I was born below sea level in Alappuzha, where life and water are deeply entwined. As a newborn, I was struck by a deadly marine virus—no vaccine, no cure, only hope. Doctors told my parents I might not survive.
In that moment of despair, my parents made a heartfelt vow: if I survived, they would take me to the sacred Sabarimala Temple. But they had to wait—Sabarimala isn’t an easy journey, especially for a child. So they patiently waited for me to turn four, the minimum age for the challenging trek.
But the virus returned again at age 2, then 3. My father, carrying the weight of a promise and a dream, moved to Bengaluru when i was 5.
At 6— a fierce battle between life and death, fought in isolation in Bengaluru. At 7, just as my father finally saved enough to fulfill his vow to Sabarimala, destiny struck cruelly—the virus returned 24 hours before our journey.
That’s when our kind-hearted neighbours stepped in 15 days after treatment and took me to the Banashankari Temple—dedicated to Goddess Shakti in Bengaluru.
That was the first time my family came to know about Banashankari Temple !
Finally, at 8, the stars aligned. We made the journey. Hand in hand with my father I climbed the sacred hill—until we reached the 18 divine steps. There, my father stopped. “You must do this 18 steps alone,” he said. “This is your path to Tat-Tvam-Asi—You are that which you seek.”
Letting go of his hand was my first taste of true independence—frightening, yet sacred. Step by step, I climbed. Each step a prayer, a memory, a survival. At the top, I saw it etched in stone: Tat-Tvam-Asi.
Have you ever felt God rise through your feet?
They say no one climbs the 18 steps alone—at that sacred threshold, the Lord becomes Pada Balam (Strength of the feet) , the divine strength that lifts each step and carries you forward towards Tat-Tvam-Asi.
Since then i never contacted the virus ; I have developed a strong immune system.
In the wake of Fukushima Earthquake - I moved to Japan in 2012—seeking financial stability. During my tenure, my employer provided 2 shots of vaccinations against prevalent pacific ocean marine viruses in 2012. Those vaccines are not available anywhere in the world.
When I returned to India in 2015, I trusted life and leaned on my employer’s health cover—until harassment and withheld pay in a pandemic left me uninsured and in silence.
I got self insured in March 2020 but by then corona virus was unfolding and i was not insured until March 2021. Yet, even in a virus hotspot, my mother and I remained untouched by corona virus, not by chance, but by grace, resilience, and divine protection.
Every moment I lived with an empty bank account, uninsured, and three months’ salary withheld by my employer was heavy—but not as heavy as the 18 sacred steps I climbed at age 8.
That journey had already prepared me. So when the world feared the virus, I knew—yes, I could become a victim at any moment, but I had already faced death once and had come back stronger.
This wasn’t new to me. I had walked harder paths, with nothing but faith to hold.
An awakening in 2018 had already taught me: fear is an illusion, and in 2020 i learnt that death is not the enemy. Sometimes, death arrives not to crush you, but to reveal your strength.
Today, throw me into the most toxic, murky river, and I’ll still swim my way across. That’s the kind of resilience life carved into me.
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