Revisiting The Story Of Durga and Mahishasura

 Let me tell you a story, my dear!'

'Oh no. Not again, Ma!'

'But why?'

'They are totally unrelatable.'

'What?!'

'Yes! A father chops off the head of his son out of anger. Replaces it with that of an elephant. An elephant is killed. Or there is a God who has five heads. Or a Goddess who steps on her husband sticks out her tongue and is called Kali. A Goddess who strings the heads of all the monsters she has killed and then wears it as a garland! Please Ma. That's tough to believe. So much violence and gore.'

I keep quiet for a moment. 'There are some more stories. Like Beauty and the Beast and...'

The children cut me short.

'Oh yes. Rapunzel lets down her hair for the prince to climb up. Cinderella is treated Iike a maid. A prince kisses the sleeping princess and wakes her up.'

The kids roll their eyes. 'We don't need bedtime stories, mum.'

I am hurt. Deeply hurt! Here, I am, having wrapped up my work fast and all set to tell them stories. But they show no interest.

I try for the last time. 'Okay. hear this out.'

"Many years ago, there was a beautiful girl. But unlike the women of her times, she was bold and defiant. She refused to bow down to anyone. She followed her heart and also her head.

The fame of her beauty and spirit spread far and wide.

There came suitors from the neighbouring kingdoms, but she refused them all.

As luck would have it, she caught the attention of the local bad guy. Huge, dark and with a devilish gleam in his eyes, he vowed to have her at any cost. He pursued her, stalked her, sent her letters and gifts. She refused them all.

That hurt his ego. He lay in wait for an opportunity and it came soon.

The girl had gone to visit her relatives in the next kingdom. It grew late while returning back.

The devil stood waiting for her. His plan was to capture her and make her his forever.

But he had underestimated the strength of his girl.

The moment he caught hold of her from behind, she grew still for a second. She did not fight back immediately. After a few minutes, the man's fingers relaxed their hold on her. That was what she was waiting for.

A sharp kick at the spot where it would hurt him the most. The man howled for a while and then fell writhing in pain.

Trained secretly in martial arts, she put up a brave fight that night and left the man on the ground, warning him of dire consequences if he dared again

The defeat strengthened the man's thirst for her and he came back again and again. Every time he deployed a new strategy. But, was smarter.

It was the last fight and he had come cleverly disguised. This time she was with her best friend, her pet, the lion.

He sniffed him out, grabbed his leg and handed him over to his friend. There was no mercy this time. The fight was finally over. The bad man died.

I finished the story and looked around. The children stared back.

'That's it.'

'Wow, that's a relevant one.'

'Yes. If you look at Maa Durga, she can be any woman like you and me. Mahishashura or the demon can be present in anyone. A woman has to learn to defeat that monster. She needs to master certain skills, polish them well and keep them aside for use when the need arises.

This is my modern version of Devi Durga's story which I was telling my children.

Navratri/Durga Puja starts on October 11 and this is the version I am sticking to.