I have known Balamurugan for some years now. A Chartered Accountant by profession, he delved into the many healing arts, learning about them from masters both within the country and abroad. His interests in Siddha medicine led him to learn Varma too. Soon he saw himself in Thailand learning Thai Massage too. His local hiking ventures soon led him to go on the inner Kora at Mount Kailash in 2011 with Kailai Bala's team. He attended the recent Kumbha Mela at Kasi too.
He used to visit my home to join in the Puja and spend much time sharing. Recently, he came up to me and said something profound. He asked, "Why do you want to be another Ramalinga Adigal," or, for that matter, "Agathiyar?" and "Why do you want to be another Tavayogi?" In asking me these questions, he was implying that I remain Shanmugam Avadaiyappa, not a clone of somebody else. Agathiyar too some time back, asked that I stop falling back on the others' experiences and learnings but instead write about mine. Similarly, he said that henceforth it should be my words and not his.
I understood that I had to step out of the shadows of Tavayogi, Ramalinga Adigal, Agathiyar, and the Siddhas. The tree has given me shade all this while; it was time I ventured out and away from its shade. If the tree had kept me safe under its shade, I would now have to take on the heat of the day. And it is 38 degrees here now. It reminds me of how Guhai Namasivayar of Tiruvannamalai sent his reluctant disciple Guru Namasivayar to Chidambaram, implying that there cannot be two captains on a ship. I wonder what is in store ahead.
It was time for me to create my own brand for my wares. But selling the wares, especially to children, is a challenge these days. Just moments ago, in dishing out the usual stories that I have been telling them, often pulling a fast one, my eldest granddaughter took out her mother's handphone and began verifying my story in Google Gemini to see if it was a fact. My 5-year-old grandson speaks about AI-generated artwork. I will have a hard time convincing people.