Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
It was a stormy night the day that Sujatha Srivatsan went into labor. She nodded off into sleep while waiting for her contractions to become more frequent and dreamt a strange dream, in which a large serpent was uncoiling itself in the midst of a milky white ocean and drawing itself to its magnificent height. With a hiss and a splash, it submerged itself into the ocean and suddenly entered her womb.
Sujatha awoke with a start and shook her head to rid herself of the strange dream. Her husband would laugh when she told him. A snake entering her womb?
"This is not the stone age, my dear, he would snort sarcastically.
Her husband was the last child of a large family of six children. His mother, father and five siblings were all highly religious, but her husband did not conform to any of their beliefs, much to their chagrin. He was a scientist by profession and believed organized religion was both foolish and dangerous. She too tended to agree with him. She had never felt God's presence in life. That is not to say they did not believe in some spiritual entity. Perhaps there was something out there that took care of the world, but ultimately it was man who was in control of his own life.
Blaming her hormones for the strange dream, Sujatha suddenly screamed as she felt a sharp pain tear through her womb. It was time. The contractions were closer.
A mere hour later, Sujatha was delivered of a beautiful baby boy, who was milky white in complexion and opened his eyes almost immediately after birth. As she gazed into the infant's eyes, Sujatha shivered. This little babe seemed wise beyond his years, as if he could read into her soul.
Srivatsan's family, orthodox in their beliefs, were happy that a male child had been born first, though Sujatha and Srivatsan would have been equally happy with a girl.
Srivatsan's mother insisted on the child being named Seshadri, as according to his horoscope he was blessed by the great Snake Lord of Hindu puranas.
Srivatsan neither believed in horoscopes nor the puranas, which he termed "mythological nonsense, but in order to appease his mother, who could be quite stubborn when it came to getting her way, he agreed to the name.
Sujatha insisted the child be called Seshu as a nickname, as it sounded more modern than Seshadri.
1 year later
United States of America
Shawnee, Kansas
Separated by oceans and many countries, in the quiet suburban town of Shawnee, Kansas, a young couple checked into the emergency room of a hospital. The wife, a pretty Indian woman who had recently come to the US from India following her marriage, was going into labor and she was terrified. She was alone in this cold, quiet country, with no family to support her except her husband. She didn't know how she was going to bring up her children without the backing of her extended family. In India, her parents and her husband's parents, as well as their siblings, would have jumped at the chance to help care for the children, but here it would be up to her and her husband to raise them. Would they be able to do it? Would they be able to give their children the right values, and raise them to love and respect their culture, surrounded as they were by various other cultures in America?
Despite Santoshi Ramaraju's worries, she had a relatively easy labor and her two twin sons, born minutes apart, were soon snug in her arms while the doctors and nurses bustled around making her comfortable. Her husband, Gopal, beaming with pride at the sight of his children, stood nearby with hands clasped behind his back.
The two boys were registered as Raghunath and Krishna Ramaraju on their birth certificates, and they had been born on December 25, Christmas Day.
This day was celebrated as the birth of Jesus Christ in Christianity, and the nurses who delivered the Ramaraju twins had to miss Sunday service at their Church.
But one of the nurses, a very religious Christian lady, thought to herself that she felt as if she had not missed the Christmas service at all. There appeared to be such a divine aura in the maternity ward that night, and as she held the infant babies the moment they left their mother's womb, she felt as if she was blessed by the Lord himself.
This was truly a remarkable Christmas, one she would never forget.
2 years later
Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India
Pushpa Vedula lay on the floor of her dusty old flat, her face sweating from the pain of labor. The midwife who had come to help with the labor spoke kind words to ease her pain, but Pushpa did not mind the pain so much. She would bear as much of it as necessary to deliver her darling child, her daughter.
She knew she was carrying a girl. She just knew, and she loved this little girl child with every fibre of her being. But she feared for her.
Pushpa was a frail woman, and the abuse she'd suffered from her husband had weakened her body considerably. She knew she would not survive this birth. She would never be able to raise the little girl who was so close to her heart.
She feared for her daughter.
Her husband had demanded a male child. He said he would not tolerate the burden of a female. He would not spend one paisa on her.
