Nishikanto’s vairagya was noticeable to all. When his maternal grandmother came to visit him, she thought of a brainwave that would cool down the wandering temperament of her grandson. She decided to get Nishikanto, who was then fifteen years of age, married to a village girl whom she had selected. But Nishikanto refused to marry the girl as he had once seen her sucking a mango sitting on a tree, with the juice rolling down her arm. He had developed an instant disliking for her and he decided to renounce the world and become an ascetic without any further delay. On that very night when everyone was fast asleep, he gathered a warm blanket, some clothes and his notebooks where he had penned his poems and left the house. While on his way he suddenly realized that an ascetic mustn’t have any worldly attachments. He returned to his house, took an ordinary blanket instead of the warm one, discarded his clothes, threw his precious notebooks into a well and left for his unknown destination.

…   more »