Noticing Gowri.
First Pavan & Ram took Eeshwar to the Ganesha temple. He had never seen a Ganesh of that size. It was beautifully decorated. Then, they climbed the steep marble steps towards the main shrine of Sri Prasanna Anjaneyaswamy atop the hillock, where he saw walls adorned with intricate carvings and oil lamps that flickered like tiny stars, fragrance of the incense sticks. He loved the ambiance of the temple and the way priests had decoded the Gods. As they descended to the ground below, Ram & Pavan were busy talking about the tasks to take care of that morning, while Eeshwar saw someone that caught his attention.
A young woman, perhaps in her early twenties, was managing the long, winding queue of devotees with calm efficiency and a smile that seemed to come straight from the soul. She moved with a fluid grace, her green kurta flowing softly as she moved around and guided the elderly to shorter queues, helped mothers with restless children find space to sit, and somehow managed to keep everyone happy despite the crowd. There was something magnetic & fresh about her smile, her presence, her energy, not in a showy way, but in the quiet confidence with which she handled each interaction.
Another volunteer, a middle-aged woman with greying hair, called her name: “Gowri, can you take this uncle to the temple office? He needs help with some paperwork.”
“Of course, Raji akka!” she replied, her voice carrying clearly over the gentle hum of conversation. Eeshwar was surprised to hear her refer to the other lady as ‘akka’, which means elder sister in the local language, which is Kannada. He felt that volunteers at this temple seemed like a family. He noticed that Gowri immediately began scanning the area for someone to take her place, her eyes moving with the practiced efficiency of someone who’d done this many times before.
Spotting Pavan and Ram, she walked over with quick, purposeful steps. “Pavan anna, can you two manage this queue for five minutes? I need to help someone.” Eeshwar quietly thought, ‘Anna’??, which is the word for brother in Kannada language, no longer surprised. However, he was surprised that that the image his friends and family from Mysore had painted about Bangalore being a big city and that no one cares for others and that everyone is selfish, didn’t exactly fit to what he saw, at least at Ragigudda. He saw that it was a rather friendly, family-like environment.
“Absolutely,” they replied in unison, already moving into position.
She gently took the elderly man’s arm, speaking to him in what sounded like a mixture of Kannada and Tamil, her voice patient and kind. “Don’t worry, uncle, we’ll get this sorted out quickly.” She walked beside him with a grace that was both confident and nurturing, her attention completely focused on his needs. Eeshwar found himself watching her retreating figure, something about her presence stilling the restless energy that usually hummed beneath his surface.
When she returned to her post fifteen minutes later, slightly out of breath but still smiling, she looked at the three friends with curious eyes.
“Who’s the new recruit?” she asked, her gaze settling on Eeshwar with an openness that was both welcoming and slightly challenging.
Pavan grinned, clearly enjoying himself. “Meet Eeshwar. Our college buddy from Mysore. Software engineer, just moved to Bangalore. Might start volunteering if we can convince him.”
Gowri tilted her head playfully, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Volunteering or just browsing the catalogue of temple activities?”
The question was clearly a gentle tease, but something in her directness appealed to Eeshwar. Most people either ignored his quiet nature or tried too hard to draw him out. She seemed to see right through his reserved nature without making him feel uncomfortable about it.
He chuckled, surprising himself with how natural it felt. “I’ll start next Saturday.”
The words were out before he’d even fully formed the thought, and he saw Pavan and Ram exchange meaningful glances, with shock clearly seen on their faces. Eeshwar was someone who ran away from crowd. He felt that 10 people were too big a crowd. He never attended parties, always skipped alumni meets and the only two friends he had were Ram & Pavan.