Tarakka Meets Shri Ram: Conversations In Paradise
A lighthearted tea-time conversation in the afterlife
It was time. After a few million lines of Ramnaam scribbled in tiny spaces for years, worrying about everything from the heatwave to floods, and global terrorism to falling social values, Tarakka had enough. She dropped it all and made her final journey. And then she met her creator — Shri Ram.
This is a hilarious take on an imaginary afterlife tea-time chat on the lawns of paradise. The conversation was picked up by chance by a Chinese spy satellite along with several million clips of intergalactic chat but was hacked accidentally by the Nokia-NASA stellar link and beamed down to the dark web.
The NVIDIA H100-powered, AI hyper-scaler at Yotta Datacenter spool clears junk into the debris folder every 24 hours. Somehow this audio clip was picked up there in a garbled format. Some young engineering students working on an LLM model, picked up this file as part of a sample to decrypt and it revealed a portion of the conversation. Any interpretation issues are unintentional and have no hidden or stated purpose.
The entire conversation is hypothetical, (Tarakka is alive and well) and this is just to put a smile on the face of you readers. How to ward off a sizzling, relentless heatwave as the sun is baking the ground under our feet in Bangalore.
Here you go:
God: wow, you're back…so good to see you - how is it going?
Tarakka: sob, shock, fear. (unclear audio)
God: It’s ok…it’s over..now you can rest.
Tarakka: But I was already resting
God: This is real rest - deep, sublime
Tarakka: Where is Raja
God: Downstairs, but why?
Tarakka: I want to meet him - the Ayurvedic pain oil I use is over, he can get it…I told him last Sunday
God: For what?
Tarakka: For me
God: Why do you need the Ayurvedic oil?
Tarakka: Why..for my knees of course…do you know how much it pains at night? no one knows…only I know…huh..everyone thinks I am fine but no I am not ok.
God: But that’s fine. Just leave it now.
Tarakka: Where is he — Raja, why am I here?…What is this place?
God: -Look, you do not need the oil. Because you do not have the body anymore, you are now the pure spirit.
Tarakka: What — what are you saying…where did it go…it was here a moment ago? Last night I remember…where is Raja anyway? He knows everything about me.
God: Look let me explain…you are now in your purest form -sublime, unencumbered, no body, no mind, no limbs, no pain -nothing. Now you are free -the Tarakka you know is dead.
Tarakka: Oh no, how can you ..how could you…this is not fair.… I did not even tell my daughters…and Harish or my sons….I wanted to bid them goodbye.
God: Yes dear, I understand but you must understand too — it has been a long ride of 90+ human years and you must be tired. Please rest.
T arakka: Rest? where is today’s newspaper? Sudoku? And where is my Ram Nam book — my pen? I can’t find anything …sob…I am lost…(sounds terrified and desperate) (garbled and unclear audio)….
I need my daily Sudoku in the Bangalore Times….please….and my morning chai — it is always Brooke Bond Red Lable Tea with 1.5 spoons of sugar. Where is it? I will make it but I don’t see any kitchen….ooooo…bboooo hoooo…sob (muffled sounds).
God: Look, my dear, I got to go now…this is your new world…enjoy it while it lasts….you will have no trouble here…anything you want will manifest before you ask for it…this is The Place.
Tarakka: I still miss my pain balm -my Neurobion tablets -red, once a day after dinner that Dr. Prakash gave me. Where is it? Why didn't Raja bring it? And my writing pen — it was out of ink — I think he didn't refill …lazy fellow. I told him last week.
God: But why book and pen? For what?
Tarakka: Because I want to write Ram namm — I do it daily about 500 lines
God: For what purpose?
Tarakka: He is my God — Shri Ram. He will take me and I am calling him daily. But He doesn’t seem to hear me —I need to write Ram naam so he will pick me up and take me to him someday.
God: And?
Tarakka: Then that will be it. There he will make me meet my father P Manjunath Shenoy and my mother Leela Bai and
God: And?
Tarakka: Then that is it -my life will be complete — that is all I want.
God: But that has already happened
Tarakka:—No, nothing has happened and I have been waiting for years
God: -But why don't you wake up and see….where do you think you are now?
Tarakka: — Lost (looking desolate)…who are you anyway?
God: I am He who you were waiting for
Tarakka: huh….you look nice but I haven’t ever seen you…what is your name? Where do you live — Indiranagar?
