Devasura- Revolt of Kali

The sun shone especially bright that day with no signs of rain. The sound of the cicadas was too loud in this part of the woods. Kali squatted on the dirty ground, digging a hole. She had been in that position for two hours now. Her tiny hands efficiently work with a small knife. It was by no means a good tool for digging the hard dirt ground yet this was all she had. The hole was too shallow even after two hours of work thus Kali had to resort to using her fingers. However, her nails were too short for the task, and her fingers pricked when they came in contact with small pebbles.

'Hurry…hurry…someone might come…' she thought.

The classes in the ashram* had already ended two hours ago, it was the time of their recess. In some minutes they would be called to eat lunch after which classes would resume again. The oppressive heat and the burning sensation in her throat running down to her flat stomach made her feel nauseous. She wanted to get it over with, her desperation led to small tears welling in her eyes.

"There she is !" A voice called from behind.

At once she knew who this voice belonged to and how much she dreaded this voice. Her skin prickled with the thought of seeing those eyes of disdain and disgust.

A part of her mind prayed that her teacher was not pointing toward her. Kali dared not to look behind.

"This is the girl you wanted." Her teacher was now on top of her. She could smell the soft scent of sandalwood from him.

"She is younger than I thought."

There was another man that she had never heard of before. His voice was gruff and baritone with a distinct accent she could not understand.

"Oh, God! Have mercy…you are still doing the barbaric acts ?" her teacher's voice boomed in anger and dejection.

"Look at me, Kali!" He called to her again. Kali sat stiffly on the ground. Surprisingly her hands did not stop. She continued to dig that hole, her fingers bleeding now.

"Kali I said look at me." Her master fumed but something in Kali felt ticked on hearing his voice. She was….angry.

Of all the times this has happened before Kali never felt this emotion surge. It was foreign and unpleasant but she could not stop it.

"Oh God!" her master then yanked her. He pulled her arms and made her stand.

"Why on hell are you killing small animals after I had told you many times to stop ." master said gritting his teeth. He was a man nearly sixty…seventy even. His long white hair was tied in a knot. He wore a white dhoti and a string lay crossed on his chest. He looked at her with repugnance, his eyes and nose squinting with distaste.

"Look at that carcass of rabbit. It has begun to rot. You waited for it to rot right? So that I might never know how brutally you killed it ?" his breath was acidic.

"No…it has started to rot in this heat. I did not need to hide from you since I don't care. " Kali said squarely. She was shocked at her remarks. She had never spoken to her master this way. There was no one in the whole world whom she respected more than her master.

"This wench!" master's face contorted and she raised his hands. Kali instinctively closed her eyes prepared to bear the impact.

"That is enough !" the man said.

Master froze in his place, his hands in the air. His eyes were wide with shock-like he was woken up from a spell.

The man looked at Kali. He was tall and daunting with a long ebony beard. Wearing purple dhoti, and shoulder cloth lined with gold laces, his neck and hands were adorned with the most sparkling jewels she had ever seen in her life. He wore a purple turban with a large red jewel that glowed in the sunlight.

Kali looked at the man. Her eyes were struck by his amber eyes like melted gold eluding a charm that was difficult to describe.

"I will take this child back to the place she truly belongs…Naraka." The man smiled.