Place: The mythological museum – Gopalapuri

As I stood in front of a very realistic portrayal of Baby Krishna, opening his mouth to reveal the universe within, I was instantly transported to Dwapar Yuga. I was taking my time visiting the mythological open-air museum where one could re-live the stories that formed a great deal of my childhood growing up in India.

The mischievous cherub walked straight out of the tome of Mahabharata, into the hearts of millions Indian mothers. He is one baby most mothers dream of having- affectionate, cheerful, naughty, and beautiful. Paeans have been sung on the mother-son relationship and, Yashodha the foster-mother had her hands full dealing with baby Krishna who was fond of butter and was adoringly mischievous. Right from childhood, it was clear that he was the chosen one when he suckled the life-breath out of the demon, who was supposedly sent to kill him. Yet, the mother in Yashodha, worried about the little charmer and was kept busy taking care of the mite. He was to her the entire universe just like how the universe was controlled by Lord Vishnu in his Krishna avatar.

Place: The world beyond

Srinivas was an ordinary man facing the hardships that come from being born in a large family with neither a silver spoon nor an ability to buy one in near future. People with absolute faith in God and a belief that they get their due based on karmic influence, develop a fatalistic attitude and a stoic approach to life and hardships. Adversities were met head-on in his family and he and his siblings did their chores, along with taking care of their academics.  There were days when they had to run to school some three kilometers away particularly when they had to fetch water from the nearby pond. Faith and hard work paid off and the farming and grocery business expanded with the adult Srinivas taking on the mantle. Hiccoughs in businesses were a part of life, so each time he made losses or a bad investment, he bounced back within months. At just twenty-two, he said yes to his parents when they mooted the idea of his ‘arranged’ marriage to a comely girl, Hema. The need for progeny is something that has been passed down ages. When no child made an appearance even after two years into marriage they approached their family astrologer and prayed and performed a special puja at the temple of Gopala Krishna.  Within a year, Hema gave birth to a son, and Srinivas was over the moon.  The baby was named Gopala and soon he became the centre of their universe. When years passed and no other siblings for Gopala made an appearance, they accepted the gift of one and moved on.

Place: The mythological museum – Gopalapuri

The horses neighed to my left and the menacing men on my right with their swords drawn and the only way forward was the way ahead. I was caught in the chakravyuha and I became Abhimanyu. The brave, sixteen-year-old warrior in the truest sense was the son of Arjuna and Subhadra and a nephew of Lord Krishna. I was in this make-believe world, yet it didn’t prevent my heart from pounding with a feeling of being closed in by the men and horses from both sides. The young lad knew how to break into the humungous circular formation – by the soldiers of the enemy rank but he wasn’t aware of the strategy to exit. He entered believing his uncles to be not too far behind. He was not to know that they were prevented from entering. These thoughts were racing in my mind and before I knew it, I was standing next to a life-like statue of Abhimanyu being surrounded and slain by seven other warriors inside the Chakravyuha. I stood teary-eyed witnessing one of the darkest moments in the epic.  

 Place: The world beyond

Gopal was just eighteen when he left home dressed in a light blue shirt and was brought back, his shirt dyed red. When the SUV driven by the son of the minister jumped signal, this lad in blue shirt had no chance to avoid the impact and he was thrown up only to land on his head. No helmet on earth could save him from such an impact. From the moment they were asked to come to the hospital, Srinivas and his wife, were caught in the unrelenting maze of questions of ‘whys’ and ‘If onlys’.  The man who stood on the dock was not the one who caused the accident but another poor soul who took the blame for the accident. The couple’s absolute faith in God shook violently and they often wondered at the futility of life and all the hardships that it entailed.

Place: The mythological museum – Gopalapuri

 As I climbed down the steps to take in the scene of Narakaloka (hell), I found the whole experience squeamish. Who wants to witness the soldiers of Yamaloka, the world of death, tormenting and inflicting stringent punishment on evildoers? The river of blood made me pale and I exited the place as if the very hounds came to life and chased me! I shivered in the bright sunlight.  I sure did not want to be shipped to hell when I exited this earth.

