Author: Giridhar Jha
Publication: India Today
Date: July 30, 2010
URL: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/107226/India/meet-shiv-kumar-kesri,-the-shrawan-of-our-times.html
Meet the modern day Shrawan Kumar. Shiv Kumar
Kesri, a devoted son, has sought inspiration from the mythical character of
Shrawan in the Ramayana to fulfil the longstanding desire of his octogenarian
mother in Bihar.
Kesri has resolved to take his mother Bedamia
Devi to all the sacred pilgrim centres across the country to fulfil her last
wish. Since his mother is infirm and not able to walk in her advancing years,
Kesri carries her on his shoulders or, at times, on a bamboo basket, to visit
different shrines.
Kesri, a resident of Dhanganwa in the Jehanabad
district of Bihar, said he would take his mother to all the famous pilgrim
centres located in different parts of the country, including Kedarnath and
Vaishnodevi.
A teacher at a private school, Kesri has already
undertaken the journey to Baidhyanathdham, one of the most important pilgrimage
sites of the Hindus, along with his mother. He said he would trek the 105-km
journey on foot while keeping his mother on the kanwar - a pilgrim's handmade
bamboo carrier that he keeps on. Kesri is the A teacher at a private school,
Kesri has already undertaken the journey to Baidhyanathdham, one of the most
important pilgrimage sites of the Hindus, along with his mother. He said he
would trek the 105km journey on foot while keeping his mother on the kanwar
- a pilgrim's handmade bamboo carrier that he keeps on his shoulder to carry
things throughout his pilgrimage.
During the ongoing Shravan (Saawan ) month
of the Hindu calendar, lakhs of pilgrims carry water of the river Ganga from
Sultanganj in the Bhagalpur district of Bihar to Deoghar of Jharkhand to offer
it to Lord Shiva at the famous temple there. Kesri started his pilgrimage
with his mother on Monday at the beginning of the auspicious period.
Kesri has got a customised kanwar made to
carry his mother in a traditional scalelike bamboo basket. While trekking,
he carries his mother in front and keeps a large Shiva linga made of stone
weighing as much as his mother in the back to balance the kanwar . Kesri said
he would take his mother to Varanasi, Puri, Allahabad, Haridwar, Badrinath,
Kedarnath and Vaishnodevi in the same way. He said he had no reservations
against making use of trains, buses or any other modes of conveyance but he
would carry his mother on his shoulders whenever required.
"There are many pilgrim sites where one
cannot reach except on foot," he said.
Kesri's devotion to his mother in today's
materialistic world earns him appreciation from the people wherever he goes.
His gesture towards his mother has already earned him the sobriquet of "Kalyug
ka Shrawan Kumar (Shrawan Kumar of today)" from his neighbours and other
acquaintances.
But he said he was doing it for no reason
other than fulfiling his mother's wishes. His mother has no hesitation in
saying that her son is no less than the mythological Shrawan Kumar, a mythical
character who had carried his blind parents on his shoulders to Hindu shrines.
His name has been synonymous with the virtues of an ideal son in mythology.
Bedamia Devi often turns emotional on seeing
her son worshipping her. She says that it is difficult to get a son as devoted
as Kesri in today's world.
Kesri is the youngest son of his parents.
Since his father's death, he has been looking after his old mother.
