TANGA KAI

meaning 'golden-hand', was Bhagavan's boyhood nickname.
He was given it because whichever team he played for always won. The touch of his hand was regarded to be auspicious, so he was asked to touch some special food preparations as well. Also, Seshadri Swami had this name as a boy.

On the evening of the day after jayanti Sri Bhagavan was seated on the couch in the meditation hall. S. Narayana Aiyer, professor of mathematics in the Madurai College, told a few Stores about the time when he was at school with Bhagavan in Dindigul.

At one point he said, 'When we played team games, we would divide into two groups that were invariably headed by Ramana and me. The group led by Ramana would always win. So, the two groups would vie with each other to get ‘Tanga-kai’ as their leader.'

When Aiyer related this, Sri Bhagavan laughed and said, 'You see Narayana, I now have no body. I lost it long ago when I came here. Since I am bodiless, where is the hand that holds the title Tanga-kai? Of the two of us leaders, one of us has disappeared through the loss of his body. You, the survivor, must succeed to the title. You are now ‘Tanga-kai' Narayana. To commemorate your accession to this title you can have my old walking stick.'

It was made of sandalwood and it had been presented to him by a rich devotee. Bhagavan did not like new or expensive products. If devotees gave them, Bhagavan might use them once to make the donor happy. Afterwards, they would be put in an ashram storeroom.

While presenting the stick, Bhagavan continued, 'Do they not usually give a medal along with a title? Where am I to go for a
gold –medal? In the place of a medal, you shall have this walking stick.’
At the conclusion of his speech, Bhagavan presented Professor Narayana with the symbol of his new title.

Tanga-kai, meaning 'golden-hand', was Bhagavan's boyhood nickname.
He was given it because whichever team he played for always won. In Tamil Nadu, this name is often given to people who have demonstrated that they have a lot more luck than is statistically probable.

- Prof Krishnamurti, The Power of the Presence