Durga

Ya Devi sarva bhuteshu… the microphone intoned. The pujas were here, the chill of the morning air, the blooming lotus and the baskets of sheuli, the scent of dhoop and the slow chanting of hymns to Goddess Durga; all announced the arrival of the long-awaited Durga Puja days.

“Durga! Who named me that?” wondered Durga, sitting on the steps of the house she called her own. There, she worked happily and was treated very well. Durga had no parents, no siblings, no aunts, no uncles or any relatives in the whole wide world. Not that it mattered now to her, she was quite content with her life but her past… Durga’s eyes grew moist as she thought back.

“God knows why we have to bear this burden! Her mother died leaving her with us and she is eating into our house.”

“Arre Bhai, why are you taking out your frustration on this unfortunate child? It’s not her fault that her mother died and her father met with an accident when he went looking for a job.”

Ear pulled if she asked for her hair to be plaited, two slaps if she asked for more to eat, four slaps if she was caught playing instead of helping her aunt. For her, life could be counted in slaps and beatings.

And then fate played another trick.

The overcast skies spelt doom. The rain beat down relentlessly on the coastal villages. God’s fury descended like never before. Overnight, roads became rivers,  villages turned into lakes, people and animals drifted like logs. Durga hung on to the tree she had climbed when the water had flooded their home. Hours passed, or was it days? she did not know! This was how Durga was found; on a tree hanging on to a branch, her survival instinct so strong that she could take the battering of the rain and strong winds for so long.

The army jawan found her and was stunned. Out of four hundred people in that village; only 3 survived and she was a survivor! Her innocent face warmed the hearts of the rescue organization volunteers. After initial enquiries revealed her orphaned status, a gentleman named Tapan Das came forward to take her with him. He surmounted the baffling bureaucratic red tape to finally take her home.

Aparajita was a motherly soul. Oh Ma, what a miracle! Imagine this waif-like creature surviving! She was about fourteen perhaps but looked much younger. They looked after her, fed her well, taught her the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. She was a neatly dressed youngster who helped in the house doing what she knew to do well, sweeping, swabbing kitchen help and running errands. Playing with the toddlers Vijay and Vinny, Durga felt life was bliss, she had never been so comfortable ever in her life. Her young body blossomed healthily, she learnt how to take care of herself under the guidance of Aparajita.

Durga woke up from her reverie on hearing her name being called, Durga! Durga! Durga!

What happened? Why are your eyes moist? Why are you crying? Aparajita’s concern showed on her pleasant face.

Nothing Mashima. I was just wondering, who named me Durga and why Durga? The beautiful lotus-eyed mother deity, the invincible conqueror of Mahishasur and I have nothing in common with her. “What a waste of a beautiful name!” she sighed.

Who said you have nothing in common with Ma Durga? You represent ‘shakti’, the strength to fight adversity. After all, you have only been fighting battles all your little life. Beti, you have lost your parents, relatives, survived that raging cyclone, hanging on a tree. You are the embodiment of ‘fortitude’ and ‘resilience’. Your calm presence calms me, your Masa. Your affection envelopes all, you are the personification of ‘love’ to Vinny and Vijay. You are Durga, the ‘protector’, Durga, the ‘conqueror’, Durga, the ‘strong’. What made you think lowly of yourself? asked Aparajita, her eyes flashing. Whoever named you, did so because Ma Durga wanted you to be named after her.

Durga was overwhelmed with emotions. She felt that the Goddesses’ strength pervaded her whole being. She was Durga, not Durga the orphan, but Durga the invincible!