Working wonders on grains, and all that for the Lord

This middle-aged housewife has created a record of sorts by writing the name of Lord Rama 1.25 lakh times on grains. Kiranmayi has written the name of the deity 1.25 lakh times on grains.

Kotla Kiranmayi with the grains that bear the name of Lord Rama. - Photo: by Special arrangement

For Kotla Kiranmayi, a middle-aged housewife from this port town in West Godavari district, grain is a medium to demonstrate her unflinching devotion to the Lord Rama.

Kiranmayi has written the name of the deity 1.25 lakh times on grains. It took 10 months for her to do it. She will now offer the grains to the temple at Bhadrachalam for use as ‘talambralu’ on the occasion of Sri Rama Navami.

“I am eagerly waiting to make my first visit to the abode of the Lord Rama. The very feeling is exciting,” she said. Kiranmayi collected 2.5 kg of rice for the purpose and wrote 300 times on grains a day.

Kiranmayi, a college dropout, hit upon the unique idea of serving the deity in her own way after coming across a miniature art that presented the images of the Lord Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Anjaneya on grains in her hometown during the previous Rama Navami celebrations. She spent eight to 10 hours a day, writing on the grains using a gel pen.

“I avoided using Basmati rice for the purpose, as it is not in sync with the Vaishnava customs. So, masuri rice became my obvious choice,” she said. “When annam [food] is considered a form of ‘Parabrahma’ [creator of the universe], grain is my right choice as a path to discover God,” she added.

Meanwhile, Kiranmayi refuses to acknowledge her work as either an achievement or a rare feat. “It is only the Lord Rama who got me to do it,” she said.