Looking Beyond

By Banani Sikdar

Hindu mythology is intriguing. The most important portfolios are bagged by the Goddesses.. Ma Durga is the Prime Minister. She is beautiful, intelligent, responsible , proud, powerful and fearless..her ten hands signify that she is a multitasker.. Just perfect for the post..Goddess Saraswati holds the department of Education.. Goddess Laxmi controls the Finance department. Both are equally adorable.. However, education although is a must but abhorred by most.. Whereas money is a must and mostly sought after.. Hence we worship Goddess Saraswati only once in a year and Goddess Laxmi daily.. Goddess Kali holds the high profile portfolio of Defence.. She is a dark beauty. She proves that if fair fares fairly then dark also fares fairly well. She is scantily clothed.. We cannot expect her to fight the demons draped in a gorgeous silky saree.. And her most authentic ethnic monster headed garland suits her so well and makes her look undaunted.. She is a sheer beauty.. We look at her awestruck.. She evokes both adoration and veneration in equal measure...Ma Durga's two sons are two extreme contrasts.. Lord Kartik is on the flipside.. He is a victim of his own delicate features.. He is very good looking but not handsome.. He lacks the starspark .. Too delicate features can be fascinating but not appealing.. In starc contrast is his brother Lord Ganesh.. He has the most unique features and requires an equatorial belt to fix his pantaloons.. But it's worth it... Afterall the circumference of his popularity is also equatorial.. He is the prodigal child who never really grows up and is an essential family toy.. We adore him for what he is..Among the three Gods,, Lord Brahma, the Creator,, is rather aloof and short tempered... May be because he looks at his creation more often than Lord Vishnu, the Preserver who is ever relaxing on a literally flowery bed who can't take his eyes off his beautiful wife.. Perhaps beauty is an obstruction to duty..

Lord Vishnu needs to take a walk around his duty zone.. Lord Shiva the Destroyer,,is an icon of positivity.. He easily catches the attention because of his masculine features,, ease and poise.. He is benevolent yet tough.. He is moonstruck and has a healthy enough system to digest even poison.. No wonder he is most comfortable with a huge reptile muffling him.. We all look forward to him to bless us with strength n energy.. He does not require to perform a Tandava because the destruction part has already been taken care of by the human beings.. Lord Shani is stern and more of a critic who puts us through various trials to test our tenacity and mental strength.. He is a venerable God and hence we find small chambers of Lord Shani almost in every corner of our habitats. Dear Lord,, test us less and bless us more.. Lord Krishna is a five star God.. Extremely intelligent and handsome. With his designer brain he can plan a most strategic war and woo a hundred women all at a time.. His companionship is most sought after.. Even the legendary Droupadi is Krishnaa because of Krishna.. The Radha Krishna couple is the most glorified illicit couple.. An extremely popular God. 

The various deities play significant roles in our lives.. We,the women community will be totally satisfied with one tenth of the beauty of Ma Durga minus her eight hands.. Managing ten hands is only Ma Durga's cup of tea.. With ten hands managing household chores might be easier but the maintenance like manicure, nail painting or adorning with jewellery will be far too complex. And just imagine the plight of a prospective groom... How many engagement rings should he ideally buy??One or ten??Utterly confusing.. So we are best being two handed..

Men and women are only elder or older versions of boys and girls.. Girls can be easily like Laxmi or Saraswati.. Both are equally welcome in the society but in case you want to be absolutely trendy,,, go skimpy but do wear some scull jewellery so that you look alluring yet intimidating enough to deter wolfish saliva..

Boys have a wide range of choices.. They are born happy go lucky..so they are acceptable in any form......intelligent, creative, soft, sober, dull, rude, moody, easy and laidback, flirtatious, drugaholic or alcoholic depending on success or failure..

Dear Gods and Goddesses please stay original... Please don't change.. Because we humans are changing like the shape of feathery clouds.. We seek Your blessings for stability and sustainability..

By Banani Sikdar