When Pollution Tries to Kill God (standard:non fiction, 859 words)
Author: Juggernaut	Added: Jun 30 2013	Views/Reads: 3003/1920	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
The air pollution around the Hindu temple was so bad, god has to reincarnate to protect himself from the pollution.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story


One has to climb over 200 stone steps to reach the deity, twisting and 

turning the stone steps provide a spectacular view of the port channel 

through which cargo and navy ships sail back and forth. Across the 

channel was the famous Dolphin Nose Mountain with a light house on it 

whose beacon can be seen from miles. 

On weekends and Hindu auspicious days, devotes crowd the 

temple sometimes waiting for hours in line to get entry to worship the 

deity. The temple priest Ramachary, a tall fair skin man has a pony 

tail like many Hindu priests was very authoritative. He would admonish 

anybody irrespective of social status if a devotee does not follow his 

instructions during the ceremony. While growing up Juggernaut attended 

the temple several times, on one such occasion he had the bad 

experience of dropping a flower to the floor and received the wrath 

admonishment from Ramachary that brought tears in Juggernaut's eyes 

more so for embarrassment and undue attention.   On subsequent visits, 

Juggernaut was more fearful of the temple priest than the Deity. 

The road to the temple in old town runs along the ocean, the 

same route used by port authority trucks. Over the decades, the port 

became one of the important ports in the country for export and import 

of bauxite and coal. The temple surroundings became an open storage 

site for piles of coal and bauxite turning the area into a dust bowl. 

On any day one cannot see the temple from thick smog and bauxite and 

coal dust.  The trail of dust from coal and bauxite arising out of 

tractor trailers carrying the materials without tarp clouds the entire 

area.  The ocean breeze stirs up dust from the open storage stockpiles 

making difficult to breath and impossible to see near the temple. The 

black soot covered all the structures in the area including the 

temple. 

On a recent visit to the old country, Juggernaut attempted to 

visit his favorite Lord Venketeswara temple only to turn away because 

of dangerous truck traffic and pollution so severe, breathing was 

impossible.  Instead, he stood on the roadside at a far distance from 

temple and prayed loudly as the bystanders gathered “Lord, you are 

known for collecting interest on the debt from your own devotes but 

can't you collect fines with compound interest from the polluters? 

Please return to earth as reincarnation to fight pollution to protect 

your devotees and your own temple.” If this were to happen, it could 

be the very first time God reincarnates himself to protect himself on 

the earth from manmade pollution. Since Juggernaut was praying loud in 

English, the onlookers thought he was a preacher man from nearby 

church. 


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