Stepping up to Heaven

It is exactly a month since Amma passed away.

Most romances are created in heaven and then people have to live it, curate it and nurture it on earth.

My parents were one of those couples.

Oh they had their fights and loud disagreements  and that is for another day.

Today my story is not all about what happened on Earth it is about what happened beyond that.

While everyone is familiar with Taj Mahal being the monument of romance Not everyone is going to be familiar with the railings which help to step up to heaven.

From the 4th day after Amma's departure to the world beyond we were required to go to a specific place and pour water in an earthen pot, through which the water on a steady flow was supposed to fall under a huge banyan tree. I will not delve into the religious aspects of it. The emotional aspect , it was  a ritual to be followed, I suppose to act as a catharsis. 

Pot hanging on the Banyan tree .

We were to take turns to go and pour the water in the pot. Jambu, my brother was the regular person and then one of the days it fell upon Appa and me to go and visit the place.

I will take the next few lines to describe the place and hopefully you will visualize it.

To reach the place one has to park on the road, climb a few stairs down and walk across a narrow, cement slab which connects to the place and then one needs to climb up 15 odd stairs which are unevenly laid out. then a few feet of uneven ground till you reach the banyan tree. 

My dad and I both have unsteady knees. More than my dad I need support to climb steps.

The day we went across this whole route was no mean feat with heavy rains the roads were flooded and the stairs and floors were slippery with moss.

We reached the place and poured the waters as required and were discussing how difficult the climb was with no support and the wrath of nature.

Appa and I went to pour water 

The next few days the rituals continued with my brother and my uncles doing the afore mentioned task.

Next came the 10th and 11th day after the passing away of Amma. These are important days and the rituals demand we stay in this area for a few hours. It came to our attention the bathroom which was very basic did not have a proper latch.

Feeding the Fish with Mamas and Nataraj

On both these days we were required to go down a couple of steps in another direction which were uneven and slippery. We had to feed the fish and hence needed to touch the waterbody. We firmly held on to each other and completed these as well.

The story begins now,  after seeing all these pain points being borne by not just his family but also families of all those who visited this place, my father immediately asked his handyman, to meet him. The task was assigned to him to get the bathroom latch ,toilet plastering and toilet door welding done as well as put railings everywhere as shown in these images.

Railing down the steps from the main road

 There is still some work in progress.

Railing to hold and climb up the uneven steps

Nowhere on these railings is it going to be mentioned who made them and why.

For us however it remains a lesson in romance and to live with a bigger sense of purpose to serve others.

Thank you Amma for supporting, Appa's crazy ideas when alive and now guiding him and us from beyond.

Missing you "SwarnaKannamma".

P.S.

The work in Progress was completed and here are some additional photos.

Railing 

Railing done till down below to the water body.