Message from the heavens-Part 3

“Who was it draupadi ?”

  Who was it ? Who was it …………………….. the words just fumbled its way randomly Only to be disturbed with a sudden  jolt ….. “Mom what’s wrong with you” .Shakti woke up with a start to find her daughter leaning over her with utter bafflement ."Mom stop hallucinating  and for god’s sake make it on time at least today ,it’s your day" 17 year old Srishti spoke. Shakti kissed her daughter morning and immediately jumped out of the bed to get ready and was soon racing past the marine drive with her daughter beside her in the car. “Mom why on earth that every time you pass through marine drive you go into this sudden state of dejavu?” Shakti did not answer she just smiled away to look at the far reaches of the horizon hoping to get a glimpse of any hint that might help her unravel  the mystery of what had transpired  that night 20 years ago. She was never able to tell whether it was a dream or not but she starkly remembered what happened later. She was lying on the pavement merrily in a semiconscious state only to be woken up by Safia siddique a young journalist on her way back from work.

She helped Shakti regain her composure and accompanied her to her house where her mother in law had set up a mini inquiry commission to bombard her with questions like “where were you the whole night oops sorry to be more precise whom were you with, and who is this girl  how do you know her?” While all of this was happening Rohit did not utter a word .He saw the drama unfold between the ladies and when he got bored just quietly took his laptop and left for the office saying “I don’t have time for this crap” . Given Shakti’s state of mind she would have taken an extreme step had it not been for Safia’s timely intervention ,“Hey hey ladies relax she was with me the entire night and you must not be knowing this but your daughter in law is a famous blogger and I happened to make friends with here online. As I live nearby marine drive  she called me up when her scooty broke down” . That day marked the beginning of their beautiful companionship something that she never expected will last almost a lifetime”.Safia was with her at each and every step of her life, when her marriage was on rocks, in the delivery room during her 11 hours long labor pain, during the crucial phase when Shakti decided to pursue an MBA after motherhood and when she decided to quit her job to become a social activist. The duo together started a NGO to save helpless women and yet again she will be there on this big day.  The conversation which she had with draupadi and sita transformed her, she did not give up on her marriage and did all she can to make it work ,fulfilled  her duties as a daughter in law and wife with utmost detachment .Srishti was a gift who bought Rohit a bit close to her. If there was anything that he valued the most in his life it was his daughter. Love was something that had been quiet elusive in their relationship but shakti had no complaints because end of the day you either need love or mutual respect to make a marriage work and the couple banked on the latter .They never missed each other or never exchanged words of love but Rohit realized that his wife was different from other women and she wasn’t particularly domestic ,he did not support her in any of  her struggles for MBA or setting up a NGO but  nevertheless did not stop her either and shakti came out of her fantasies of a young bride and decided to accept her position in Rohit’s life without demanding for love. Shakti pulled the car in the parking lot and got down to be greeted by her fans. She looked up at Safia who was standing far away right behind the crowd with the same warm and enigmatic smile making shakti’s mind  replay those last words she had with draupadi

“Who was it draupadi ?”

"Krishna …..who else…….  he  truly was my soulmate, he did not owe me anything ,we were not related, he loved me even when I behaved in the most disgusting way ,he had been supporting me all along  subtly and me immersed in all the worldly illusions  failed to notice it . His love was selfless it never expected me to behave in a certain manner, it never turned into hatred or disappointment when I couldn’t live up to his expectations I was truly his krishnaa”

We all end up finding true love in some form or the other before we die don’t we… shakti reflected and made her way to address the huge gathering that was waiting to celebrate the grand success of her first book “Message from the heavens”

Message from the Heavens -Part 2

The world around her stopped making any sense to shakti “So you guys are immortals or you have been resurrected or are you ghosts hey wait you are not transparent like casper “

“Stop freaking out ok else I will javelin throw you to outer space, like how you threw your chappals.”Draupadi’s hoarse voice spoke

“Relax draupadi you know this is how these mortals react. Ohk now lets get to work”  Sita opened a long parchment that was long enough to carpet the hall of  an Indian 2BHk flat  . “This is a list of your complaints that you have been constantly registering with the  heaven right from the day  you puked cerelac on you’r mother’s sari to this very moment ”

 “ So you guys are here to solve my problems” blurted out shakti

“No shakti we will teach you to solve your own problems” sita spoke with a caressing look

“Do you know how the Ramayan and Mahabharat would have sounded had it been written by a woman”Draupadi asked her with  a jeering look.

“I am sure the Bajrang dal and VHP would have burnt that lady’s idol “

The Heroes would no longer have remained Heroes don't you think so ? The world was praises for the Hero while it failed to acknowledge how a woman’s soul was ripped apart by her very own love. A princess who was the consort of the greatest men of his times  was meted out to such absolute indifference by a society that was inhabited by noble men and you expect the kaliyug to listen to your whining “

“And you still tell all of this without  even the slightest feeling of remorse and hatred”. Shakti was baffled

“Remorse ..no I do not regret loving Ram so madly ,don’t you think it takes a lot of courage to love someone in spite of the absence of the same level of passion from the other side? As for hatred do you think I could have survived those years of captivity and subsequently the years of abandonment by my husband if I had nurtured hatred and frustration within me. I have lived a dignified life, fell in love, learnt to control my mind and stay sane during my captivity , loved myself and lived a complete life, and in the end  detached myself from all human bonds".

Shakti turned to draupadi she was indeed distractingly beautiful …. No wonder why all the five brothers wanted to have her.

“You indeed were the most controversial woman in the trethayug were’nt you ??”

  She laughed ………. “Oh yes wasn’t I the overtly audacious   woman to have married five men and the root cause of one of the bloodiest wars the mankind ever witnessed  "Well that’s how history would remember me"

“No no ….. I dint intend to offend you I am so sorry but I was just curious to know how the assertive and aggressive Draupadi let people have their will on her ”

“What else could I have done I was 16 ,a motherless child devoid of fatherly affection living on the hope of  an overprotective brother  . Kunti gave her final verdict I either had to marry all five of them or I’d be sent back to my so called father as a disgraced woman. Despite my brother’s intense love for me he had to stay tongue tied in front of the royalty”. “I cried ,wailed, created a ruckus and then finally settled down to their agreement under a 16 year old’s delusion that perhaps now I will be cared for and loved by not one but 5 men thereby filling up the void that absence of affection  had created in my childhood” 

 “The rest is the bird’s song that sings on how all the men she trusted and vouched for gambled her soul . You must derive lessons from my life shakti and try to understand how a man’s mind works. 

For men, the softer emotions are always intertwined with power and pride ,they may love you with utmost honesty but there are other things they love more like notions on loyalty,honour and reputation . Yes my husbands did avenge my insult but it was cleverly timed with circumstances that would fetch them fame and heroism”

“Then why did you decide to go on a vanvaas with the pandavas despite their folly and was the void for love ever filled?”

“Vengenance shakti it was vengenance that  aggravated my determination to venture out for that vanvaas I wanted to keep reminding them of how they let me down and it was this very same vengeance that led me to hate myself in the end when I realized that thousands of women were widowed and a million children were left fatherless in the process of extinguishing the raging fire inside me. It was vengeance that distanced me from my karma of being a mother, leaving my children to be cared for by subhadra.Don’t you think that was so selfish of me ??”

 “As for love I was so stupid to have gone searching for it my entire life while it was right there in front of me all long” there was a surreal smile on her face

“Who was it draupadi ?”