CHAPTER ONE
Heavenly Bodies
The lights of the aurora borealis rippled through the cloudbanks above heaven, causing the sliver linings to have a rainbow hue. Delightful flute music accompanied the celestial light –show, as angles performed a ballet in the sky.
On the astral plane, the female Shakthi warriors, though dressed in full armour, were quiet and relaxed at last. The great was between good and evil, between the light and dark forces, was finally over and victory was theirs. Languidly, the women warriors patrolled the four verandahs of the seven – tiered Chariot where the Divine Mother resides; the Queen, Ambica. Relaxed yet ever alert, the women soldiers paced up and down the ramparts in a slow, measured cadence. The peace, which had, came at last, after such awful bloodshed, glowed in their faces.
A nine –year –old girl raced up the golden – tiled steps to the innermost rooms of the Chariot and skidded to a halt at the footstool of the Queen, her Mother. She collapsed on the stool and placed her face on her Mother’s knee. The Shakthi woman smiled and turned to each other, nodding, as if to say, “Bala is back! Now, only, everything can be right in heaven.” Hundreds of Shakthis gracefully arched their swan-like necks and gazed down on the favored princess, beaming their full love and adoration. Bala Devi had returned to the folds of her Mother’s skirt, and perched somewhat precariously on the royal footstool.
The beautiful Queen bent her head forward as she embraced the almost incandescent girl-child nestling in the deep satin-silk folds of her red sari.
“Who shall we fight now, Mummy?” she giggled, with a mischievous grin.
Once could almost feel the shockwaves throughout the Chariot.
“What, Bala? Would you continue to fight when we can savour the peace?” murmured the Divine Mother.
“It was fun, Mummy,” Bala said, shaking her head so that her long heavy braids danced about her smiling face. She was a fair, angelic child with well-defined features. She had a soft mouth, long wide –set dark eyes, and a slight, charming overbite typical of beautiful faces in their early development. When she smiled, her entire face broke into a radiant smile, and when she pouted, everyone wanted to kiss away her unhappiness.
“But, dear little one, we killed Bhanda, that egotistical evil demon. We killed his generals and his kith and kin. We destroyed his palace; in fact, we destroyed the entire city surrounding his palace. Why, you yourself killed all thirty of his sons with one single arrow!! Tisk, tisk! We kill as our duty, Bala, not because we enjoy killing. Besides, who is there left to fight? Please, dear, let us now enjoy the peace which has been hard won.”
The Divine Ambica gave a slight nod and a group of dancing ladies came twirling into the throne room and began their exquisitely graceful dance, accompanied by an orchestra of instruments and singers. Their costumes were gossamer silk in pale shades of sky blue yellow and peach. Tiny hands and feet, so delicately perfect, came together and then danced apart as layer upon layer of silk, woven by the angles, ballooned around them like spirits in the wind.
Bala was a little squirmy. “Try to relax now, Bala. What about your vina lessons, Bala, wouldn’t you like to continue your vina lessons? All that stopped when you joined the war. You could start
tabla also, if you like. Look at the lovely clouds up there and the moon nestling in my hair. How can you speak of war when there is such peace all around us?”
Bala turned her deep, dark brown eyes towards her Mother.
“It isn’t peaceful there, Mummy, is it?”
