When Sita Meets Sati. Part 1

Image Link

Which place is this? Why am I sitting here? Why no one is with me? All those people who I thought loved me.

I feel a sudden sense of panic when I find myself sitting under a large banyan tree. Alone. It’s dark but I’m able to recognize the tree because of its dangling roots and that thick large leaf that has just fallen on my lap. 

The breeze is cold and crisp. Swaying shadows of trees and a vast solitude stretch before me. I look around. Everything is misty. The dense purple sky gives me a feeling that perhaps it is about to dawn. Feeling of dawn brings hope. A tiny bright dot of hope. And right then, that bright glowing dot blinks in front of me. Like a lonely diya gleaming faraway, timidly. What’s that?

Suddenly, that dot starts to grow. Bigger. Larger. I feel a tight wedge in my throat that doesn’t allow me to swallow. My heart throbbing hard as if it’ll come out right this moment. I shuffle and search for some living creature. A silhouette of deer passes by, frolicking. That deer evokes a deep sense of loneliness in me. That Golden Deer! My heart sinks and mouth fills with bitterness as the realization dawns upon me.

That bright glow takes a human form and from that streaming light steps out a woman. Tall, beautiful radiant woman!

She is wearing a sparkling white sari which is swaying and brushing the ground smoothly as she approaches me, carrying the light with her in the form of faint halo. She has a coppery skin tone that is glowing exceptionally. Her big doe eyes are unusually black. Her long flowing hair undulates with her elegant gait. 

She comes closer, and greets me joining her delicate hands. I reciprocate, awestruck and confused. She sits beside me; confidence and poise in her every movement. She turns towards me and raises an eyebrow artistically. I exhale, realizing that I have been holding my breath. Then, she looks towards the vast dark expansion.

“You know,” she starts. Her voice comes as an echo and melts into my ear. Sharp yet polite. Sweet yet firm. Assuring yet confronting. “…agony is inevitable. No matter how hard you try, misery will be thrown at you all the time." She finishes and looks at me. Her eyes piercing as if reading my thoughts. Not just reading my thoughts but as if she knows everything about me. There is a tiny trident mark on her broad forehead.

“Who are you?” I am startled to hear my own voice. It comes out as a whisper.

“I am Sati.”

Mata Sati? I gasp! Am I that fortunate to meet her in person? I feel my agony melting away. I bow to greet her, joining my hands. She holds me affectionately, and smiles. 

"Why do you talk about agony? You are fortunate to have Mahadev with you. To love you more than his own life. Never leaving you even when you were..." 

"You are right." Her eyes gleams. I am not sure if it's pride or happiness or distress. "But, what you don't know is that even Mahadev had abandoned me," she says.

To Be Continued...


When Sita Meets Sati Part 2.

When Sita Meets Sati Part 3

When Sita Meets Sati Part 4 (Final)

Sharing with BarAThon Challenge (Theme: What You Don't Know)