During my recent trip to Uttarakhand , I was faced with a problem I had never encountered before. We were passing through Delhi, but we had hardly any time in the city. On earlier visits when I have had to change trains/flights at Delhi, I have always arrived in the morning and left again at night, visiting relatives in between. This time, I was arriving in the city at night, and leaving again early in the morning. There was hardly any time to visit people. I would only have a couple of hours with them before I’d have to leave again. For the first time, we considered booking a hotel, but there again, we were hesitant about the actual hotels, the costs involved, and the logistics of getting from the airport to the railway station and then back again from the station to the airport. That’s when we remembered reading something about a corporate-managed lounge at Delhi station. We soon figured out that we could book online and pay by the hour. Besides, we also learnt that there wasn’t ju
Bheema,
it is said,
once came across an old monkey, lying with his tail across the path. Not wanting
to step over the tail, Bheema asked the monkey to move. The monkey replied that
he was too tired, and could Bheema himself move the tail, since he was so
strong? Bheema, always confident and proud of his strength, bent to lift the
tail, but was surprised that he couldn’t even shift it an inch! After trying
multiple times, he finally gave up, acknowledging that his strength was no
match for the monkey. Pleased, the monkey revealed his true form. He was
Hanuman, the older son of Vayu, the wind, and thus Bheema’s elder brother. He
then blessed Bheema, promising to stay by his side in the great war which was
to come.
I remember being fascinated by this story when
I was a kid, because of the way my mom told me the story… of Bheema and Hanuman’s
conversation, and Bheema’s futile efforts to lift the monkey’s tail. As I grew
older, the story continued to fascinate me, since it is one of those events
which binds the two greatest epics – the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha!
Recently, I was reminded of the story once
again, when a Hanuman Langur sat in our path, tail extended, refusing to
move!!!
We
were on a safari
in the Satpura National Park, while visiting the Denwa Backwater Escape, on an
invite from Pugdundee Safaris. The morning safari had been a washout, the
animals keeping well away! We were returning, rather disappointed, when this langur
stopped us, and made us smile, at his stoic behavior!
As
someone so fascinated
by mythology, legends and their origins, I couldn’t have asked for a more
memorable experience!!!
The article seems to be so interesting. Yes i have heard about the story of Bheema and Hanuman. But I never experienced such a thing. Thank u for sharing your memorable experience with us.
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