Memorable Contacts with The Mother

VIII: LIGHT INTERLUDE

After all these serious talks, let us see the Mother in her lighter moods, just for a change, but no chronological order is intended in the narration of the various incidents.

I had now the chance of seeing the Mother along with the others every morning. It was the time of the morning Pranam. Some young students were going to the Gingee Hills for an outing during the holidays. They invited me as a teacher to join them. Their captain Prabhakar brought a list of names to the Mother for her sanction. As she scanned the list, she found that my name was also there. "Will you be able to climb the hills?" she asked me. I replied, "Oh yes, Mother!" I was above fifty. Then she turned to Prabhakar, a strong muscular young man and said, "Carry him on your shoulders, if he fails!" All laughed.

A friendly cricket match was to be played between our Group teams. The captain had put my name without my knowledge. As the Mother was going through the list, she struck off one or two names before she came to mine. "Nirod!" she exclaimed in surprise. "Is he here?" she asked. "Yes, Mother," I replied. "I find your name in the cricket team. I am striking it off," she added. "All right, Mother," I agreed without question. I had noticed that she had always tried to keep me off from rough games like football, especially when I had been serving Sri Aurobindo. I could not divine the exact reason; but the realisation came later on to my cost. Let me recount the

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incident as it has a point.

Knowing that I was very fond of games, the boys used to invite me to play football with them, promising that they would not hurt me in any way. I could not resist the temptation and deceived myself by saying that since I knew how to play, I could avoid all clashes; I forgot the fact that clashes or accidents do not always depend on oneself. I managed somehow to escape unhurt on a few occasions, the credit was really due to the older boys’ consideration for me, but I usurped it for myself and felt quite proud. One day when I was taking my afternoon nap, I ’dreamt that I had a fall and injured myself during a game. When I went to the Sportsground, the youngsters called me and I joined them, ignoring the prophetic dream altogether. This was a younger group; hence the boys were less experienced than the older ones. In the heat of the game, as I ran for the ball, a boy running from behind dashed against me. I tumbled down and fell upon my right arm. My left eyebrow suffered a cut caused by the ring on my finger. The boys were staggered at my fall and stunned to see my blood-streaked face. I was taken to the Dispensary and given a few stitches. That was the grand finale of my foolish craze for sports. This incident took place during one of the breaks in my contact with the Mother. I believe that it was reported to her.

One small joke which proved to be not a joke: I had written to the Mother that a distant niece of mine wanted to do Sri Aurobindo’s yoga. The Mother replied verbally that I could be her guru! It seemed to be a joke, à la Sri Aurobindo. But after some years I realised that it was not so, for I heard that the girl had abandoned our yoga and

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taken initiation from another guru. Evidently the Mother had foreseen such a possibility.

One of my grown-up nieces was constantly keeping unwell, probably owing to some psychological complex. She wanted one evening to have the Mother’s prasād at the Playground distribution but she would have to stand for a long time in the queue, and she was too weak to do so. When I told the Mother about it expecting almost a negative answer, she said with a teasing smile in front of others, "Why, you can carry her in your arms," and at once stopped her mouth with her hand. I was not a little surprised at this unaccustomed levity on her pan, but pleased nevertheless.

There used to be mixed doubles tennis matches among our Groups. The Mother took a great deal of interest in them. She herself would choose our partners and enquire about the results of the games. Some of us took her blessings before going to the court. One pair remained unbeaten in successive tournaments. When our turn came to play against them the Mother said, "Try to beat them." I don’t know why she was keen on it. I could not, however, fulfil her wish. I returned defeated and explained to her why I had failed. I said, "The male partner on the opposite side kept his companion standing like a dummy and he played all the game, while I allowed my partner to have a good share of it. Naturally then the opponent getting his chance began to send all the shots to my weak partner and I kept on standing like a witness-Purusha. He was bent more on winning than enjoying the game."

