Amid the saddening stories of children treating their parents shabbily, sending them to the old age homes or leaving them to fend for themselves in the fag-end of their lives, a man from Bihar has set out on a religious journey carrying his old parents on his shoulders. His rare gesture has become a talk of town with the people describing him as modern “Shravan Kumar”, a mythological character as mentioned in the ancient Hindu text Ramayana.

Carrying his aged parents on his shoulders with the help of a bamboo stick (popularly known as ‘bahangi’ in the countryside), Chandan Kumar from Jehanabad district has embarked on 105 km-long tour on foot to let his parents visit Baba Baidyanath Dham temple, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district.

What is all the more heartwarming is that his wife Rani Devi too has been lending her support by carrying the sling so as to divide the weight. They began the yatra from Sultanganj town in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district which is some 105 km from the holy town of Deoghar.

The unique sight was on display on Monday as the month-long Shravani Mela began last week to mark the start of the holy month of Shravan, the fifth month in Hindu calendar. Devotees mark the special occasion by observing fasts and praying to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati for a peaceful and prosperous life.

On the occasion, a large number of devotees also walked on foot to offer holy water to Lord Shiva. But this obedient son from Bihar has just another wish: Let his parents have a glimpse of the deity before the icy hands of death could touch them!

“My parents are too old to walk on foot to visit Baba Dham. So, I wished to carry them on my shoulder for pilgrimage,” Chandan said, in between adjusting ‘bahangi’ (sling) on his shoulder on way to Baba Dham today. According to him, he shared his wish to his wife and she promptly agreed to fulfill his heartfelt desire.

It was only then that Chandan picked a strong stick to convert into ‘bahangi’ to carry his parents. Each end of the ‘bahangi’ was tied with a basket to let his parents rest on them to go on pilgrimage. While his father Jagannath Sao sat on the front, his mother Mina Devi sat on the rear basket hanging from his shoulder.

“We never thought we would ever visit Baba Dham, but our son and daughter-in-law have made our dream come true. I wish everyone would get such ‘beta’ and ‘bahu,” said Mina Devi, youth’s mother, adding “I pray to God to make my son strong.” Looking highly emotional, she described her son as true “Shravan Kumar”.

The youth’s wife Rani Devi said she was fortunate to join her husband on his sacred mission. “I am happy that I am carrying my in-laws on a pilgrimage tour. The yatra is indeed difficult but wherever I go, the people boost up our morale and laud our efforts,” she said. “It feels great when people heap praises on us,” she added.