Seven Lives by Anusha Ragavendran

Ramoorthy AKA Ram, was a 32-year-old mechanical engineer who became an IT employee in Chennai to please his parents. He also married his wife, Laya, and had a daughter for the same reason. By society's standards, his life was a success. He followed a strict routine: he woke up at 5 a.m., went to the gym, ate four dosas for breakfast, and worked hard at the office until 8:30 p.m., a routine he followed because his parents believed hard work led to success.

Despite his seemingly perfect life, Ram felt empty inside. He had never done anything he truly wanted to do. He was an excellent oil painter, so good that his paintings looked incredibly realistic. As he walked home from work one evening, he thought about his past, remembering the art contests he won every year. Lost in these memories, he missed his street and ended up at a dead end with a large peepal tree and a circular bench. Exhausted, he sat down to rest.

While he was sitting, he noticed an old saint in a saffron robe staring intently at him. Ram stared back, and the saint offered a pensive smile before commanding, "Go to Uthirakosamangai!" "Go to Uthirakosamangai!" Confused and terrified, Ram ran all the way home. The saint's words lingered in his ears, and he went to bed, ignoring his wife's questions.

Later that night, he pretended to be asleep until everyone was in bed. He then searched online for "Uthirakosamangai," a name he had never heard before. He discovered it was the world's first Shiva temple, dating back to the 11th century BCE. The next morning, he lied to his wife, saying he was attending a school friend's wedding, and packed a bag.

After a ten-hour train ride and a thirty-minute drive, Ram reached the temple. He was amazed by the massive tower and the intricate stone carvings. He performed the rituals, circling the main deity, Shiva, and his wife, Mangalambikai. Afterward, he was drawn to a 3,000-year-old jujube tree and felt a strong urge to sit beside it. As a gentle breeze blew, his eyes closed, and he began to meditate. He felt a lot of frustration and procrastination and wished to become a wealthy, happy, and rejuvenated man, free from his monotonous life.

When he opened his eyes, he felt much lighter. Content and energized, he returned to his home city and slept like a baby that night.

The next morning, the sound of a doorbell woke him up. A young woman greeted him, saying, "Good morning!" He was shell-shocked at first, but then he saw a picture of them on a bedside table, and realized he was her husband. He then figured out this was a consequence of his wish and prayers. His wife reminded him to get ready for the hospital. He picked up the phone, and a voice on the other end said, "Mr. Ram, please be on time since this is a critical surgery for the day." His inner mind felt strange, but his reality pushed him to get ready for the hospital. The day passed with several surgeries as he worked as an ortho doctor. After a long day of work, he returned home to find his wife had left dinner in a hot box. He felt unhappy with his new life and strongly wished to return to his old life.

Filled with stress and longing, he went to bed.

He was woken by a loud call from a man in simple clothes in a tiny room made of old steel sheets. A mid-aged woman called him "enga" (a term of endearment for men in Tamil) and handed him a torn bag of cobbler tools, telling him he was late for work. He headed to a busy railway station to work as a cobbler, but his pocket remained light despite a full day's work. His wife brought him a single meal for the day at noon. He felt completely lost and wanted to go back to his life as a surgeon. He was stuck with his new life and went to bed with a heavy heart.

He woke up in a drainage tank in the middle of the night. A drunken old man with a cigar called him "Boss" and led him to a closed house, which they broke into. He realized this was a nightmare and an unfair answer to his prayers. He ate all the leftover snacks and food in the kitchen. When a call came demanding 10 kilograms of gold from the house, Ram couldn't find any. He tried to run, but the owner of the house opened the door before he could. The owner offered 10 grams of gold, but Ram wanted a good meal instead. The owner's wife prepared rice, dal, and potato gravy. Ram left with a happy face, leaving his assistant to worry about the 10 kilograms of gold they owed to a Don. Ram then went back to the drainage tunnel and slept.

Ram woke up in a new life as a police officer handling a political riot. He saw a day of shouting, ordering, and striking the public. After a half-hour of battle, he saw several people dead and injured and went unconscious.

He woke up in a new life, this time as an auto driver. He almost lost his hearing due to the sound pollution and noise around the city. He wished to return to his original calm and organized life and ended his shift at midnight, rushing back to his room to sleep.

The next morning, he woke up to a devotional sound and the smell of incense. He was in an orthodox Brahmin family, and his old wife asked if he would be able to do the main pooja at the temple today. He was shocked to see his age in the mirror—he was a 70-year-old priest. His day was filled with meeting people and performing rituals at the temple. When he walked out of the temple, he read the board that said "Uthirakosamangai." He searched for the 3,000-year-old tree and sat by it, praying strongly to go back to his life.

His eyes opened to the familiar sight of the ancient jujube tree. The same old saint sat beside him with a gentle, knowing smile. The realization washed over Ram—the doctor, the cobbler, the thief, the priest—it had all been a vivid journey within his own mind, a powerful lesson from his subconscious while he meditated. He had been so focused on what he didn't have that he was blind to the richness of what he did. A deep sense of gratitude filled him as he finally saw the beauty of his own life. Ram rose, bowed to the saint, and walked away, a changed man.