Ujjain: Rebirth & Rediscovery

"In your last birth, you were a rajput in Avanti, that is Ujjain today"

I was amused. The accuracy & the confidence with which the nadi shastra guy told my past (in this life - name, age, everything), made me want to believe what he said. This was May 2008.

October 8, 2008, I found myself in the streets of Ujjain.

The city gave an impression of being dry. Lonely Planet(LP) India said "Watch India at prayer". I promise you, you wouldn't see anything of it. It may be true on some days of the year, but it doesn't hold good to describe Ujjain. The people seemed helpful, like when I asked for directions they ensured I took the directed route. It was difficult to believe it was here the students killed their professor in 2006.

The look of the shared autos caught my attention. When the auto is approaching towards you, it can be intimidating. Its as if Moe of calvin's class is walking towards you to take revenge.

Ujjain looks like a place which still is not spoilt by commercialization, but the moment I saw a hoarding that said "mall with multiplex coming soon", I knew exactly where Ujjain was headed.

I walked in front of Mahakaleshwar temple, Har siddhi temple about four times hoping I'll remember something from my previous birth (yes, I did and if you're squinting an eye, read this). I looked at a lot of people hoping to see someone familiar (like it happens in indian cinema - Karan Arjun, Om Shanti Om, etc.,).

I had to see everything in relation to the instance of my birth. I called my "this birth's parents" to inform them that I didn't yet find people I could relate to my previous birth. They were, thankfully, jovial about it. I hailed a cycle rickshaw and asked him to take me through the inner roads in Ujjain. 45 minutes later, I told my friend (who I suspect I know from my previous birth, but she denies, anyway) that the chances of me living in Ujjain was remote and even if I had, I was ready to shed all the ties. She brought to my notice that I had no choice. Seeing that as a divine intervention, I decided to end my quest for previous birth in Ujjain and got into the next available bus to Indore.

I partly dozed through the journey and in a flash, I saw an old woman who reminded me a lot of my grandmother (of this birth). I didn't read too much into it and simply went back to sleep. All that I discovered was that I enjoyed exploring a city all alone and nothing more than that.