He narrated to me that when he’d almost given up hope, one chap came out of nowhere, approached my uncle, and asked him why he was just sitting there.
My uncle recounted what had happened, to which the man said, “Oh don’t worry, I have exactly two blankets with me, one of which is for you!”
My uncle was shocked. But then the man proceeded to massage my uncle’s legs for some time, after which he started feeling much better.
The man also spent the night, right there, with my uncle. Next day morning? Of course, in the wee hours of dawn he was gone as quickly as he’d come by.
Who was this man? Surely not someone ordinary? For my uncle who has been a Sabarimala pilgrim for years, could it have been Lord Ayyappan himself – who comes to the rescue of his devotees?