The Mind Creative SEP 2013
Lax Iyengar was a contented man although he often described himself as a “nine-to-five commoner”. He worked as a senior clerk in the New South Wales government and was very happy at his work. His wife, Parimala, stayed home and looked after the two kids and the essential needs of the family. Lax was devoid of ambition and the only expectation he had from life was to be able to retire comfortably at the end of his, rather unglamorous, career. Lax had arrived in Australia in the early in 1990 as an inconspicuous Laxman Thiruvenkatraghavan Iyengar and was quick to realize that he needed to change his name to a more pronounceable one. Soon he called himself Lax Iyengar and when his sons were born he was quick to name them Pat and Sid. Since then, life had been good to him in Australia, although he could hardly afford some of the more expensive luxuries of life. In fact, on rare occasions, Lax did pine for some of those indulgences. It was in the year 2000 that Lax suddenly, and unexpectedly, came into a large inheritance. His only maternal aunt in India passed away, leaving behind an enormous legacy for Lax that, even after converting to the Australian currency, amounted to a very substantial sum. Life, for Lax, changed in a flash. After lengthy discussions with his wife, he decided to invest the money for a future that they had always wanted. However, being a very religious and superstitious man, he was adamant about consulting an astrologer before making further decisions. It was by chance (although Lax called this divine intervention) that he was made aware of an internationally known Indian astrologer, Ram Prasad, from Fiji who was visiting his son in Australia. His visit had been widely publicized in the Indian newspapers around the country. Money was no longer a problem for Lax and without wasting any time, he got himself an appointment with the venerable gentleman from Fiji. A few days before the meeting, Lax was asked to send in his birth details to the astrologer. He diligently complied with the request and went to see him. The date was 1st of July, 2000. The meeting, however, resulted into a turning point in Lax’s life. A grave
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