Durga’s Homecoming

A new journey begins for a new Durga designated to vanquish the new Asura, more appropriately, Asuras.

After a precious interim of ten months, my little Durga was coming home. The joy was immense as was my anticipated relief. Through all my years, I never missed the opportunity of being in the proximity of the unique festival, the Durga Puja. Its exuberance overwhelms me every year and I respond to it ecstatically. But that year, it didn’t even seem that the celebrations were going on. It didn’t depress me though, for once, as I lay in bed away from the festivities that fostered the Feminine Energy of existence.

Such was her captivity. No lesser than the one Maa Durga exercises on her devotees, I pondered. I could feel her twisting and jabbing in my belly. Little could we wait to see each other.

According to Hindu mythology, Durga is created by the Gods to slay the evil demon, Mahishasura. She was born with astounding beauty and power, empowered by the collective strength and spirit of the Hindu triumvirate consisting of the three gods — Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahadev, and further bolstered by the support and sanction of the other minor gods. She received an ensemble of weapons from the Gods and eventually emerged as an ominous form for the Evil to reckon with.