##29 (Vivekananda) A Study Tour Of India Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

Starting from the North
Up to the tail end of the South,
Narendra took a study tour
Of different places all over.

He moved from Alwar
And arrived at Jaipur.
To study Sanskrit grammar
From the pundits there.

From Jaipur to Ajmer
He moved thereafter,
And saw the greatness
Of the past Muslim rules.

Against the wishes
Of a few orthodox Hindus,
He took his meals
With some Muslim officials.

From Ajmer he went
To Mount Abu and met
The Maharaja of Khetri
Who later became a devotee.

Maharaja asked for a boon
Of a male heir to the throne.
With the blessing of God,
The same Swamiji granted.

From Khetri he went
All the way to Gujarat
And then from there
He proceeded to Kathiawar.

He visited Ahmedabad,
From there next Junagad;
Then in the City of Porbandar,
As a guest of Prime Minister.

The learned Prime Minister
Was a great Sanskrit Scholar.
He told, “Swamiji, I’ve my fear,
None will appreciate you here.”

“Go to West where you’ll shine.
And you work also will shine.”
This coincided with his plan,
What he was feeling within.

Soon he moved to Baroda
And later arrived at Khandwa,
Here, to the City of Chicago
He had made a plan to go.

As a Parliament of Religions,
At Chicago, a congregation
Of various religious leaders
Was to be held later.

After visiting Mumbai.
Poona, Kolhapur, Swamiji
Arrived at Belgaum City.
Then went to Bangalore City.

Swamiji had a chance
To stay in the palace
Of Maharaja of Mysore
As a revered guest there.

He then went to Trivandrum
And next to Rameswaram
After touching Kanyakumari
In the final list of itinerary

At Rameswaram City
He met Bhaskara Setupati
The Raja of Ramnad,
Who became his friend.

Raja offered to help him
Financially at any time,
For his trip to America
As a representative of India