The Swamy in the Dell

Tales of the Fairground : III

 

 

 

 

Inside the tent they were greeted by a dim light and the mellow tones of a female voice that welcomed the group. ' Welcome to Swamy Sindhikarai's miracle of life. Swamy travels daily to distant planets and encounters all forms of life.' The voice continued, ' He is the witness to the fact that all life is one.'

 

The light grew brighter to reveal a golden statue of a woman in the center of the stage. In front of the stage, in a trench the size of a grave, stood the tall, burly figure of Swamy Sindhikarai.

 

' Swamy will now demonstrate how he buries himself alive, once a year, in his native India for 24 hours to commune with all life. The swamy waved and sat cross-legged in the trench. Thereafter they placed wooden planks on top and covered it with earth. In the next moment, as if responding to a signal, a huge King cobra tossed the cover of its rattan basket and slid across the stage, amidst loud gasps from the audience. It came to rest, in coils, on the covered trench.

 

The audience was held transfixed, looking at the glistening gold colors on the snake, while soft sitar music filled the tent. A helper carried sweet cakes on a tray to everyone while they waited. After half an hour, mysteriously, the snake moved aside while the helpers cleared the earth and planks.

 

Swamy emerged and waved to the applause. He carried a white rose in his hand that he handed to the snake. The snake took it in his mouth and slid back on stage. There it ascended the golden statue of the woman and placed it on her head. The voice on the microphone announced, ' Ladies and Gentlemen, that is the Mother Goddess, Vellamal.'

 

"You would have thought the statue would have come alive,' said Father as they left the tent. Mother laughed.