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A Day in Varanasi – A Meeting With Mr. K. Venkat Raman (Ghanapathi)

November 9, 2022

Sowmya and Ramana ji with my book. Always good to see smiling faces holding my book.

When Sowmya told me about her uncle’s nephew whose family had been in Varanasi for five generations, she didn’t mention that he was also a Ghanapati. ‘Ghanapati’ is the highest (and rarest) title awarded to scholars of Vedic studies. “He can tell us more about the yoginis and help us find more of their peethams in Varanasi,” was all she said. Turns out that Ramana ji is a Vedic pandit and organises specific rites and rituals for people coming from Allahabad, Gaya and the southern states.

The next day we made our way through the maze of alleyways in search of Mr. K. Venkat Raman (Ghanapathi)’s house. His house is somewhere inside the web of passageways near the ghats in Varanasi. As we entered the narrow lanes, the noise from the traffic on the main roads receded. We walked unhindered as the hour was early and the lanes were uncrowded. Here and there some cows were ambling along with a few priests and the devout – choosing the calm of the alleys to the bustle of the more well-known temples.

Ramanaji’s house was built 100 years ago by his grandfather. I noted the small door characteristic of houses built a century ago. The house is traditional, with a central courtyard surrounded by rooms. The courtyard is open to the sky, and allows for an abundance of natural light.

Ramana ji himself exudes a certain warmth. Passion for his work and service gives him happiness. “I connect to the spiritual energy of Varanasi. It’s the spiritual capital of India and India is the land of knowledge and wisdom,” he told me. It is undoubtedly this love for Varanasi and India that made the Government of UP appoint him as a Trustee of the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

Archana, Ramana ji’s gregarious wife walked in as we were having coffee. “My family is my backbone and I count on their support,” he told me. “Archana, Aishwariya and Arvind (my children) keep me grounded and my grandparents and parents have always been there for me.” Ramana ji enjoys his large family – he has 10 sisters and 4 brothers. His late father, Mr. V. Krishnamurthy Ghanapathi, was awarded the President’s Award for the work he rendered.

Ramana ji has spent his entire life in Varanasi and knows the temples intimately. I took the opportunity to ask him about the yoginis. Unsurprisingly, Ramana ji recited the names of the 64 yoginis and said he would share a few references with us.

By now the day was getting on and soon it would be too hot outside. Understanding this Ramana ji sent for his special boatman and we followed him out to the ghats where a boat awaited…

A picture in the well-lit courtyard of Ramana ji’s 100 year old house. Daily puja and rituals of various kinds happen here.

[This blog is the second part of a series of blogs about my time in Varanasi. Click here for the first one.]

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Poetry

Nature Needs No Filters

March 23, 2019

Every once in a while
wipe the makeup off
slough off the dead skin of
past experiences.
Exhale.
Climb out from
under the weight of
the shoulds and should-nots
Let the wind
unfurl your hair
a flag wild and free.
Let your skin
flower in the soft sunlight.
The lines around
your mouth
your eyes
Glorious.

At Rainbow Falls, 2.2 kms from the Double Root Bridge in Cherapunjee

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Travels Yoga

Sri Lanka – Galle & Tangalle

March 13, 2019

The next day we hired a taxi to take us along the coast down to Tangalle. On the way we had planned to stop at Galle.

Our driver, Mical, sauntered in 45 minutes late. Soon after we started, he asked, “Sir! Ravana – what do you think? Good man or bad?”

Unsure of the most politically correct answer, I decided to take the middle ground, “He’s a complex character, with good and bad shades so it’s difficult to say. And what do you think?” I asked him.

“Ma’am sir! We think he is very good, but only one problem. He abducted Sita Amman. Otherwise everything else very good.”

“Ma’am sir! We think he is very good, but only one problem. He abducted Sita Amman. Otherwise everything else very good.”

The Moonstone Mines

Sri Lanka is known for its gemstone mining. Mical, stopped a little short of Galle at a gem factory where we got to see the process of mining moonstones, the process of refining them and finally creating jewels out of them. Ana and I both got a matching moonstone pendant as a souvenir from the mines.

