
Happy to share my piece ‘Navratri: The Triumph of Good over Evil’ published today 12/10/26 in the Meghalaya Times, Shillong. This is also wishing you a happy Navratri. Warm regards. Kamlesh Tripathi



Copyright@shravancharitymission
Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi
India is a land where festivals are not merely occasions for celebration. Rather, they are expressions of mythology, spirituality, culture and collective memory. Among its most vibrant festivals is Navratri, the sacred celebration of the Divine Feminine. The word Navratri is carved from two Sanskrit words: nava, meaning nine, and ratri, meaning night. These nine nights and ten days are devoted to Goddess Durga and her nine manifestations, collectively known as Navdurga.
Sharad (Ritu) Navratri culminates on Vijayadashami, or Dussehra. The festival arrives with the autumn season. This is when the monsoon begins to retreat, and the air acquires a distinctive freshness. Ardent devotees prepare for worship, and devotional bhajans fill the atmosphere.
Navratri concerns the battle between Goddess Durga and Mahishasura, a powerful demon who had obtained a boon that made him invincible. This made Mahishasura arrogant, and he started challenging the gods and threatening the cosmic order. The gods amassed their divine energies to create Goddess Durga. She possessed extraordinary strength, courage and determination. Riding a lion or tiger and wielding celestial weapons, she fought Mahishasura and eventually destroyed him.
This victory conveys much more than the defeat of a demon. It symbolises the triumph of righteousness over arrogance, wisdom over ignorance and divine order over destructive forces. Durga’s many arms represent her ability to confront several challenges simultaneously, while her lion signifies courage and mastery over fear.
In northern India, the period culminates in Dussehra, which celebrates Lord Rama’s victory over Ravana, as narrated in the Ramayana. Although the stories differ, their underlying message is similar. The evil may appear powerful, but it cannot claim an eternal victory over righteousness.
Each day of Navratri is associated with a particular manifestation of Durga, representing a distinct quality of spiritual strength—Day 1: Shailputri- the daughter of the mountains, who gives a firm foundation. Day 2: Brahmacharini, the practice of penance, teaching us devotion and perseverance. Day 3: Chandraghanta, the bearer of the crescent moon bell, inspiring courage. Day 4: Kushmanda, the cosmic creator, filling the universe with creative energy. Day 5: Skandamata, the mother of Kartikeya, offering maternal love and protection. Day 6: Katyayani, the warrior goddess, driving determination to fight injustice. Day 7: Kalaratri, the fierce destroyer of ignorance, conquering darkness and fear. Day 8: Mahagauri, the radiant ray of light, bringing purity, peace and renewal. Day 9: Siddhidatri, the giver of boons, leading to spiritual fulfilment and attainment of higher wisdom.
Through these forms, the Goddess becomes a many-sided representation of feminine power. She is compassionate yet fierce, nurturing yet fearless, and gentle yet capable of confronting the greatest adversities.
Navratri begins with Ghatasthapana, also known as Kalash Sthapana, a ritual that invokes the Goddess. Devotees establish a sacred space in their homes, offer flowers and prayers, light lamps and recite devotional texts. Many observe fasts, while others devote the nine days to meditation, charity and acts of service.
In Gujarat, Navratri is celebrated through the enchanting dances of Garba and Dandiya Raas. In West Bengal, the larger autumnal celebration takes the form of Durga Puja, with magnificent pandals, artistic idols and community festivities. In northern India, Ramlila performances bring the story of Rama to life, culminating in the burning of Ravana’s effigies on Dussehra. In southern India, traditions such as Golu, involving the display of dolls and figurines, add another dimension to the festival.
These regional variations demonstrate the extraordinary diversity of Indian culture. The rituals may differ, but devotion to the Divine Feminine and the celebration of good overcoming evil remain powerful connecting threads.
Beyond mythology and ritual, Navratri carries a message of considerable relevance to contemporary society. The battle between Durga and Mahishasura can also be understood as an inner struggle against greed, anger, jealousy, arrogance and intolerance. The demon we must conquer is not always outside us; sometimes, it resides within our own minds.
The festival also invites us to reflect on the status of women. If the Goddess is worshipped as the embodiment of Shakti, or power, then reverence for her should extend beyond temples and ceremonies. It should be reflected in the dignity, safety, equality and opportunities afforded to women in everyday life. The true spirit of worship must find expression in our conduct.
The eternal message of Navratri is beautifully simple. Darkness may persist, injustice may appear invincible, and evil may temporarily triumph. But faith, courage and righteous action can change the course of events. May Navratri inspire us not merely to worship the power of the Goddess, but also to awaken that power within ourselves.
The author is a novelist, poet, short story writer and a columnist
Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi
Author, Poet, & Columnist
*
https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com
*
Like it and Share it
*
Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:
NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION
Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)
IFSC code: BKID0006805
***
Copyright@shravancharitymission
Kindness without expecting a Reward is a form of Greatness
Kamlesh Tripathi
Baucis and Philemon are an elderly and poor couple. They live in a modest cottage in the ancient kingdom of Phrygia, a hill country in present-day Turkey. One day, the gods Jupiter and Mercury, disguised as average travellers, visit the neighbourhood seeking shelter. They knock on the doors of many wealthy households, but sadly nobody welcomes them. Finally, they reach the humble home of Baucis and Philemon. Though the couple have very little. They warmly invite the strangers inside and offer them whatever food and drink they can afford.
The story of Baucis and Philemon, narrated by the Roman poet Ovid in Metamorphoses, is an emotional tale. It is about hospitality, humility, love, gratitude and the rewards of goodness. In today’s world, where wealth and status are often mistaken for happiness, its message is very relevant.
The elderly couple’s hospitality is sincere. They do not enquire who their guests are, how wealthy they are, or what they can offer in return. They see two wayfarers in need and help them. But when their guests miraculously cause the wine vessel to refill by itself, Baucis and Philemon realise that their visitors are no ordinary men but gods.
The gods then reveal why they have come. The wealthy neighbours who refused them hospitality are punished, whereas the humble couple’s cottage is spared. The gods transform the cottage into a magnificent temple. They grant Baucis and Philemon their wish. Baucis and Philemon in turn serve the gods together and die at the same moment, so neither will have to live without the other. It happens one day in extreme old age, as they stand before the temple, the couple are transformed into two trees growing side by side: an oak and a linden. Their physical lives end, but their love remains eternally intertwined.
The story conveys several important lessons. True wealth is generosity, not possession. Baucis and Philemon are materially poor but spiritually rich. Their wealthy neighbours possess abundance but lack compassion. The story reverses the conventional creed of prosperity. Those with the least can give the most. It also celebrates hospitality as a moral virtue. A stranger should not be judged by appearance or social position. Baucis and Philemon welcome their guests not because of their godly status but simply because they are human beings in need.
Most certainly, the story celebrates faithful companionship. