Atithi Devo Bhava - The Richest Hospitality
Does richness mean being able to live in a posh sub-urban town, own a brightly lit bungalow, drive a luxurious sedan, eat in starred hotels, or just hang out with rich and famous people, or spend time and money for long fabulous vacations in beach resorts and spas..all that glitterati? Well, that's not all!
Just two years ago, when we traveled through the Western Ghats from the culturally-and-spiritually rich, holy land of Kukke – the abode of Lord Subramanya, to our city, we came across a living example of richness and prosperity - a rural couple in the village of Mosale, near Hassan city. Surrounded by green fields, this village boasts a rich Hoysala heritage. The twin temples of Sri Nageshwara and Sri Chennakeshava portray a unique spiritual charm to this not-so-happening village. The local families take care of these temples.
We were very tired of the journey, and it was dusk already. We wanted to get fresh, but we could not even find a public loo in this place. An old man near the temple understood our situation, and voluntarily offered to help. He pointed us to a house where we could take some rest and become fresh to travel again. There we go! We went straight to the house, and knocked the door. The door was not latched from the inside. That’s quite normal to see in rural households; they don’t shut their doors during the day time. A middle-aged lady opened the old timber-wood door from inside.
“Come in please…you look very tired, don’t you?“, she quickly grabbed a chaapey, a brown grass mat, and spread it on the dark stone slightly wet floor and hurriedly offered a thatched hand fan with a comfortable warm smile. “Where do you come from?” She inquired as she turned on the only bulb in that place. She was extremely happy to know that we took a detour only to see this place on our way back to Bellary. While her husband was away and was expected soon, she quickly gave us some water to drink. Offering water to drink is the first and most important gesture when welcoming guests.
“Would you mind if we use your toilet please?” my wife checked with her hesitantly. That lady led her and my kids to the backyard. My parents and I followed them. There stood a small stone well full of fresh clear sweet water. Mooing cattle with tiny bells ringing as they shake their necks to ward-off flies from their sticky noses, and a light fragrance of jasmine flowers in the garden alternating with smell of dry grass, birds flying back to their homes in the evening sky, and… a rope, a pulley and a bucket… ah! What a nice means to enjoy this sunset! In no time, we were all enjoying the cool water bath.
“Ayya told me that you are on your way back from Kukke… Oh! How wonderful? Please accept our hospitality tonight”. We heard her husband from the background, as he dumped his gunny bags, apparently filled with fodder for his cattle. Patting and caressing back of a hairy brown-white tail-wagging calf apparently waiting for him at the main door, “Did you give them some milk?” he checked with his wife.
She was busy milking the cows in the yard as Abha and Amogha curiously watched her. I said, “Please don’t take any trouble, we are fresh now, and wish to leave as soon as possible”. The man and his wife were in no mood to let us go without supper. They finally convinced us to take some fresh hot milk.
In olden days, guests had to cover several miles on foot, or on ox-carts, and there were no eating places by the roadsides. And naturally, serving a homely meal before they left was considered the best way to keep them happy. That invaluable gesture is highly regarded and practiced even now in this sacred country. It is sometimes considered rude for guests to reject food. If not a full meal, they must at least take some milk or butter milk, and in these modern times, at least a cup of coffee or tea. For these friendly rural folks, there is absolutely no limit when it comes to do things to make their guests happy! And they don’t expect their guests to pay!
But we did not like to leave them without rewarding their hospitality. The small amount of money we gave them in the name of their cattle, was very insignificant, when compared to what they gave us - a rewarding experience.
By the grace of Lord Subramanya, we met this couple, who, by their simplicity and modesty, showed that richness is also about just being good and being with good.
Feeling blessed and rich!
Atithi devo bhava...