Prosperity

Part I: Happy Birthday

Bonu, my love, my sister, Aritri,

Soldier, maker of your own destiny,

You have grown and gained prosperity,

With house and home, friends and family

All the comforts of life at your feet

 

May you enjoy these and more,

May every year have bounties in store,

May you always help those who are in need,

May you never succumb to greed,

May your wisdom ever increase.

 

You can stop reading here seriously,

عيد ميلاد سعيد (Eid milad saeid), may you be happy,

But if you want to read, I have a story,

Whose meaning I hope you can see,

And live your life accordingly.

 

Part II: Kubera

 

Long ago in the Vedas it is told,

How all creation came to unfold,

There were Gods and Demons, but Bonu did you know?

That apart from these, there were the Others also?

Who were to the humans neither friend nor foe.

 

They were thieves and tricksters, prostitutes and spies,

All useful in their own way, but universally despised,

Which is why they were categorised,

As the amitra jana, the unfriendly ones,

Neither loved nor hated, merely utilized.

 

By those who wanted money, but did not want to earn,

They turned to these outcasts in order to learn,

How to get rich quick at others' expense,

And thus thrived an underworld so dense,

That the wealth of society accumulated in their dens.

 

That is how the king of their secret society

A creature named Kubera, came to be,

The epitome of opulence, the master of stealth,

Even before Lakṣmī became a Goddess,

Kubera was Dhanada, the (original) giver of wealth

 

Stories were written about him, he was invoked,

At coronations, births and weddings, so he'd be stoked,

And grant boons of power and of course hard cash,

But that did not last, and his stocks crashed,

He was replaced by a new Goddess at last.

 

Part III: Lakṣmī

 

Some say she is the daughter of the sea

Others say she was born of a muni

We know her as the Goddess Lakṣmī

Seated on a lotus, decked in finery

Worshipped always by all and sundry

 

But why does this powerful Lady,

Bow always at her husband's feet?

Why when we say 'Lakṣmī has come',

(At the birth of a daughter)

We mean it sarcastically?

 

Before she was known as a Goddess you see,

She was just the representation of money,

To be owned and used at others' mercy,

Just like a woman under Patriarchy.

(And that's why she's a 'she' not a 'he')

 

Wealth circulates, luck is unpredictable,

But she is blamed and called चञ्चला (Chanchalā) the fickle,

Men ruin themselves trying to possess her,

When they fail they call her जया (Jayā) the indomitable,

And proceed to weave an elaborate fable.

 

Of how Vishnu tamed her, made her his wife,

Raped her as Tulsi, made her take her own life,

Because in the end, even the most precious prize,

Is but an object, to be used or abused,

That's why Bonu I hope you realize.

 

Neither the pursuer nor the pursued be,

Lead your life with equanimity,

I know you're the champion of frugality,

This is just a reminder, queen; Forgive me,

For being worried sometimes, as your Didi

Once more on your annual coming of age,

Didi has this special message,

Happy Birthday sister, may you have many more,

May you visit and be welcome at any shore,

May sorrow and woe be gone from your door.

 

Indra and Hanuman

Invocation

 

Upon the waves of the milky ocean,

Using a coiled serpent as his bed,

Lies the shining deity Ranganatha

 

His lotus feet I always seek,

His praises I shall ever sing,

For wisdom lies therein.

 

Story

 

My dearest friend, sister mine,

You had always taken a shine,

To the bedtime stories I once told,

When you were not yet half as old

As you are today.

 

So I tell you another tale,

Of a hero you know and love,

Blessed with strength and fearlessness,

But was too young to know better

And abused it.

 

He liked fruits you see,

Because he was a monkey,

And in his childish fun,

Set his eyes upon the sun,

To eat it.

 

Monkey see and monkey do,

Doesn’t think things through,

Just to fulfil his desire,

Leaps high and flies higher

Into orbit.

 

Unlike another young man,

From another mythology,

Who flew wings held with wax,

Our monkey leapt into the sky,

And didn't die.

 

The sun looked at him and fled,

And to the other Gods he pled,

Save me from that crazy ape,

Who follows with mouth agape,

He'll kill me.

 

Then He who had a thousand eyes,

Firstborn of Aditi, ever wise,

Appeared at his brother's call,

And to stop the monkey small,

He punched him.

 

Mighty though he was, the ape,

Was no match for Indra the great,

And fell to the ground nearly dead,

But at his father Vayu's request,

Indra raised him.

 

Little monkey you are small but bold,

You will know better when you're old,

Until then your powers I keep,

Under lock and key, for you to use,

In emergency.

 

I resurrect you, said the King,

And heal your broken jaw,

Because in Sanskrit the same,

Is called a हनु (hanu), your name,

Shall be Hanuman.

 

Thus it happened when the time

To leap to Lanka came around

To rescue Sita and report to Ram

His awesome powers were unbound

The rest you know.

 

Benediction

 

Bonu, like your favourite God,

You have reached many heights,

The clan, the country and career,

All behold you with pride

And always will.

 

In telling you this ancient tale,

I hope to not only regale,

And pass the time, but also tell,

Know your powers and know also

Your limits.

 

Know your foes, choose your friends

For their bravery and good sense

So that they will not hesitate

To either praise you or punch you

To set you straight.

 

As in heaven the thunder wielder

As on earth the immortal ape

Guide their respective realms

So may my sister lead and protect

Her dependents.

मर्यादा

All is fair in love and war,

Quoth the party holding power,

And relentlessly pursued,

Both with equal attitude.

Did they think it would be kind,

That their lover would not mind,

Being treated just the same,

As some hapless hunting game?

 

And what of those who would fight,

For the causes that are right,

But severely lack the means,

To protect their hopes and dreams? 

So bear in mind before you raise

Your arms, or desire chase,

Let not your pleasure prevail,

Over the needs of the frail.

For as a better poet wrote,

It does transpire as in the quote,

That the strong who crush the weak

May not be shown the other cheek.