My future lies in a nadi !!

Ok, so not exactly that kinda nadi ! :-)

People who've read this blog from the start know of my mom's obsession with the stars. I had another experience in the same domain, a few days ago. I don't know how many of you are aware of this branch(?) of fortune-telling called "Nadi Astrology". The first time I heard of it was on this show on Tamil Nadu on Discovery. It looked pretty simple then, and the anchor didn't quite explain the whole thing well enough. Anyway turns out, my mom's sister's sister-in-law (!!) knows someone who does Nadi-reading right here in Pune. So obviously, my mom had to pay homage to this great art. After her visit, she was so impressed with it that she dragged me along to the revered centre last week. I found the whole experience rather interesting, so I'm going to cut the sarcasm now and tell you what it's all about -

For background information on Nadi astrology, check out this link. Quoting from here -

"Nadi is an ancient astrology, which has been composed by great Maharishis (sages) of India in the past using their spiritual powers. The sages recorded these predictions for every individual for the betterment of humanity and to safeguard dharma (righteousness). These sages predicted the characteristics, family history, as well as the careers of innumerable individuals contain in several thousand volumes, each containing around a hundred predictions. The Rishis, who dictated those Nadis, were gifted with such a remarkable foresight that they accurately foretold the entire future of all mankind."

And here's what happens when you visit a Nadi reader -

First you're asked to give your thumb impression on a blank piece of paper, along with your date and time of birth. No name or any other info to be given then. This guy then takes the paper inside (to the bank of palm leaf bundles, I presume- which is called the Nadi) where one of the Nadi readers matches your thumb impression to the corresponding bundle. It's not always that you get your match though. My mom got her's immediately, whereas I was asked to come back in a week. (They got the correct set from Tanjore, which is like the headquarters) This is your first step.

Next, the reader asks you a number of questions about your name, parents' name, siblings' names, other biographical info, events of the past etc. Now here's the interesting bit. He's actually reading out this info from the leaf- you're not asked all of it directly. And you're just supposed to answer with a yes/no! This is to verify which leaf from the bundle belongs to you. What shocked me the most about this part was- how, on earth, does this guy know every single detail about all the significant events of my past!? And when I say "every single detail", I mean it! There was actually a point where he asked my mom to go out of the room coz he was going to talk about stuff he wasn't sure my mom would or should know! (Thank God he had the sense to do that!) I mean...to believe that all of this was actually written down by some Maharashi centuries ago, is like being told that- "dude, you're the actor, the film's already been scripted and no matter how much you object, it can't be changed coz the director's dead!" It's like taking Shakespeare a little too literally..!! But it's all there, written in some weird Tamil script, so you can't even not believe it! Anyway once this is done, you're through with step two.

Finally, he starts the future predictions. And he really goes to the nitty-gritties of it all! Like he told me about some accident I was going to have when I was 42 and hell, I even know the age at which I'm going to die! (Nah don't worry, I live long enough! :-P) He records all of this on a cassette and you're supposed to take it home with you so you can listen to your life chronology over n over again!

(Read the detailed procedure here.)

I was pretty blown over by the entire experience. But the fact is- though it may make you believe that your life is indeed, pre-ordained, not everything of what he reads out about your past from your leaf is true. So it's not like all of what he says about your future is going to happen. Also, I know of a girl who took her two German friends along for a reading and they were told their leaves aren't there, even in Tanjore. So I don't know if the Maharashis limited their writings only to people destined to be born in India! I wanted to ask my reader this, but thought it would be too rude to cross-question him! And lastly, from what I gathered, he predicts the future on the basis of what's written on the Nadi leaf and a horoscope he makes using your time of birth n all.. So once again, the whole arguement of- "what if my time of birth is wrong; then the horoscope doesn't make any sense!"- resurfaces. Ultimately I guess, it's all about belief. I, for one, don't like any form of fortune-telling, science n all notwithstanding, coz I believe that the beauty of life is in its unpredictability. (Ahh the golden words! :-P) I know of people who've not even bothered to make a horoscope and believe me, they're doing fine! Besides, I don't want to live knowing that I'm going to be faced with a huge crisis in my 27th year! If some hardships/obstacles do come your way, as they obviously will, I think God/Nature has made humans strong enough to fight them. It's just up to you now, to decide whether you derive strength from within yourself/God or take the help of some pujas/lucky charms!

P.S.- Anyone wanting to visit this centre- it's in Kothrud near Vanaz. Leave me a message, I'll give you the contact number.