Tag: Narakasura

Categories
Festive Special

Lighting Lamps of Love

Light of mine, O light, the universe is filled with your effulgence, 
My heart is yours; my eyes drown in your refulgence. 
…. 
The sky awakens, the breeze flits, the Earth laughs. 
As luminous currents surge, thousands of butterflies take flight. 

— Aalo Amar Aalo (Light, My Light), Bichitra, 1911, Rabindranath Tagore

There was a time when lights were a part of joy and celebrations as in Tagore’s poem above. Lighting lamps, people welcomed home their beloved prince Rama on Deepavali, who returned after a fourteen year exile, and during his banishment, killed the demonic Ravana. On the same day in Bengal, lamps were lit to ward off evil and celebrate the victory of Kali, (the dark woman goddess wooed by Tantrics) over the rakshasa, Raktabeeja. In the Southern part of India, lamps were lit to celebrate the victory of Krishna over Narakasura. The reasons could be many but lights and fireworks were lit to celebrate the victory of good over evil during the festival of lights.

In the current world with lines blurred between good and evil, while climate crises seeks smoke free, coal free energy, flames of fire or fireworks are often frowned upon. In these times, we can only hope to light the lamp of love — so that differences can be settled amicably without killing the helpless and innocent, infact without violence, greed, peacefully and with kindness, keeping in mind the safety of our species and our home, the Earth. We invite you to partake of our content, writings that light the lamp of love — 

Poetry

I Gather Words by Shareefa Beegam P P. Click here to read.

The Language of Dreams by Sister Lou Ella Hickman: Click here to read.

Dreams are like Stars by Mitra Samal: Click here to read.

At Teotihuacan by Jonathan Chan: Click here to read.

Love Poetry by Gayatri Majumdar: Click here to read.

Today’s Child by Atta Shad, translated from Balochi by Fazal Baloch: Click here to read.

Endless Love, Ananto Prem (Endless Love) by Tagore, translated from Bengali by Professor Fakrul Alam. Click here to read.

Prose

Hena: a short story about love and war by Nazrul, has been translated from Bengali by Sohana Manzoor. Click here to read.

Annapurna Bhavan: Lakshmi Kannan closes class divides in Chennai over a meal. Click here to read.

Rituals in the Garden: Marcelo Medone discusses motherhood, aging and loss in this poignant flash fiction from Argentina. Click here to read.

The Tree of Life: An unusual flash fiction by Parnil Yodha about a Tibetan monk. Click here to read.

Adoption: A poignant real life story by Jeanie Kortum on adopting a child. Click here to read.

The Potato Prince: A funny but poignant love story by Sohana Manzoor. Click here to read.

A Taste of Bibimbap & More: G Venkatesh revisits the kindness he that laced his travels within Korea. Click here to read. 

Therese Schumacher and Nagayoshi Nagai: A Love Story: Suzanne Kamata introduces us to one of the first German women married to a Japanese scientist and their love story. Click here to read.

Categories
Greetings from Borderless

Illuminate the World…

“Light festive lamps, make bright the night,
Shine your own lights, illuminate the world.”

— Tagore’s Autumnal Nights, translated by Professor Fakrul Alam
Courtesy: Creative Commons

Celebrating and reinforcing the victory of the human spirit over darker forces is a cathartic experience in a world reeling under the impact of senseless wars, depression and economic crises. While the Earth too upheaves changes to create new lores, we draw comfort from the perpetuation of rituals that have solaced us over centuries. These festivals are celebrated in different ways across the world on different days. But, the festival of lights has become a major one, celebrated by a diaspora across all continents. The rituals were varied but the celebrations include lighting of lamps across the board.

The Combat of Rama and Ravana (late 18th century) Courtesy: Creative Commons

Lamps were lit to celebrate Rama’s return home after destroying darker forces as Diwali among North Indians. Among those from the South and West, it was the victory of Krishna over demon Narakasur that warranted the celebration of Deepavali. And yet those from the East, celebrate Kali’s victory over the rakshasas with lamps, sparklers and prayers. The Jain and Buddhist communities also have their special observances on this day.

Krishna killing Narakasura
Kali killing Demons
Courtesy: Creative Commons

To bring to you a flavour of these festivals, we have writings by Farouk Gulsara from Malaysia on the celebration of Deepavali during his childhood; Debraj Mookerjee on Kali Puja celebrations in his ancestral home and a sample of Bibhutibhushan’s stories on the darker tantric practices — intrinsically linked to the worship of Kali along with Basudhara Roy’s review of the translation of his book by Devalina Mookerjee.

We begin our selection to jubilate this festival of lights with a translation of Tagore’s poem on light and another by Mike Smith.

Poetry

Tagore’s Paean to Light. Click here to read.

Last Lights by Mike Smith. Click here to read. 

Prose

In Dim Memories of the Festival of Lights, Farouk Gulsara takes a nostalgic trip to Deepavali celebrations in the Malaysia of his childhood. Click here to read.

In Vignettes of Life: Unhurried at Haripur, Debraj Mookerjee revisits Kali Puja in his ancestral home. Click here to read

Basudhara Roy reviews Taranath Tantrik and Other Tales from the Supernatural by Bibhutibhushan, translated from Bengali by Devalina Mookerjee. Click here to read.

An excerpt from Taranath Tantrik and Other Tales from the Supernatural by Bibhutibhushan, translated from Bengali by Devalina Mookerjee. Click here to read.

Courtesy: Creative Commons
Categories
Greetings

Festival of Lights

Courtesy: Creative Commons

After welcoming the dark half of the year with Halloween, we light lamps to observe yet one more homecoming festival — that of the legendary Rama. Though Diwali or Deepavali is interpreted variously in different parts of India, in the North, Rama’s homecoming after fourteen years of exile and victory over various demons is celebrated with the lighting of lamps and fireworks. Simultaneously, in Eastern India, they celebrate the victory of good over evil with the worship of Goddess Kali. In the Southern part, the victory of Krishna over a demon or asura known as Narakasura is jubilated. This festival is observed as a national holiday across a dozen countries now. There are a dozen different rituals, Gods and Goddesses correlated with the festivities. But victory of good over evil is a concurrent narrative along with prayers for prosperity and well being of the world. Both of these themes are a felt need in the present times.




  • Rama and Sita, 1780
  • Kali, Kalighat Painting, 1875
  • Krishna cleaves Narakasura, 1585-1590
Courtesy: Creative Commons

In keeping with the theme of light, at Borderless, we celebrate this season with stories and poems connected with lights or lamps along with narratives around the festivals themselves… all from within our treasury.

Poetry

Light a Candle by Ameenath Neena. Click here to read.

One Star by Ihlwha Choi. Click here to read.

The Candle by Matthew James Friday. Click here to read.

The Starry Night by Sunil Sharma. Click here to read.

Prose

What Ramayan taught me about my parents: Smitha R gives a humorous recap of how the legendary epic brought the family together. Click here to read.

How a dark Goddess lights up a Fallen World: Meenakshi Malhotra talks of Kali and the narrative of the festival that lights up during this festive season. Click here to read.

The Dark House: A Balochi folk tale translated by Fazal Baloch that reflects on the crucial role of light in a young girl’s life. Click here to read.

Courtesy: Creative Commons