Next year, however, my partner and I changed our roles. I was now the active Prakriti and she the witness-

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Purusha and we gave the formidable pair a good thrashing. The news had already reached the Mother so that when I met her, she said smiling, "So you have killed the giant!"

In our doubles tennis tournament, we also used to play with the Mother; Pranab was her invariable partner. Once before going for the match, she told me, "Today our match? I hope we shall have a good game, but," she added lowering her voice, "you know it does not depend on me." We knew of course that Pranab was in the habit of falling into a bad humour and would not then put his heart into the game. That was what she meant.

Since I am now in a "playful mood", let me cite a few more instances, amusing as well as intriguing. Table-tennis had just been introduced in the Ashram. The Mother was taking part in it. I had also joined and was going for practice after my duty. She said to me, "It seems you play well; I would like to see how you play." The next day she saw and, on coming back, reported to Sri Aurobindo, "He plays well; he is quite promising." But I have noticed throughout my life that whenever my performance in games showed promise something intervened and cut it short. The same thing repeated itself here.

Be that as it may, in table-tennis too we were holding tournaments. In one of them, I and my partner (selected by the Mother) were pitted against a younger pair. We’ were sure of a crushing victory. There was a tense crowd and the Mother was sitting in its midst watching intently the game. What happened and how it happened, I can’t imagine even now. We lost most ignominiously. It reminds me of our later doubles match for tennis championship

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that I have described in my Twelve Years with Sri Aurobindo, Since then I had laboured under the superstition that the Mother’s presence during my play worked adversely on me. Let me give another flagrant instance, leaving the truth of my supposition to the readers to judge.

It was a singles knock-out tennis tournament. My opponent was a youngster. I was on the point of beating him hollow. At that very moment, the Mother entered the court for her game of tennis. She cast a swift glance at us as was always her habit. Someone informed her of the bad plight of my opponent. My old prejudice tried to raise its head, but I thought nothing could wrench my victory away. I was leading by 5 to 1 or so; one game more and then the set and match! In the adjacent court the Mother was playing. Now the wheel turned and however much I tried, I could not take one single game. The opponent snatched at last the victory.

My "insight" now into all these bafflements is that the Mother was concerned not to let me get involved in occupations which would most probably interfere with my attendance on Sri Aurobindo. The more proficient I might become in other occupations the more would I be tempted to plunge into them — and this would surely take away something from the whole-hearted attention I was giving Sri Aurobindo.

Once, after my attendance on Sri Aurobindo, I went as usual to the Tennis-ground to see the Mother playing. She was not there. I was told that she had gone to the Playground. I moved in that direction and reaching there, I saw that she was playing badminton. As soon as she saw me, she said, "Come, come! We shall have a game." I

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replied, "Mother, I have not played the game since I left school." She added, "It doesn’t matter! We are all new hands." This was also one of her moods.

At another time, a volley-ball match was arranged between two veteran teams. I was made the captain; we were playing the finals. The Mother was to distribute the prizes. We won. When as a captain I went to receive the prize, she said with a smile, "I didn’t know you could play so well." Puffed up with pride, I answered, "I play even better. Mother." She gave me the new year’s diary with my name and her blessings written on it.

On the first of every month the Mother used to go to the Library House to distribute to the sadhaks their material needs for the month. It was called the Prosperity day. Some of us would accompany her. She had to pass through a long corridor where quite a number of people used to assemble. The Mother would have fun with the gathering. She would distribute toffees to each member; to some in their hands, to most others, she would throw a toffee very playfully so that we might not catch it easily. Most of us were good catchers but Amrita had never been a sportsman and the Mother would bring that out by either throwing the toffee at great speed or tossing it up or hurling it beyond his reach. Poor Amrita would invariably miss it. Once she threw the sweet quite hard and Amrita made a violent comic gesture with both arms as if he were. trying to embrace somebody. "Oh Amrita," the Mother cried with a smile, "to catch a small thing you make such a violent movement?" "Douce Mère," he replied, "I was trying to catch what was behind it!" Everyone burst into laughter. Amrita was very good at such repartees.

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