 Place: The World Beyond

There is no manual on earth to handle the finality and irreplaceable loss that the death of a loved one brings on. There were days when Hema rushed to answer the door because she thought she heard the motorbike stop right outside the door. She often felt her son calling out to her. At times, she hurled angry words at her husband for buying the ‘death machine,’ as she called it, only to weep profusely at the guilt etched on his face. Hunger and sleep vanished. Despite growing up listening to tales that birth and death were pre-ordained and none can preempt the same; it was not easy to accept and move on. The neighbours and relatives tried to help, but none could help them handle something as personal as grief. The heaviness of the loss of their only child was too hard to bear, and they lived in the constant state of hell wondering what kind of punishment was meted out to them as they continued to exist but forgot to live.

Place: The mythological museum – Gopalapuri

A few minutes later, I found myself in Treta Yuga and into the world of Lord Rama- the ideal son, husband, and rightful heir to the kingdom of Ayodhya. The firstborn to King Dasaratha and Queen Kaushalya, he was a beloved brother to his three               half-brothers born to Queen Kaikeyi and Queen Sumitra. Lord Rama, a dutiful son keeping in norm with the then social construct accepts to go into exile for fourteen years to fulfill his father’s promise to Queen Kaikeyi.   He returns only after that period to take over the kingdom. Diwali, the festival of lights is to commemorate his return. Rama and Sita are both revered for their fortitude and idealism. This story is as familiar to me as the back of my hand and I re-lived the same looking at the sprawling depiction. My favorite character in Ramayana, is Lord Hanuman, the monkey God, who helped Lord Rama throughout the epic. A stairway going down the sculpture of Hanuman sitting atop his coiled tail delighted me, and I was amazed at the sheer imagination in making of this park as I crawled down the stairway to the world of Hanuman.

 Place: The World Beyond

‘Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.’ Srinivas might not have come across the above quote by Helen Keller. Yet, his faith in God was in his DNA.  He had to accept that certain things were not in his hands. He did not know why he had to go through such difficulties, but as the couple dived into Bhagavad Gita, a discourse between Lord Krishna and Arjuna, they found some solace. Covering all the ethical and philosophical dilemmas in its eighteen voluminous chapters; the teachings from this treatise go far beyond the war.

Surprisingly, the more they chanted the name of God, the more strength they derived from the prayers. They smiled on certain days remembering the happier times. On other days, they were prostrate with grief. They made themselves go through his cupboards and donate his clothes and books to a worthy cause. On one such occasion, Hema had to deal with an insensitive neighbour who asked, ‘How could you bring yourself to donate so soon?’ It took Hema two more days to overcome the guilt. They spent time meditating, and slowly they moved on from ‘whys’ to ‘what now’?  They drew their strength from the stories of Ramanyana and Mahabharata.  They also consoled themselves by repeating that pain and suffering are just the workings of karma brought forth from their previous births. ‘Maybe, we are paying for the sins of our previous birth,’ said Hema wiping away her tears. The journey to move forward was slow and long… a progress here and a regression there. The wound remained but what they did was develop a scab around it with the help of prayers.

Place: The mythological museum – Gopalapuri

As I stood in front of the fourth avatar of God Vishnu, the Narasimha incarnation, I quietly drank in the intricate carvings. The half-human, half-lion form brought out the fierceness as it should. He took this form to end the life of a demon, who was tormenting his ardent devotee. The demon had a boon that prevented him from being killed either by a man or an animal among others. This incarnation was supposed to be the fiercest of all, and as I saw the long claws tearing into the flesh of the demon, I shuddered. The ferocity of the eyebrows drawn together in anger, and the open mouth with its long teeth were all a part of right triumphing over the wrong. It was also believed that this incarnation was to depict a ray of hope in times of stress.

