He came from nowhere to the sleepy little suburb of Tirumala. He called himself Shunya, the ‘void’. His unusual behaviour evoked varied reactions among the inhabitants. Some considered him a wizard; others thought he was raving mad. Some others were enamoured and thought of him as an avadooth, an enlightened soul, and started worshipping him—they called him Saami. He chose to live in a small hut beside the local toddy shop, where he spun fascinating parables, hugged, kissed, cursed, kicked, drank black tea, and lived in total freedom. On rare occasions, he would play soul-stirring melodies on his old, bamboo-reed flute. Those who happened to hear him swore t