God: — No this is not Devendra’s place…this is my abode and now yours too
Tarakka: — How far are we from Whitefield…Raja is there, we all lived there…Padma and my other kids are there.
God: — We are far from there…
Tarakka: — oh can we call them?…my phone broke down and Raja did not fix it because it was costing Rs 152 every month to Airtel…He was grumbling about some pre-paid charges..else we could have called no?
God: -you are now free to talk to anyone without a phone -You only have to think of them -they will happily talk to you.
Tarakka: -But I am not happy- because I want them.
od: — my dear child -what do you need to be happy? tell me.
Tarakka: — I need all my things —daily sudoku, Bangalore Times, chai, pain oil, my reading glasses, my Hari Keerthan CD player, …and my pen
God: -and then?
Tarakka: -and then I will be able to write Ram naam -and
God: -and then?
Tarakka:- and then Ram will come and take me
God: -and then?
T arakka: — and then? nothing.
God: -so what if I tell you it's all over — and you got what you wanted?
Tarakka: means?
God:— this is where you wanted to go
T arakka:— this is Ram’s place?
huh — Ram? you are Ram? huh….but where is my father then? the great PM Shenoy of Parkala
God: He came spent time here -and went back to complete his cycle -also your Leela Bai -everyone comes here to rest — like you did when you were in your Mangalore granddad’s house and went to Parkala for holidays
Tarakka: -oh..wow? (sounds elated)
God: -and who else do you want to know about?
Tarakka: — about my brother Dayanand
God: -he too — anyone else?
Tarakka: -hmmmm….my sister Indira?
God: -oh she is still in Manipal -you spoke to her the other day, remember?
Tarakka: — yes can I see her?
God: -no, you can’t -because she is downstairs….anyone else?
Tarakka: -hmmmm…..Parvati mayi?…..my sister Susheela….?
God: -They too..came here …you can find them …how about Ramanath your husband?
Tarakka: — oh yes…poor thing, but he was mostly not in good health…hmmm….
God: -and?
Tarakka: -can we go back to Whitefield?
God: -please relax -and rest.
A few earth days later…..
God: -so have you rested well?
Tarakka: -oh nice …no pain, no nothing….I am confused…I have no worries. How can it be? That is a real worry… (frown)
God: -why are you confused?
Tarakka: -how can someone have no worries…?
God: — no worries is the ideal way to be…if you worry about yourself, you waste your life. The only moments you live are those when you do not worry.
Tarakka: -oh…seems odd….but isn’t it a waste of time?
God: — time is infinite -and does not apply on this plane.
Tarakka: -oh…time is infinite …means I have all the time?
God: -yes with fear, you worry…with desire you become anxious -desire and anxiety create time…no worry means unlimited time.
Tarakka: -No desire…I have no desire…I never had any desires
God: -ok..good
Tarakka: -Can I go downstairs from where I came?
God: -Do you want to go down?
Tarakka: -yes -just briefly…to see things….like my Ayurvedic pain oil…sudoku chart score.
God: -ok…I will let you know
Tarakka: If I can go, I will be happy
God: -But you were waiting to leave from there for a long time…remember? you said Ram was not taking you….for years….right?
Tarakka: — yes…but now just one short trip only.
God: -hmmm. You just said you have no desires.
Do you have any desires…?
Tarakka: -yes only one or two
God: such as?
Tarakka: -go back for a short trip
God: -and then?
Tarakka: - and just quickly come back
God: -do you know you will go back as a baby…
Tarakka: - ok
God: and where do you want to go?
Tarakka: -to become the baby of my father, PM Shenoy in Parkala
God: ok but he may not be there…he will be somewhere else
Tarakka: ok doesn’t matter, I will go wherever he is
God: and do what?
Tarakka: - nothing. I will play with my sisters and brothers, in the rain and sand, and … my mother will make all my favorite sweets. I will smell the fresh mangoes on the trees, and we will pluck jackfruit, we will dance in the rain and irrigate the palm grove. And catch frogs in the little streams. I will do all of that again in Parkala village.
God: and then?
Tarakka: and then raise a family
God: and?
Tarakka: and then travel to Malleshwaram
God: and then?
Tarakka: and send kids to school
God: and then?
Tarakka: and then they will grow up, get married, and go away
God: and then?
Tarakka: and then I will sit in my home and then write Ram Naam
God: and then?
Tarakka: and then? Then one day, after writing many Ram naam lines, Ram will come and take me away
God: (smiling) ok, so be it.
(raising his hand to bless)
(audio unclear) some muffled noises
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