The little devotee of Kadak Lakshmi

She haunts the quiet bylanes where I live. A small, woebegone figure wandering without purpose, a girl child carrying on her head a fearsome, crude idol of some deity. It has long, matted hair, wears cheap imitation jewelry, and bears a somewhat menacing expression. It holds a spear, and at its tip a lime is pierced like a mute, ritual offering.

Passersby dodge the girl. They ignore her outstretched hand, avoid the painfully pleading look on her wretched face. I could not. She stopped me by stepping into my path and held out a grubby palm. Her chocolate-brown eyes were wide and unblinking, almost like those of the deity she carried — but not as disturbing. Hers were soft, melting, and on the verge of tears.

I did not recognise the idol the girl was carrying from among the familiar pantheon of gods and goddesses. She said it was Kadak Lakshmi. Later I learned, from Wikipedia, that Kadak Lakshmi is a malevolent and unusual form of Goddess Lakshmi: not the bringer of wealth and prosperity, but its opposite — a bearer of strife, poverty, and misfortune.

The girl belonged to the Potraj tribe of Maharashtra — nomads who trek from city to city, living under open skies, scraping out a hand-to-mouth existence on meagre charity. I felt sorry for her. She was at that tender, innocent age when she should have been in school, playing with Barbie dolls — not wandering barefoot through lanes, begging.

All she owned was a pink plastic bag slung around her neck and a bottle of water she clutched possessively. I gave her some money. She smiled just for an instant. A flash of white lighting up a mocha face. Then it vanished, and the old sad, piercing expression returned. It stayed with me. Like the gaze of that strange, grim goddess — except that this one was only a child.

About Mark Manuel 

The above thoughts/content has been proudly copied from the wall of Sir Mark Manuel. Being interviewing almost every role model of this country and going stronger each day. Mark Manuel is a respected Mumbai editor, writer, and columnist.

With over three decades of journalism in leading publications. This includes the Free Press Journal, Times, Dainik Bhaskar, Mid-Day, and Afternoon. He is famous for his brilliant pen interviews. He himself is a TEDx speaker.

Further

His interviews have featured in several leading media houses. They include the Hindustan Times, Huffington Post, BBC, and Network 18. Almost every famous person has been interviewed by him in the country from Mother Teresa to Muhammad Ali. His first book is just out. It’s titled Moryaa Re! It is a crime thriller that is perhaps the country’s first police procedural. He began his career covering crime. And in a tribute to his experience and knowledge of this beat.

Several distinguished officers of the Mumbai Police and its Crime Branch collaborated with him to make this book possible. Amitabh Bachchan wrote the forward in a statement of friendship for Mark Manuel and admiration for his work.

About Story of Souls

Leave your comments on how you like this story. If you love it, share it to bring that change we wish to see in the world.

You can also share your inspiring story with us at submitstories.storyofsouls@gmail.com. Story of Souls is an initiative where we invite people to bring their stories to us. We want people to “write to heal.” The idea of Storyofsouls is appreciated by ALL INDIA RADIO. An Online Platform where you can share your real-life stories. The impact of our stories has reached the UN and Harvard University. For some real-life stories, web series are also planned. You can also visit our YouTube channel. You can follow us on Facebook  LinkedIn   Instagram. 

Storyofsouls is glad to inform you that we are now a Google News-verified platform.

We are proud to inform you all that storyofsouls.com is the official TEDx MotiJheel Kanpur Partner for their upcoming event.

She haunts the quiet bylanes where I live. A small, woebegone figure wandering without purpose, a girl child carrying on her head a fearsome, crude idol of some deity. It has long, matted hair, wears cheap imitation jewelry, and bears a somewhat menacing expression. It holds a spear, and at its tip a lime is pierced like a mute, ritual offering.

Passersby dodge the girl. They ignore her outstretched hand, avoid the painfully pleading look on her wretched face. I could not. She stopped me by stepping into my path and held out a grubby palm. Her chocolate-brown eyes were wide and unblinking, almost like those of the deity she carried — but not as disturbing. Hers were soft, melting, and on the verge of tears.

I did not recognise the idol the girl was carrying from among the familiar pantheon of gods and goddesses. She said it was Kadak Lakshmi. Later I learned, from Wikipedia, that Kadak Lakshmi is a malevolent and unusual form of Goddess Lakshmi: not the bringer of wealth and prosperity, but its opposite — a bearer of strife, poverty, and misfortune.

The girl belonged to the Potraj tribe of Maharashtra — nomads who trek from city to city, living under open skies, scraping out a hand-to-mouth existence on meagre charity. I felt sorry for her. She was at that tender, innocent age when she should have been in school, playing with Barbie dolls — not wandering barefoot through lanes, begging.

All she owned was a pink plastic bag slung around her neck and a bottle of water she clutched possessively. I gave her some money. She smiled just for an instant. A flash of white lighting up a mocha face. Then it vanished, and the old sad, piercing expression returned. It stayed with me. Like the gaze of that strange, grim goddess — except that this one was only a child.

About Mark Manuel 

The above thoughts/content has been proudly copied from the wall of Sir Mark Manuel. Being interviewing almost every role model of this country and going stronger each day. Mark Manuel is a respected Mumbai editor, writer, and columnist.

With over three decades of journalism in leading publications. This includes the Free Press Journal, Times, Dainik Bhaskar, Mid-Day, and Afternoon. He is famous for his brilliant pen interviews. He himself is a TEDx speaker.

Further

His interviews have featured in several leading media houses. They include the Hindustan Times, Huffington Post, BBC, and Network 18. Almost every famous person has been interviewed by him in the country from Mother Teresa to Muhammad Ali. His first book is just out. It’s titled Moryaa Re! It is a crime thriller that is perhaps the country’s first police procedural. He began his career covering crime. And in a tribute to his experience and knowledge of this beat.

Several distinguished officers of the Mumbai Police and its Crime Branch collaborated with him to make this book possible. Amitabh Bachchan wrote the forward in a statement of friendship for Mark Manuel and admiration for his work.

About Story of Souls

Leave your comments on how you like this story. If you love it, share it to bring that change we wish to see in the world.

You can also share your inspiring story with us at submitstories.storyofsouls@gmail.com. Story of Souls is an initiative where we invite people to bring their stories to us. We want people to “write to heal.” The idea of Storyofsouls is appreciated by ALL INDIA RADIO. An Online Platform where you can share your real-life stories. The impact of our stories has reached the UN and Harvard University. For some real-life stories, web series are also planned. You can also visit our YouTube channel. You can follow us on Facebook  LinkedIn   Instagram. 

Storyofsouls is glad to inform you that we are now a Google News-verified platform.

We are proud to inform you all that storyofsouls.com is the official TEDx MotiJheel Kanpur Partner for their upcoming event.