Where myths come alive

A LASTING LOVE

Why do I well up when when I see Michelle Obama dancing with disadvantaged Mumbai street kids? While Michelle hammed it up for the cameras, my eyes were on the children. Their shining eyes fixated on the hop-scotching First Lady evoked yet another tide of affection for the country I have  loved from a distance.

What is it, about these seemingly random  images  that creates such a rush of emotion  in my heart? What is it about India that resonates with me so much? 

India is the homeland of the storyteller. She is a  yellow brick road of interconnected tales that illustrate every life experience across the web of life. She  is the land  of  the transportable tales and a celebration of life’s journey. Kings and Queens rise and fall across the great tapestry of  the great Indian Tale.

Mahabarata and Ramyana, two all encompassing stories have turned the entire subcontinent into a jewelled tapestry of wisdom, mysteries and myths.

Through Mahabarata and Ramayana,  you  learn that a story is a fluid thing, one that can change names and locations, since it is mapped by the geography of the human heart.

In Indian legends, you will meet characters  that represent more than what meets the eye.  From  Goddess Hidimba in Manali to Kanyakumari in the south, the river of narratives flows unimpeded.

Every now and then,  there is a reference to mythological characters to explain real life situations. Often I have been struck by how easily and casually, a literary character  older than time  pops up as a living reference point in conversations. In India, from the beginning of time, the story of every possible human struggle and triumph and challenge  has been written for posterity  by illustrious scribes. And so successfully that thousands of years later, the story is broken up and shared like bread with strangers at a feast. The stories may vary to suit the  teller, the  time and the location but the foundation and morals,  remain the same.

Morals are not open to interpretation, since they come from stories that have been handed down arguably by the Gods. In the way they have been filtered, changed and redefined, these stories have become healing songs that live beyond their simple symbolism. And the evidence of a living story is visible everywhere in India.

During a camel safari in the moonlight, children in a remote village enact  Ramayana. Elsewhere, am guided to the point where the wheels of Ravana’s carriage etched a groove in the rock face during his frenetic flight to Sri Lanka. I also discovered that  the loyal hero of the Ramayana, Hanuman is a living presence in India, in more ways than one.

Huge statues of Hanuman and many other equally interesting  Gods tower above  teeming crowds in many places. Holy rivers bustle with early morning bathers and  with lamps and flowers. There  is  a reason and a story behind everything.

Every day, people in  India enact the codes embedded in these tales, subconsciously or  consciously and become  a part of the stories they have grown up listening to.

Along the way,  there are contemporary tales and paperbacks that can be read,  absorbed and traded for  the next one. They  signal the birth of many new stories.  Many new voices.  Many new readers. New  literary traditions.  Modern myths.

They are the voice of contemporary India peeping through the tapestry of  the past. When these contemporary tales are  flavoured with  eternity,  they become richer, tastier like slow cooked food. And you don’t have to eat the whole smorgasbord to come away replete. You can savour it in small bites, taste  each piece of story as complete in itself while acknowledging its  connection with every other story ever told.

Entranced by the tale of Shiva and Parvati, I spent six years chasing Shiva across the subcontinent. Everywhere I went, I asked for a  Shiva story and somehow magically, I found my own favourite story of  him and that journey became a story in itself.

When they say,  India is shining, what they really mean is that India is not just about the surface glitter of its changing skyline and cityscapes.

It is about the glow that resides in it heart and soul. What they are talking about is a  massive, bejeweled country replete with stories that glint and blaze brighter than jewels.