The strange Karmic odyssey of Saraswathiammal and son Raju

A dispassionate look at the world around us reveals the unseen hand of Karma, in shaping the lives of all living entities. Like a shadow it is a constant companion, mostly dormant, assertive at unexpected moments, to dramatically alter the fortunes of not only individuals but also that of households, families, communities, villages, cities, nations and civilizations. The world continues to witness the inexplicable dramatic rise of individuals and their decline, birth and death of nations and destruction of civilizations. Karma is the reason, according to evolved spiritualists, for the oscillating fortunes and their depreciation.

Karmic crossroads, intersections and deviations are constantly encountered, by every living being, in this strange journey called life. Many poignant stories of Karmic hounding, gets attributed to displeasure of ancestors, planetary afflictions, curse of snakes and sins committed in past lives.

The real-life story of Saraswati Ammal of Thrissur, in Kerala is a heart-rending saga of the vicissitudes and misfortunes that affected her, throughout her life. Born in a well-to-do family, she had an affluent upbringing. Her wedding itself was a lavish affair, reportedly, she was ushered into the Kalyana Mandapam, astride an elephant. She got married to a Brahmin priest of a temple. Blessed with two children, a boy and a girl, life was sailing smoothly, till their world went topsy-turvy, when her husband got accused of stealing temple ornaments. The resultant loss of face made the family to shift to Mumbai.

Her son named Raju has a streak of brilliance that gets cut short, when epilepsy strikes him, and he becomes mentally unstable. Saraswathi Ammal’s daughter gets married, but her husband is unwilling to accommodate the mentally challenged Raju and the doting mother in the house. Thereafter, commences the pathetic tale of the mother and son, who return back to Thrissur and start living a vagabond existence on the streets. 

The son aimlessly roams the streets with the doting mother constantly behind him. Sleeping at night on the pavements, in front of closed shops, it is an unbelievable existence. They have a hand to mouth living, but she never begs anybody. Living entirely on a paltry amount, sent by her daughter every month without fail, the duo survive, with no complaints or grievances against anyone.

Raju being an epileptic often turns violent and the people around could see the regular painful sight of his mother pleading and pacifying him. At night the mother would make a rope out of her old saree, and tie her son’s leg to her body, so that he would not get up to wander away. This makeshift artificial umbilical cord served to keep mother and son in unison during darkness.  With zero support from the community, social service organizations, government or any philanthropic individuals, living was a big battle for the duo. Unmerciful Karma was hounding them relentlessly, yet, they went about with their wretched lives, with only prayers for support. 

Thich Nhat Hanh the great Vietnamese Zen   Monk, writing on grief and suffering in “No Mud, No Lotus” states:
“Both suffering and happiness are of an organic nature, which means they are both transitory, always changing. The flower, when it wilts, becomes the compost. The compost can help grow a flower again. Happiness is also organic and impermanent by nature. It can become suffering and suffering can become happiness again. In each of our Plum Village practice centers around the world, we have a lotus pond. We know we need to have mud for lotuses to grow. The mud doesn’t smell so good, but the lotus flower smells very good. If you don’t have mud, the lotus won’t manifest. You can’t grow lotus flowers on marble. Without mud, there can be no lotus”.

One of the most difficult questions for religious teachers to answer is the reason for the terrible suffering in a world that was supposedly created lovingly, intelligently, and purposefully. After being hit by a terrible tragedy, it is difficult to accept explanations like “everything happens for a reason” and “it is all part of God’s plan.” We have a deep yearning for fairness and answers, and an equally deep aversion to pain. But all religious teachings help us develop attitudes to endure and even eventually benefit from our suffering. Most theological traditions suggest that suffering can be viewed as an opportunity for spiritual growth. 

For Saraswathi Ammal, it was just a stoic acceptance of the travails imposed by karma. What Thomas Hardy wrote in The Mayor of Casterbridge, aptly applies to the life of Saraswathi Ammal “Happiness was but the occasional episode in a general drama of pain.” And finally, when death came to Saraswathi Ammal and her son Raju, after over forty years of wandering on the streets of Trissur, it was like a validation of what Socrates said, “Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.”

The tragic lives of Saraswathi Ammal and her son have been brilliantly captured and immortalized in celluloid by M.K. Devarajan in the 2011 Malayalam movie ‘Mathru Vandanam’, with outstanding performances by actors Sukumari and Jagathy Sreekumar.

The author is former Director General of National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics