Ever since I returned from Odisha to Mauritius, I have had an odd feeling. What is it that was different? This feeling stems from after my much-awaited visit to Puri and the divine darshan of Jagannath Mahaprabhu.
From childhood, I remember my grandfather telling me again and again that his grandfather was from Odisha. We are different from other Indian migrants. We have a different culture and language. We would tease him about this and his claim of being unique. I did not then fathom the depth of his words.
With time, I began to understand him better. I started to understand that my grandfather always regretted not having been able to transmit to us to our original culture. He was himself a little disconnected with the culture and language of his ancestor Jagannath, who came from Odisha to Mauritius in 1870. Unlike his father Sattabajee, he had little knowledge of the Odia language. He could only frame a few sentences. We, his grandchildren, used to laugh at him when we heard him extol his knowledge. But when he handed over to me those notebooks of his father Sattabajee and grandfather Jagannath, it was too late. I realised that we were doomed. Our Odia language and culture were lost and, by extension, we were too.
We reached Bhubaneswar on December 7, 2012, on a pilgrimage to the land of my ancestors. I was making history. I was the first Mauritian of Odia ancestry on a homecoming mission. My ancestor was a detached son of the soil. He had decided to go for an adventure to the unknown land of Mauritius in 1870. He was just a number under which the British registered him. Why he came to Mauritius is still subject to quite a few assumptions. After 142 years, I did made the return journey. Why? Simply because I could not resist any longer this compelling invitation from the land of my ancestors.
Jagannath had taken a one-way ticket to Mauritius. He never returned to his home and family. I am his great great grandson, that is, of the fifth generation. To many it made no sense that I should get so attached to my past. More so, as they rightly contend, since I had lost my original culture and was now completely immersed in the mainstream north Indian way of life.
The two momentous events of my visit to Odisha have been the visit to Ma Biraja Temple in Jajpur and to Jagannath Mandir in Puri. At Ma Biraja Mandir, I had the opportunity to perform shraddh to pay tribute to my ancestor Jagannath, who was a son of the soil. It was a moment of intense emotion when I had to remember him during the prayers. He probably was from somehwerenearby, but had gone so far away from Ma Biraja and Jajpur. Although we have kept the tradition of performing shraddh every year during pitri paksh, I felt relieved, as if a burden had been lifted, after the prayers were over. I always believe that whatever we are today is because of the blessings of our ancestor Jagannath, the founder of our family. I felt sad that we had somehow failed in our duty by not keeping alive the culture and language he so much prized and wanted to keep alive. But I also found a ray of hope in all those good people now around me, eager to help me to revive my long lost Odia culture in Mauritius.
My whole family were looking forward to the visit to Jagannath Mandir in Puri. Thanks to the personal intervention of Arvind Padhee, our darshan has become the most transcendental moment we had in Odisha. We were guided inside by Chatterjee of the administration. He explained to us the temple history, festivals, timings, worship and so on.
My elder daughter Chitra was feeling unwell and tired. Chatterjee led us to the temple entrance and guided us through all the small shrines on the temple compound. All the way he explained to us the history, importance and relevance of the places. As there was a crowd at the gate of the temple of the main deities, he took us to his office and asked us to rest.
Chatterjee brought Mahaprashad for us. Chitra did not have any fearing she would vomit as she done earlier. I insisted that she take a little, as it was the Mahaprashad of Lord Jagannath. So, I put a little in her mouth. In no time, she ate all her Mahaprasad. All of us had found the Mahaprasad nice, since we were eating it for the first time. Chitra said it had an unreal taste and that it was so delicious she felt hungry at once. It was unbelievable that one moment earlier she was dizzy and unwilling to taste it, and now wanted more! Was it a miracle of Lord Jagannath?
We all went in and had the transcendental experience of the first-ever darshan of their lordships Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subadhra. The majestic and captivating deities we had come to see were in front of us and all four of us were overcome by wonder. It was as if immense affection was being generated by the deities. I could not believe my eyes. My daughters were transfixed. My wife and I stood as if in a trance of disbelief. Yes, we were all in front of our Lord. Finally, we had had the best darshan in the best conditions. I was trying to grasp how potent was the name my ancestor had gifted us. He made us unknowingly carry a name so that we would always remember our Mahaprabhu Jagannath.
How could anybody who receives this kind of vibration remain indifferent? Yes, this is why I had some odd feelings. I have discovered my true nature and culture. I have lived the most intense moments of my life in front of my Lord. I was out of this world as Lord Jagannath bestowed his mercy on us. How can you come out of the temple unchanged? A sign that the Lord never abandons his devotees.
I watched the grand rath yatra last year on television and will have to be content with the same this year. But once in my lifetime I definitely wish to pull his chariot to serve the Lord who has taken care of me always.
