Prithvi... [Vol 5]

Chapter 126

Nandini held her bag close as the road grew increasingly congested because of the bustling crowd and the vehicles trying to push ahead through the narrow lane. Her umbrella stayed in the bag despite the steady drizzle. Small stones and other pieces of debris poked at her feet frequently, making her slow down at times, but she didn't stop walking. Once she got through this rough patch of road, she could enter the short, serene path that led to the small shrine of Goddess Kali.

It was one of the temples that she and her friends visited every year during Navrati, the nine days when the divine mother was worshipped across India. But she had begun frequenting it every Friday because the beautiful idol reminded her of the fierce goddess whose glorious temple was perched atop a hill. And the goddess was the same everywhere, wasn't she...the mother who loved her children unconditionally and would destroy anything that threatened to harm them.

Nandini's speed picked up as she neared the two small shops just outside the temple. The shopkeepers didn't ask her what she wanted. They knew by now. The man in the first shop gave her a small plastic basket contains miscellaneous items of worship. The woman who ran the next store gave her a beautiful garland of red hibiscus. She paid for both, and then turned towards the temple.

An old man was waiting near the its entrance, a sturdy stick in his hands and a blanket wrapped around his thin body. He still radiated compassion. Yet, this time, the wise eyes also contained sorrow and regret. He gave her an immeasurably sad smile, and shook his head slowly. Then he turned and ambled away, eventually disappearing into the crowd.

Nandini heard someone asking her to take shelter because of the rain. Someone else was shouting at her for blocking the path.

She didn't respond to anyone. After she felt strong enough, she proceeded towards the temple. 

Long ago, her grandfather had explained to her the unique and extraordinary connection between a family and its ancestral tutelary deity, the kuldevata. It was the kuldevata who protected family members, generation after generation, her grandfather had said. And if a person offered sincere and pure prayers to the family deity, they would be showered with celestial grace as well as the blessings of the ancestors, which would act as a powerful shield against the biggest problems...

Inside the shrine, Nandini made her offerings, and then moved back slightly to allow others to do the same. 

Her watery gaze was fixed on the deity. As always, she felt transported to the holy sanctum of the Goddess Aadya, with the beautiful energy in the air, the brass ghee lamps, and the fragrance of incense and flowers...and the one she loved by her side...

Pouring all her emotions into words, she shut tearful eyes and prayed for Prithvi.

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The monsoon wept its heart out with an unusual pathos into the soil of Shamli that year. Everyone was glad at first, because it meant there wouldn't be any issues with water supply. But then the grumblings began about the disruption caused in their daily routines, especially with roads getting flooded at times. Soon, the torrential rains were the main subject of discussion almost everywhere.

During all those discussions, like an automaton, Nandini murmured the weather-related complaints that were expected of her.

It wasn't that she hadn't experienced the difficulties that others had. She too had waded through waterlogged streets on some days, the buses that took her to college or elsewhere in the town were often late, many autorickshaws would refuse to ply in the bad weather, and the vehicles often got stuck in traffic.