 Place: The World Beyond

 It was Hema who felt the need to do something in memory of her son. As she was reading the scriptures, it looked as if God was speaking to her.  ‘Emmandi,’ she called out. ‘Can we do something in memory of Gopala? After all, God has been kind and given us enough and more for our needs.’ Warming to the idea of leaving a lasting legacy in memory of their son, they discussed extensively and spiritedly. As both of them were entrenched in spirituality and were not too well-read; they felt it would be better to leave behind an immersive mythological park rather than something else on which they had scant knowledge. Just as they were wondering if they could carry such a mammoth project, the clouds parted and the rays of the sun fell on the photo of Gopala that hung from the wall. And thus, armed with blessings of both God and their boy, they spent their time in ideating on what they would want in memory of their son. There were days when they were assailed by doubt and if they were biting more than they could chew. But, the dogged approach to life was the only way they knew to live.

Place: The mythological museum – Gopalapuri

I stood in front of a giant depiction, where the gods and the demons were involved in their eternal battle. Here, they were churning the great cosmic ocean for the elixir of immortality. In this quest, they were being helped by Lord Vishnu who had taken the form of the turtle to support the Mandar Mountain, which was used as a churning rod. Vasuki, the cobra, beloved to Lord Shiva was the churning rope. This story is often considered a metaphorical representation of the journey of introspection.

 Place: The World Beyond

Once they decided on the building of the immersive theme park, the challenges the elderly couple faced were multi-fold. The execution was far from easy. The grief had taken its toll and both of them were not in the best of their health. They needed to take government approval. They spoke to corporates, to local politicians. Besides, they had to convince others of what they had in mind. None could visualize, leave alone make sense from the garbled thoughts of the elderly couple. They dipped into their own savings keeping a bare minimum for their own needs. But then, God does work in mysterious ways and they found relatively unknown sculptors and small-time architects who understood the mind of the elderly couple. Finances came from unexpected   quarters- a sure sign of divine intervention. Wasn’t it so, they asked each other.

Place: The mythological museum – Gopalapuri

As I walk through the seven celestial gates into the Vishnuloka also called Vaikuntum, the abode of Lord Vishnu, I feel energized. I walk into the abode of Lord Vishnu resting on  Adishesha, the snake God, atop the milky ocean with Goddess Lakshmi seated by his side. The beauty of the creation leaves me speechless. It makes me believe that I am truly transported to heaven and am in the company of the creator.

 Place: The World Beyond

 Srinivas enjoys listening to people who throng the immersive spiritual park.  Unversed to the world of Google Reviews, he decided that the best way to hear the reviews firsthand was to serve as a parking attendant!  He even accepts tips from generous souls. He shamelessly listens to the enthusiastic conversation of the visitors. Visiting the park does not come cheap. There is an entrance fee, which he uses to pay handsomely to the maintenance staff. In the early days, he wondered if the fee would prove to be a deterrent. But then he is often gratified to hear, ‘Worth every rupee. The maintenance is at par with the world’s best museums!’ Never having traveled beyond the neighboring villages and towns, this was the best compliment he could ever get. Today, he heard a young woman say over the phone, ‘Do visit Gopalapuri when you are visiting us next time around.’

Her partner leaned close to her phone and said reverently, ‘You should make a trip just  to visit this place and visit us if you have the time!’

Gratified and teary-eyed, he returned home to sit beside his wife and regaled her with what he had overheard. There have been times when they can feel Gopala listening in to their conversation, and they draw strength from that. They do wonder, why them? But then, they don’t have any answers just like most of us do not have to the happenings around us and to us.  Would they have traded this memorial with creating a live memory with their son? Yes!  But then, we all learn to play the cards we are dealt with- some better than others.

 

Foot notes:

Chakravyuha also called The Padmavuha is a multi-tiered defensive formation that looks like a blooming lotus or disc when viewed from above.

Avatar: The incarnation of a deity in human or animal form.

Image Credit: Used co-pilot to design the image

This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla
in collaboration with Dr. Preeti Chauhan.

 

This fiction was originally published in Kitaab in January 2024