Worth felicitations
Firstly, my sincere apologies to write about the courageous action of this gutsy lady, so late.
On a day when Bombay was battling torrential rain, the highest in four decades, 50-year-old Kanta Murti Kalan stood for hours near an open manhole on a waterlogged road in Matunga. She did not move for seven hours, alerting people and cars to a manhole that could easily be missed in the flooding. Kanta Murti, a flower seller, lost her house and savings in the deluge on 04 Aug.
A video of Kanta Murti standing near the manhole, soaking in rain, went viral. A mother of eight, Kanta Murti is the only earning member of her family because her husband is paralysed. Five of her children are married and she earns money to send three more to school by selling flowers on the roadside. "I support my three children's education by selling flowers and I am the only earning member in the family as my husband is paralysed after meeting with a railway accident".
When the visuals of her extraordinary act emerged, she was scolded by the civic authorities for putting her life in danger. "I uncovered the manhole and drained the water. Then I stood there to warn vehicles. BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) officials later came and scolded me", she said. (Obviously, they were angry that their inaction had got exposed).
As people came asking after her and praised her, she brushed it aside saying she did what she had to do in such a situation. "There would have been accidents if I hadn't," she said.
May your noble action be a shining example to all Indians, Kanta Murti. May God be with you always and every time! It shall be my endeavour to meet and felicitate her - in my own, little way - during my next visit to Bombay!
* * *
"Why Do We Keep Food For Crows?"
A devotee had asked his Guru this question. "Are our ancestors taking forms of crows? Why do they come as this lowly bird, why not a high standard bird?"
The Guru smiled and said, "We call crow kaka in Tamil. Do we address any other creature by its sound? Do we call a cat meow? Because a parrot says kiki, do we call it kiki? The crow is called by its sound that makes it special. Ka means 'Kaapathu' or 'protect' me.....so when you keep food for a crow and say 'kaa kaa', you are asking your ancestors to protect you. You say a crow is lowly because it is freely available and it eats anything! But let me tell you a crow is beautiful. Why?
It wakes up at brahma muhurtham.....it caws and wakes you up.......even cocks may not wake up on time many days, as they are moody.......but a crow is on time........it says "kaka" and wakes you up at brahma muhurtham apt to recite your prayers. It is such an amazing guide for pooja, no?
Further, it calls other crows when it gets food........not seen in other creatures, teaching humans to share their food. Then in the evening before it sleeps, it again says "kaka" to thank god for all that happened that day! Also crows don't eat after sunset which is according to the shastras.......how many people follow this?
Hence, I feel a crow is not lowly......it teaches us so much. And one more....keep food for crows every day, not only during 'mahalayam'.
Crow also teaches Advaita! When a crow sees the food you have kept, it gets happy and eats it. Seeing it eat, you get happy too. So both of you get happy......both of you are Bhagawan!"
Are our sages mad?
Why did they make us feed crows if we have to give it to our ancestors?
The sages had strategic considerations. This is the real reason.
Have you grown a peepal or banyan tree? Have you seen anyone grow it? Can you get seeds of a banyan tree? The answer is no.
Banyan tree will not grow out of saplings because nature has a separate arrangement for growing this useful tree. The seeds sprout only after they have been processed in the gastrointestinal tract of the crows.
Banyan is the only tree in the world that releases oxygen round the clock and has immense medicinal qualities.
If the tree has to survive, it is not possible without the help of the crows.
To get a healthy new generation of crows, they need to get healthy food. Hence our ancestors made a ritual to feed the crows!
Tailpiece.
Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. Suma did not fetch up as she had to go to the hospital and has asked for another day off, tomorrow. So, it was Lekha's efforts all the way, today.
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