12 Two Temple Visits and a Surgery

The first time I glimpsed my Mother’s spirituality was during the phase of my Father’s illness – she was the one who suggested the temple visits to the south in order to find a solution to his sickness. My parents and I boarded the Madras Mail, leaving behind my kid Brother and my infant Sister in the care of my Grandmother. My Mother’s bachelor cousin Dinna, agreed to come over and sleep at our home every night during our absence.

It was wonderful traveling by train, and my deep love for trains and steam engines began at that time which still continues unabated. Reaching Madras, our first port of call was to visit the Tirupati Temple – this was atop a hill and we dutifully took the bus to go and visit the Balaji Temple atop Tirumala. An amusing incident that I recall was when a group of monkeys snatched from my Mother’s hands some bananas as well as a bag containing money to be offered to Balaji!

The next temple visit on our list was the Palani Temple, near the textile town of Coimbatore. Whilst in Coimbatore, my Father decided to pay a visit to our relation Dr Major Sudhakar Rao who had a thriving practice in this town. Dr Rao was from the British Indian Army and had seen action during the Second World War; and after the war had set up his medical practice in Coimbatore. Initially we stayed in a hotel but once we met Dr Rao, he insisted that we shift to his spacious bungalow in R S Puram, an upscale residential locality of Coimbatore. Whilst there, my Father confided to Dr Rao his recent health problems and on hearing this, Dr Rao volunteered to examine my Dad.

Dr Rao was a very skilled diagnostician of the old school and decided to do a rectal examination – I remember my Father giving a gasp of pain after which Dr Rao triumphantly diagnosed an inflamed appendix! Dr Rao referred us to a specialist in Madras: Dr Mohan Rao, a very well-known surgeon practising in the Egmore area. Subsequently my parents also decided to go to Palani, as per the old plan and I now realize that providence provided Dr Rao and his diagnosis – an answer to my mother’s prayers! 

We returned to Madras and Dr Mohan Rao, the expert surgeon successfully carried out an appendectomy on my Father. We were fortunate to stay with our relatives in Madras and my Father’s younger Brother helped my Mother at the hospital. After a short recuperation my parents and I returned to Bombay. I was delighted to be back with my young Brother and my kid Sister who was growing up and starting to speak!