My last class before Summer Vacations

Broke my Tuesday sankalpa, by munching dosa and baganpalli around 2:30 p.m. Yet by 6:15 just after 45 minutes of singing, my chest hurt, hunger was gnawing inside; I felt like walking out of the class to go home and eat first. Could not sing. Luckily ma’m started telling harikathas in her sweet amusing iyengar tamizh for more than 40 minutes. (Since it was the last class).

Her usage of words would be so lovely. For instance, she would not vendify or kumbidufy rather sevichify Hari. Her message was that we were supposed to light lamps, offer some neivediyam everyday and sing at least one namavalli for the next two months, only that would be an athmartha guru seva for her. Here is what I could discern of her two kathas:

Story 1: Kurma das:

She related the above story with few changes. One being that the saint rolled more than 230+ kms and that the rich man was a silk merchant on a horse.

Story 2: Purandarar Vittal (Dasarvaal) – DasarTail

How Dasarvaal, metamorphosed to a Hari bhaktha from a successful diamond merchant. How his wife prayed to bhagawan and how god materialized 2 diamond nose rings which she had given for a brahmin’s upanayanam. Well... those days, upanayanam was done by begging from households it seems.

Hari devotee Dasarvaal’s fame reached the king’s ears who invited him to the royal palace. On the way, Dasarvaal stopped by the thinnai of the daasi and spent the night telling her Hari kathas on a ekadashi night. (The next day, the dasi attained moksha.) The news that dasarvaal had spent a night at dasi’s place reached the king. He was disgusted and decided to give only 5 porkili’s to the saint instead of the original sacks of gold coins and other royal gifts.

However, the divine radiance of the saint made the king prostrate before Dasarwaal who said “Thaan aadavittaalum than sadhai aadum”. (Even if you don’t dance, your flesh will dance) The king still did not get the meaning. The king did all the honours as originally planned. When the king finally offered sacks of gold coins, dasarvaal said, just give me 5 porkilis you had intended to. The king was taken aback (since he had not mentioned this to any other soul). The king appointed dasarvaal as the chief scholar poet (aasthana pulavar).

Ma’m finally gave us Pistachios which she had bought from Sringeri and I made pista payasam for lunch instead of pista milk at night due to an evening party.

Swami Sadashiva Tirtha’s The Ayurveda Encyclopedia:
Pistachio
Energetics: Sweet/hot/sweet V-PK+
Actions: Tonic, Sedative
Indications: Anemia, neurasthenia, builds muscles, energy, may help with alcohol recovery. They are rich in potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium salts; which when combined help to control hypertension.

Supposed to be good when eaten in Shishira ritu (late winter - feb march)