What would become of this girl?
Pushpa was relieved about one thing. Her husband's mother, a kindly old lady, would take care of the baby girl. She would raise her, and not one word from her son would affect her. If there was one woman that Harish Vedula feared above others, it was his mother. She was a formidable and stubborn lady, but she had a heart of gold.
Atthaya, I leave this girl in your hands,' Pushpa thought weakly. With a pained moan, she pushed the baby out of her womb and smiled at the sound of the cries that filled the room.
The midwife swaddled the baby and placed her in her mother's arms. Pushpa looked into the beautiful face of her daughter. Unlike most newborns, this baby wasn't red or wrinkled. She was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Her face glistened with a divine aura, and she had a complexion as fair as the moon. Her soft body resembled that of a delicate lotus flower.
"Padmaja, Pushpa murmured reverentially. In her heart, she knew who her daughter was, and she felt blessed to have had the opportunity bear her in her womb. "My darling little Padmaja, may you have the strength to bear the cruelty of this world. May you be stronger than I ever was, my little one.
When Bhramaramba, Harish's mother, entered their flat an hour later, she found her daughter-in-law lying comatose on the floor, the midwife holding a bundle in her arms sadly, shaking her head. Nearby stood her son, an angry expression on his face.
Tears streaming down her eyes, Bhramaramba offered prayers to the Lord for her daughter-in-law's departed soul.
"Take this little brat and leave her somewhere in the filth outside! Bhramarambha's son roared, "My useless wife could not even give me a son before she died, good riddance!
"Shut up, Harish! Bhramarambha snapped. She took the baby into her arms and held her close, "How could you say such a thing about your own daughter? A daughter symbolizes fortune, and by dishonoring her you will never prosper.
"Fortune? Harish sneered, "A daughter is a financial burden, and any man who thinks otherwise is a fool. I have no need for this brat.
"Until you love this child, you will never prosper, his mother told him coldly, "This girl will go nowhere. Padmaja will be raised in this house only, and I will care for all her needs.
Harish glared at his mother, and he looked at his daughter hatefully, but he did not argue. He had need for his mother, who had a small fortune saved in her bank account left to her by her late husband.
Harish, a drunk and gambler, had depleted his own fortune within a year after receiving it, and he now coveted his mother's. However, old Bhramaramba Vedula was no fool. A sharp and shrewd woman, she tied up her account in such a way that her son could never touch it, and Harish nursed a hope that if he gave in to his mother's wishes, she would leave the money to him when she finally died. After all, who else did she have?
"Fine, he spat, "Keep the child, but whatever she needs, you will pay for it. I shall have nothing to do with her. With that, he stalked out of the house and slammed the door shut.
Bhramaramba closed her eyes and felt a heavy weight in her heart. Lord, let me live long enough to raise this child properly,' she prayed, Let me be able to give her a good life.'
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
At the exact same moment that little Padmaja Vedula entered the world, another girl child was born elsewhere. Though they were separated by distance, these two girls were joined by the heart.
Sujatha Srivatsan moaned in pain as she pushed out the child within her. Her first labor had been so easy. Seshu had been born within minutes of her water breaking, but this child had kept her in the delivery room for 15 hours. It was a blessing when the doctors told her she could finally push the child out.
"Almost there! one doctor exclaimed, "I can see the crown of the head. Just one more push, Sujatha!
Grimacing, Sujatha used every ounce of her energy and gave one big push.
The hearty cries of an infant filled the room, and Sujatha fell back against her pillow, breathing heavily and wiping the sweat off her brow.
"It's a girl! the doctor announced, laying the bawling infant in her arms.
"A girl! Sujatha's face broke into a delighted smile, and all the pain of labor was forgotten. After Seshu, she had wanted a girl so badly, and her wish was fulfilled. Now their family was perfect, it was complete.
This little girl was ethereal. Like Seshu, she was neither red nor wrinkled like the typical newborn. And yet, she looked completely different from her brother. Whereas Seshu was as pale as milk, this little girl had the complexion of molten gold. Seshu had very thin eyes, and when he slept they almost appeared like the slits of a snake. This little girl had big, wide eyes which now stared curiously into her own.
