Titbits

It was decided to construct a building to commemorate the name of the famous poet, the late Subrahmania Bharati and unveil his portrait on the 12th October, 1947 at Ettaiyapuram in Tirunelveli District.

It was decided to construct a building to commemorate the name of the famous poet, the late Subrahmania Bharati and unveil his portrait on the 12th October, 1947 at

Ettaiyapuram in Tirunelveli District. Rajaji was to declare the building open and Ramaswami Reddiar was to unveil the portrait of the poet, Bharati. For the last five or six days, Rajagopala Iyer and Krishnaswami have been collecting cuttings of the photos of Bharati, and the buildings that have been appearing in the daily papers. They were busy pasting them on to a cardboard with the photo of the building below that of Bharati. Bhagavan was helping them with his advice in all respects. This job was completed on 11th October, and they both showed it to Bhagavan. Bhagavan said smilingly, “Well what you have to do now is to cover the top and bottom of the cardboard with two pieces of cloth fashioned like a curtain with strings attached, etc. Let Rajagopala Iyer play the role of Rajagopalachari, the Governor-General and Krishnaswami Reddiar the role of Ramaswami Reddiar. Just when the function at Ettaiyapuram takes place, both of you draw the curtains on these photos so that the function will be duplicated here simultaneously!”

One day, in 1947, from 2.30 in the afternoon to about 4 o’ clock, Bhagavan was explaining something to a devotee who had come from the north. The attendants were standing before him with Bhagavan’s walking stick and kamandalam indicating that it was getting late for Bhagavan’s evening walk. Massaging his legs, Bhagavan said, “Wait, wait. Ramabhakta Hanuman’s father (the Wind God) is holding on to my legs firmly. He is not an ordinary person. He will not lose his hold in a hurry. He will do it leisurely. Wait a little.” Then Bhagavan rubbed a little oil on his kneecaps and got up. Some of those present, who could understand the way Bhagavan punned on his stiff joints which were supposed to be due to the wind, laughed at his jocular remarks.

As soon as Bhagavan returned to the hall and sat on the couch, one of the devotees put some incense into the

stove nearby. The fumes were a little too intense and as they spread around Bhagavan’s face, he felt almost suffocated. “Shall we open the windows?” suggested a devotee. Bhagavan said, “Let it be. Leave it alone. In the temples, we burn the incense and fan the fumes towards the deity so that the idol is completely enveloped in the fumes. Your idea in burning the incense here also is to see that the Swami should enjoy the fumes. Moreover, they are spreading out of their own accord. Why are you now trying to drive the fumes away?” Just as Bhagavan was saying this, a devotee fanned the embers in the stove with his hand. Suddenly the whole thing burst into a flame. We were afraid that the heat of the flame might affect Bhagavan and began to feel anxious. But Bhagavan said with a smile, “Yes, now it is all right. The incense has been burnt and the lights have been waved, the process of puja is now complete.” Then Bhagavan resumed silence.