Marine Turtles Protecting Centre

This was an unplanned stop for us. None of us had any idea about the amazing work that this centre is doing in terms of rescuing and rehabilitating turtles. The tsunami of 2004 affected the marine life, displacing, maiming and killing much of it. The Marine Turtles
Protecting Centre works with turtles to enable them to one day return to their natural habitat.

Galle

Galle is one of the major cities of Sri Lanka. The Portuguese built it as a major port city and the Dutch later went on to use it as one of the major ports of the country. We spent a long time walking along the cobblestone streets, ducking into souvenir shops, taking photos and sampling the local food. The National Maritime History Museum is in Galle, but we only had a couple of hours and wanted to spend it walking around the city. I’d read about Galle Things Roti, a restaurant specializing in rotis and curry and we had some great lunch there. I was also keen on having tea at the Amangalla hotel, a historic heritage hotel. While their tea isn’t special, the hotel has a lot of antique furniture which makes the ambience and the experience unique.

At Galle Things Roti.

Tangalle

We reached our destination a little late. Tangalle is a quaint beach town. I was to teach yoga classes here for the next two days.

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Travels Yoga

A Yogi in Pune – Day 6

September 6, 2016

My host brought to my attention that there is a much respected astrologer close by. Everyone goes to him and his reading is usually spot on. The catch is that it’s difficult to get an appointment with him. Plus I didn’t have my birth chart.

If I could get into the Iyengar institute, famed or their coldness and hard-to-get attitude, then the neighbourhood astrologer would be easy to crack, regardless of how famous he was. Expecting it to take weeks to get an appointment, I started working on this right away. To my surprise and delight, I managed to get an appointment in the third call. So post my self practice session today, I decided to visit the astrologer. Armed with a map and loads of curiosity.

In the rows and rows of non descript government quarters, I wouldn’t have been able to find his house with no address. However, everyone seemed to know where he lived. An appointment was going on when I walked in. I’d expected the worst and was prepared to wait for hours, but Lady Luck was on my side and I waited for only 15 minutes.

I had asked my mother to send me photos of my natal chart on WhatsApp and I showed him these images on my laptop.

Astrologer: “You aren’t in the same line that you studied.”

Me: Nodded.

Astrologer: “What have you studied?”

Me:”Engineering. I worked as a software engineer also for a long time too.”

Astrologer: “But what are you doing now?”

Me: “I teach yoga.”

Astrologer: “It says here that you will excel at the studies of old things…maybe history…maybe humanity. You will do well in a field that requires you to gain deep knowledge, not superficial work. It says here your area of work will be beneficial for mankind. Are you only teaching or studying also?”

Me: “Yes, I study and teach.”

Astrologer: “Then there is nothing better for you than this. This is what you were meant to do. To study deeply and to help people. And yoga is after all a study of the human body and the human mind. And now with Modi getting interested…you can understand.”

Me: “Hmmm…but what else do you see? Only teaching and studying yoga? Same thing for the rest of my life?”

Astrolger: “No no….you will go deep. Even amongst yoga teachers, not everyone reaches the trance state. Not everyone goes to the higher levels. You will also go. You will teach and you will learn. Yoga will take you to different places. You will not settle abroad nor get a green card. But you will travel far and frequently.”

Me: “I will travel for yoga? But do you see a book published in my future somewhere?”

Astrologer: “When it comes to yoga, which is your chosen field of study, you will do whatever you want. There are no boundaries to what you will do and there are no limits to how much you will contribute. But stick to yoga, don’t do anything else. Now you tell me, why did you take up yoga?”

Me: “I myself can’t really tell you why. Something within me is drawn to the practice.”

Astrologer: “And that is what! That is why you must continue. Don’t worry about money. You won’t get Rs. 5, 10, 50…when you earn you will get in the thousands at one go. You will earn in different currencies, but only through yoga. Don’t switch your line and stick to it. Whatever you want, you will get.”

As I walked away from his office, I was reminded of what Pattabhi Jois was so fond of saying,” Do your practice and all is coming.” In a way, this famed astrologer was telling me the same thing.

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