To Mom With Love! Son takes Mother on a 28K Km ‘Mathru Seva Sankalpa Yatra’ on Scooter
To Mom With Love! As road trips go, this is a unique one. This mother and son. Son takes Mother on a 28,000 Km ‘Mathru Seva Sankalpa Yatra’ on Scooter which began on 16 January 2018 from Mysuru -the duo, Son and Mother made a pit stop in Mangaluru, and are staying at the Ramakrishna Mission, Mangaluru since couple of days, and have visited St Aloysius Chapel, Kudroli Gokarnatheshwara Temple, Saravu Temple, Kadri Sri Manjunatha Temple and many other places. Meet 39-year-old Krishna Kumar, still a bachelor and the only son of Choodarathna, aged 70, who had lost her husband four years ago.
Mangaluru: This is what you call a love from a Son to a Mother! Quoting Washington Irving “A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.” – and for that matter here is a son who has shown his great love towards his mother, by taking her on a long trip to places she hasn’t seen since her birth, and now this Son has made a History, proving that Son’s love towards a Mother is what “Men are what their mothers made them”!
This is how Krishna Kumar looked, clean shaven before he left his house in Mysuru on the yatra on 16 January 2018. He plans to shave his beard once he reaches back after the Yatra
Not many who so deeply love their mothers would dare do what 39-year-old D Krishna Kumar did for his septuagenarian mother. He took off on his 20-year-old Bajaj Chetak scooter with his mother, Choodarathna (70), sitting pillion on a pilgrimage covering almost all the holy places across all states South of the Nation, riding a distance of a whopping 27,500 km in nearly eleven months, and had reached Mangaluru on 26 November. Staying at Ramakrishna Mission, Mangaluru, both Son and Mother have visited many temples in the City, and other sight seeing destinations.
What Krishna Kumar calls his journey as ‘Mathru Seva Sankalpa Yatra’, Team Mangalorean had an opportunity to meet him and his mother at the Math, where Krishna Kumar shared the details of his unique and extraordinary journey, which started in the month of January 2018 from his hometown, Mysuru. Having visited all the holy places in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra, Kumar landed in Mangaluru a couple of days ago. When asked about the long journey, his mother said she loved every it of it, and never was tired or sick during the last 11 months on the road, except for little cold symptoms now and then, other than that she was healthy and perfect.
When asked if Krishna had any problems with his scooter on such a long journey, for which he replied “Other than to fix a puncture after covering nearly 16,000 kms, there has been no breakdown whatsoever until now. Before I start my scooter everyday in the morning I clean the spark plugs, check tire air pressure and basic check-ups before stepping onto to the road. For this yatra, I had customized this 2000 model scooter and made my elderly mother sit pillion in a manner to immunize her from travel fatigue. I knew that she will like the long ride, because once last year we had taken a road trip from Bengaluru to Kashmir, where we stayed for three days in Kashmir, visiting Kashmiripura Nivasa temple and other holy places, and my mother had liked that trip very much. But this year I wanted to show her more holy places, and that too taking her on a scooter” ( in smiles)
“Home is where your mom is, No matter your age, you always need your mom. I do what I want, when I want, where I want… if my mom says it’s Okay. I believe in love at first sight because I loved my mom since I opened my eyes. The worst sight in the world is seeing your mom cry. Happiness is seeing your mother smile. I love my mom because she gave me everything: she gave me love, she gave me her soul, and she gave me her time. Ain’t a woman alive who could take my mother’s place. First my mother, forever my friend. My mother is my best critic, and yet my strongest supporter. I couldn’t ask for a better mom. Even in your flaws, I saw perfection. And I wanted to make her happy through this Yatra, where she could see almost every Holy places in South India” added Krishna Kumar.
Having decided that he had made enough money to lead a modest life, Krishna Kumar quit his job to launch this yatra. So one would wonder, “What made Krishna Kumar do all this? His mother was leading a lonely life in Mysuru after the death of his father Dakshina Murthy four years ago. Until then Krishna Kumar, working as a corporate team leader in a private company in Bengaluru, was focused on building his career. It was during one of his visits to see his mother in Mysuru, where she happened to confide in him her desire to see Hampi and Halebeedu. Her desire got him thinking hard about the very purpose of his existence.
“In the joint family system, my mother’s role was confined to the kitchen until the death of my father. I decided that my mother deserves not only quality time from her only son, but also a dignified life for all the sacrifices she has made. The Hindu scriptures also emphasize on this,’’ he stressed and decided to take her not only to Belur, but to many other holy places across India. On why he opted for a two-wheeler, he said the simple mode of transport ensured door-to-door travel, and also that the Scooter was handed over to him by his father few years ago, and he thought it would be appropriate to take his mother on that scooter, which his dad used for a long time.
“It also eliminated unwanted troubles I had faced during the previous road trip,’’ Kumar said. The scooter carried all essentials including, fruits, cucumber, beaten rice, knife, raincoats, mattress among others. “The grandeur of any temple will be lost on an empty stomach,’’ he says while elaborating on the need to have fruits in the vehicle. It is learnt that in Basavana Bagewadi in Bidar district, an ascetic, so moved by the adventurous story of son and mother duo, hailed him as “modern day Shravan Kumar” in his discourse. (Shravan Kumar, according to the epic Ramayana, took his old and blind parents on a pilgrimage, carrying them in two baskets hanging from two ends of a staff slung over his shoulder).
When people came to know about our Yatra, many came forward to meet us, and even invited us to their homes for lunch or dinner. This yatra with his mother showed Kumar the warm-heartedness of people. “The yatra also helped me discover a sense of fulfillment which had eluded me so far,’’ he said. We met Chandramathi in Sagar who was a friend of my mother during Hindi teacher training after SSLC. They met after 47 years and an old friendship found new lease of life. We stayed at her home for a week. We will be meeting yet another friend of my mother, Jayalaxmi Kaje, a resident of Vittla, after we leave Mangaluru. Kumar has no idea as to when he will reach his hometown, Mysuru because they still have to visit many holy places in South Karnataka, and also visit many other friends and relatives.
And believe it or not, the duo have never stayed in any hotels or lodges, instead sought out Maths to rest for the night. They travel between 120-150 kms per day depending on the situation, and the roads they take. Choodarathna said, “We would prefer to drink only bore-well water. We are lucky that we never fell sick nor I was tired. I really appreciate what my son did this for me. But these days it’s sad to note that children neglect their parents nor show any love towards them. I feel sad when I see lonesome parents alone by themselves at home, while their children are abroad or live away from them. My humble request for the present generation is that take care and love your parents, because they are the ones who brought you up, gave you education and everything. Let my son’s example motivate you all to become true and loving sons to your mother or father”.
And finally, this is what Krishna Kumar had to say about his Mother, “To the world, you are a mother. To a family, you are the world. Mom, because of you, I am what I am today. Thank you. Moms are people who know us the best and love us the most. I look to my mom for advice, inspiration, and love. That’s the way it should be. I hope other children also show their love, care and respect to their parents”
