An unusual Experience

Nandita Bhattacharya



There is a place called Handol in Paschim Medinipur, a district of West
Bengal. To reach Handol one has to take a bus towards Mayna. Mayna is a
block of Purba Midnapore. Earlier there was only one district called
Midnapore and it had 54 blocks. Just imagine of a district which was so big…
the biggest district (in count of blocks, otherwise Bastar was the biggest
one) in India having 54 blocks. The district has been divided into two
districts in Paschim Medinipur and Purba Medinipur for the sake of better as
well as effective administration.


However, Handal is a place located on the way to Mayna from Midnapore town.
The bus stoppage is called Handol Katpul. A morum road enters the village
living behind the main road or bus road here in this stoppage. One can go
through the morum by cab or van rickshaw but after that, s/he has to walk
through a kaacha road as that road is under construction.


One of my friends Swapan Maity took me to that temple on his byke. In fact I
heard of this temple from Bijoy Maity a teacher of English. He lives
in Rampura
village of Pingla block of Paschim Medinipur. The Handol also falls under
the same block in Pingla. Bijoy Babu wrote his experience of Handol in the
bulletin of Writers Forum also.


Handol is very much like other ordinary villages of Paschim Medinipur. Like
many other villages of WB it has a Kali temple also. But unlike other Kali
temple here stays a person who is the real attraction of the temple side by
side with Ma Kali. In fact Ma enters his soul every evening. And he speaks
to the devotees of the holy Mother from the Kali temple. He is not a
fortuneteller. The not so rich people go to the temple with their different
kind of problems. And that particular person or Ma Herself gives solutions
to the problems of the people who come to her/ him. It is a small temple but
very neat and clean. There is no pomp and show in and around the temple. It
is like other village temples. When one enters the area of the temple s/he
feels different. There are big trees in and around the temple. As soon as
one enters the temple, s/he feels her/his body gets cool. He will have a
soothing feeling. The air immediately takes away one’s anxiety, which always
hangs heavy upon him/her. One feels the touch of his/her own mother.


Swapan Babu a social activist of the area told me *Didi wash your feet hands
and face*. He pointed at a tube well . It was half past six then. The sun
god was just set. The glow of the setting sun was still lingering on the
temple. I tried to pump the tube well. Seeing me not handling the tube well
properly, Swapan Babu came forward and pumped the tube well for me. The
villagers I found always very generous and they do not have any ego as such
if s/he is associated with politics, panchayets, and any govt. office. I
washed my hands, feet and face and saw a gathering in the varandha of the
temple. This varavda is in fact at the backside of the temple. I joined the
crowd. Men women young boys and girls and children together form the crowd.
I saw most of them were trying to peep through a gate made of grill. I was
quite curious to know what was there inside that closed gate. I stood on the
tip of my toes and tried to find out what was there inside but I could not
see anything. I did not see any image of Kali even.


One small child who is hardly 4years old was shouting and playing around.
His mother happily was sharing with others that her son became so happy
after coming to the temple. It appeared from his face that the boy was sick.
Suddenly I heard Swapan Babu calling me. I looked out of the varandha.
Swapan Babu waved his hand and I followed him. We reached to the other side
of the temple. He introduced me with a gentle man whose look was quite
ordinary. A lanky person age group between 33-36 wished me *Namaskar*. I
reciprocated the same. Swapan Babu said to me that he is the person who
gives remedies to everybody. *He is my friend…*Swapan Babu added proudly.
The man smiled and nodded his head to affirm Swapan Babu’s claim. He then
said to me *Its time to enter the temple. You please wait and we must
interact.* He was not at all impressive. But there was a simplicity in him
which I believe touches everybody. He was clad in a white coarse dhoti and
he covered his body with the other end of the same dhoti. I can remember his
head was covered but I cannot remember whether it was with the same cloth or
not. The place was not very illuminated rather it was shaddy. I came back to
the same varanda where I stood before. After 10/15 minutes, Swapan Babu
called me again. He took me to the same place where I met that divine
person. It was the varanda of the front side of the temple. There was no
light in the varanda. The lights cast from the other side of the temple
added a light and shade to the place. I saw some people sitting there inside
the varanda. I also entered in the varanda and sat in a corner. In that
light and shade, I heard a female voice talking something. I looked around
once again. My eyes were accustomed with the light and shade in the mean
time. Now I could see that some people were sitting in a queue. Most of them
though were women but males were also there in the queue. One after another,
they dragged themselves in a sitting posture near the closed door of the
temple. They prostrated before the closed door. A voice from the temple
asked *Bosechis? *(have you sat) the person from the outside replied *Yes
Ma. *The Ma or Mr. Prabir Samamnta (name of that divine person) started
talking. The male speaks in a female voice. The devotees believe that Ma
Herself speaks through Prabir Babu. Yes I also believe very much Ma speaks.
Ma wants to give solace to the distressed souls like us who visited Her. I
sat before the closed door of the temple following the same procedure of the
other devotees. Now I understood that the image of Ma Kali is there inside
the closed door. By the time, I reached the place the daily evening worship
was complete. And they close the door of the temple after the daily worship.
Then Mr. Samantha or Ma Herself interacted to her devotees through Mr.
Samantha.


The voice inside however asked me as usual *Bosechis* ? I said *yes Ma. *The
voice from inside started speaking. And to my utter dismay I found whatever
the voice told me were all true.


Surprisingly enough they do not have any charge for all this things . If one
feels like S/he can offer whatever S/he likes to offer. While waiting in
that varanda I heard the people keeping coins in the ground before
prostrating in front of that closed door. It must be maximum a five rupees
coin. It can not be more than that. When I sat before the closed door I did
not give anything. I came back surprised. On the way Swapan babu was telling
me that Prabir Babu was very religious since his childhood. He used to
perform puja of Ma Kali when he was a mere boy. Once he was coming from the
market place. It was a drizzling evening. The village road was desolate. He
suddenly heard a jingling sound of anklets of a woman in front of him. He
did not pay much heed to it at first. Nevertheless he could not ignore it
also. He was bit scared too. He stopped for a while and he heard the sound
as if just in front of him. Then he got the *Hukum* (command) …that is the
very word Swapan Babu used…of Ma. And since then he is giving service to
the people who are in need. People come there to Prabir babu for the safe
delivery of their goats, they come to get medicine for their diseases, they
come to settle the quarrel between the mother in law and the daughter in
law. Young Jacks come to know whether they will get their Jills and vice
versa. Ma keeps on answering tirelessly even if it is a silly (?) question .
By the by Ma interacts only in the evening. Nevertheless, Prabir Babu is
always there to give you a patient hearing. Does the so called civilization
has the ears to listen to these voices? Police came there to Prabir Babu.
They harassed him. Ultimately, they constructed a portion of the temple.
There are many things in earth and heaven which science and Philosophy can
not explain. People like Prabir Babu and Ma Kali are still the shelter for
the common men and women. The do not rob them at least like doctors lawyers
…the so called educated intelligentsia.