swami and bring the prasad from him.
Vishrant was a bit nervous with the swami stuff and was always taught to look at Swami’s with fear and respect. Anant was his more relaxed and casual companion. Though they had all the time in the world to reach Kodai, they couldn’t drive slowly, since it was nearing six pm and since it was off-season the shops would start closing due to fewer tourists near the lake.
Their Scorpio slowed down at the final hair pin bend and both of them smiled as they looked at their quartz clock showing 6.05 pm. The Sun God was still smiling as they neared the lake. Anant said” My God….we have so many tourists even on a working day” . ” It looks like our Shanti Colony”. They parked the car right near the first shop because they didn’t want to miss a single one.
” Anant…Keep a note on every shop which sells pooja articles. We will quickly locate the Swami and buzz of to Kodai”. Vishrant was really nervous. Anant said ” Vishy…Why the heck would anyone sell pooja articles near the lake in Kodai? ” Hey… I know there is a Satya Sai meditation centre here.. So tourists might come to buy” replied Vishrant. Their conversation started picking up speed., when Anant said ” STOP” ”Please stop.” I am betting twenty thousand now. There would be no swami here. “What ? What are you blabbering?” asked Vishrant. Meanwhile most of the other participants in the rally arrived and were busy combing the area like special officers from the army.
“Just follow me Vishy…” Anant walked very fast till they reached the last shop. They covered twenty shops in a row. No trace of a Swami. Anant’s mind was racing as sweat trickled from his forehead even in the cool evening breeze. “We have another hour left, till the shops close, so lets hurry and do our second round.” They started walking slowly this time. One, two, three, four…they stopped near the fifth shop. Ananth paused and looked curiously at the shop keeper. He was busy reading a book, unmindful of the tourists glare and noises . All the items in his shop were neatly arranged and the smell of a lavender incense was quite soothing. He never bothered to look at us, unlike his neighbors who were shouting and selling their stock of Tibetan sweaters. There seemed to be such a calmness about him.
“Vishy…Vishy…We have got our man. This is our Swami.” ” What? Are you mad? This guy wearing a slack and jeans. How can he be a Swami? Let’s move on said Vishrant. But Anant wouldn’t give up. He boldly cleared his throat…”Uhmm, Sir, We are participants from the Michelin Car Rally. The man turned and smiled. Guys, this is my friends shop. I have promised to look after the shop during Monday’s and Tuesdays. The rest of the time I take care of my organic farm at Villupattu. By the way, I am a fed up engineer who landed at Kodai last year. I am now free and happy to pursue my very own organic farming at my own pace. So relaxing. The rally guys were ex office-mates and they have made me your Swami in the marketplace. Here is your prasad,he said, as he tossed over a small pouch to Vishranth and Anant. Nice to know that you both are going to win the Michelin Rally.
Vishrant was in all smiles as he hugged Anant. ” Swamis and Gurus can be in jeans too.”
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This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by Blogadda
