I had a rebirth at the age of 17. I had gone to attend a conference in Berhampur where I suddenly fell sick. The doctors said I had consumed something poisonous and prescribed a lot of medicines. But even after six months, my condition did not improve much. During this time, a sevayat (servitor) from the Puri temple visited my home and gave me prasadam. He told me once I got well, I should visit the Lord Jagannath and sing for Him. Miraculously, I recovered within a fortnight. I went and sang verses in praise of the Lord and thanked Him for a second life. That is how the sevayats know me as “Jagannath’s child”.

I have spent my childhood in Puri. We lived in the huge Jeypore Kothi (palace) on the Bada Daanda. As a kid, I used to accompany my mother to the Jagannath temple every evening for the badasinghara aarti. He looked different every time I saw Him. I used to ask mother, “Why does He look different each time? Sometimes He looks huge like a mountain, sometimes like a little baby. What does He look like to you?” She would laugh and reply: “It is just your imagination. He will appear just the way you wish to see Him.”

It was due to Lord Jagannath’s blessings that I married Sanju (late Sanjukta Panigrahi, renowned Odissi dancer). She had spread the Jagannath culture through her dance across the world and it was her long-cherished dream to perform before Lord Jagannath in the sanctum sanctorum. But the temple officials said only devadasis are allowed to perform inside the temple. After much persuasion, they gave in to our requests. I recited the Gita Govinda while Sanju, assuming the role of a devadasi, presented a magical dance which touched the hearts of the onlookers. It was a wonderful feeling — the feeling of being merged with the divine. This was about 15 years ago.

Another such incident which reinforced my belief in Him was when we had a close shave in a train accident near Kharagpur. Sanju, I and some others were in one of the four compartments which sustained the minimum damage. When the train jerked to a sudden stop, I remember us all shouting in chorus: “Jai Jagannath”. That’s how He heard us and came to our rescue.

I don’t know who christened Him. But the name Jagannath is so apt — He is truly the Lord of the world. His temples are everywhere, He has followers in every corner of the globe. There is something mystical about the Lord that makes Him so very powerful and attractive. But for all I know, whatever I am today, I owe it to the Lord.