Day 12 of 30

Continuing the story from yesterday.

After a lot of searching, the princes, eventually found their sister and thanked the saint for saving her and protecting her. She was very happy to see her brothers and went along with them to the Palace. But among the seven brothers, if i remember it right 3 of them, stayed back with 'Dada', they were so influenced by the saint, they renounced the world and for the rest of their lives served the saint.

The magician,meanwhile had found out what really happened and was furious at the saint, he would try to cause trouble to the saint and would fail all the time. He was further angered, when Dada was helping people who were being tormented by him. The war waged between 'Dada' and the magician, and to this day continues, as the fight between good and bad.

'Dada' is an immortal saint, he never left his mortal being, and since the 11th century, there have been accounts of his sightings, especially in times of need.A white clothed saint on top the mountain in the mist , a lot have claimed to have seen.

The most told story is of that of a little child, who wandered into the cave and went into a tunnel, that is supposed to go all the way to Mecca. The boy's parents searched for him everywhere , he was not to be found. Only to come back 2 days later from the tunnel, and he told them of the Dada who showed him the way out.

And coming to the association of this story to me and the memory thats comig to me these days, so lets get to the next story, this one i know for sure, is a true one, because I am cast in it :)

In the 1970's, my mother was pregnant and she had chicken pox when she was pregnant. It is said, the pain and consequence of that is either to the mother or the child. My sister decided to take the pain, and she was born with complications and did not survive more than a few days after birth.It feels strange to say 'sister'.I have always said, i am the only girl child of my parents and have no sisters, almost making my sister who survived a few days non existent and i did not realise that until now. Oh well, i am not the only girl child, we are 2 girls, one of us, left the mortal being very shortly after birth.

After my sister's passing, my mother longed for a girl child and at that time my parents were living in karnataka, my parents neighbours told my mother about 'Dada Pahad'(translates to 'Mountain of Grandfather') and asked if they wanted to come along, as they were going there. My parents decided to go along with the neighbours and while they were there, my mother saw, people were putting a stone or a stone on stone on the mountain.My mother enquired what that meant, and she was told, putting one stone, means you will be blessed by a son and if you put a stone on another stone, you will be blessed by a daughter. My mother decided to test it and put a stone on a stone and after the whole trip, went back home and in a few weeks, found out she was pregnant and in a few months, found out it was a 'Girl' and since the girl was born as a blessing of 'Dada', she was given the name which had name of the princess in it.And that girl is me :)

So, you now see, how the story before that apparently happened in the 11th century, relates to me.I am neither as beautiful or as pious as the princess was, but like the history thats attached to my name.

For good or bad, when i started school, my name was long that my father decided not to put family name in my name...and as years passed, when it was time for passport, and my last name, given names had to be distinguised, the name of the princess given to me was written as my last name and none of us noticed that i dont really have a last name, i was just using one of my names as last name.And hence i became a 'last nameless' person.

There are times, when some ladies ask me, or for official purposes, when they assume my last name, to be same as D's and i have to explain to them, that our last names are different and some people do look at me, like 'Really you havent changed your last name?" and i just smile, i cant explain the whole story of how i dont have a last name, and when i dont have a last name, how can i change it? Oh well, this world and its perceptions, sometimes, an indignant smile is better than talking.

My parents took me to 'Dada Pahad' after i was born, i was so little and have no memory of that trip.
In 2003, I decided, i wanted to see the place which was reason for my birth and set out on a trip with my parents, which is the memory that i was talking and that i'll post tomorrow.