"This child is no weakling, the doctor chuckled, "She is hearty and strong.
"It is a pity, her complexion, one of the nurses whispered nearby, "With skin as dusky as hers, how will she ever marry?
Sujatha glared at the nurse and hugged her daughter close to her chest. What was it with people, predicting a child's life from infancy itself, passing judgment and making assumptions?
"You are ethereal, my love, she whispered to her daughter, "You are the prettiest little girl I have ever laid eyes on, and I love you just the way you are.
Her husband and son soon joined her, and they were overjoyed with the birth of their daughter and sister. Little Seshu, now three years old, climbed atop her bed and kissed his baby sister's cheek. He held her hand protectively, and the baby's fist enclosed his in a strong grip.
Sujatha wanted to give her daughter a modern name, something like Alisha or Natasha. All her friends gave their daughters such trendy names, but yet again her husband's mother interfered.
"Her name is Prakriti, the old woman insisted, peering into the girl's face, "This girl, she will give you much grief playing in dirt and bringing home various insects and reptiles.
But there was a fond smile on the older woman's lips as she said this, and thus Sujatha let her have her way yet again. She was frustrated with the judgments her extended family had been passing on Prakriti's complexion since they'd brought her home from the hospital. What she saw as a beautiful gold, they called dark and ugly. Srivatsan's mother was the first one who approved of the child, and thus she would be rewarded by choosing the name for the girl, even if it was not trendy.
Srivatsan's mother was a wiser woman than her son and daughter-in-law realized. She was a great believer in astrology. She herself was a renowned astrologer and had looked at the horoscopes of these two children the moment they were born. They were not ordinary children. They had a great divine energy radiating through them, and what greater irony than the fact that they were born to two such people, who did not believe in such "supernatural nonsense?
"This girl, she will keep Mother Nature herself on her toes, she chuckled. The baby gave a delighted gurgle, as if she agreed with her grandmother's statement.
~*~
Sage Narada glanced at Bhuloka with perplexity.
"Narayan, Narayan! he cried, "What irony is this, Prabhu?
"Narada, why do you look so perplexed? Lord Brahma asked his son with amusement.
"Pitamaha, what twist of fate is this? Mata Shridevi is born to a father who, being infatuated with money, does not recognize the prosperity that lies in his daughter, and Mata Bhudevi is faced with the contempt of the world for her appearance, which is lauded by saints and gods since the beginning of time!
"Narada, what exactly is your concern? asked Lord Brahma with a serene smile.
Narada looked deeply concerned. "Pitamaha, Mahalakshmi is Anagha, one who is without blemish and possesses utmost beauty. She is Daridriyanshini, one who removes poverty. How can her incarnations be born in such households, which do not respect them? How can Shridevi be born in a house which is Shri-heen, and how can Bhudevi be born in a house in which her appearance is considered a liability? What is the meaning of this?
"Narada, this is the Lord's leela, Brahma spoke gently, "Prabhu and Devi, through their incarnations, will teach the world the value of humanity. They will seek to break the factors which humans use to attack and humiliate each other. For that to happen, they themselves must suffer first. Through suffering comes a better life, and this is a lesson humanity is much in need of.
"Narayan, Narayan! If it is this difficult for me to see my Mother insulted, then how much more my Prabhu Shri Hari must be in pain! Narada said with tears in his eyes.
United States of America
Shawnee, Kansas
As if in answer to his supposition, the toddlers Raghunath and Krishna began crying, much to their parents' confusion. Their faces reflected the pain they felt, seeing their soulmates thus humiliated.
Their mother, now pregnant again with her third child, waddled over to them picked one of them up, while their father held the other.
"Hush, little one! Santoshi murmured, "What is bothering you so much? See, your little sister is watching you through my stomach. Don't you want to be a good example for her?
"Only two more months, and little Vimala will join our family! Gopal added cheerfully. They had decided on the name for their daughter after much discussion. Vimala had been the name of his great-grandmother, and somehow it seemed the right choice for his own daughter.
Santoshi placed a hand on her stomach and beamed with happiness. She could not wait for her daughter to be born.
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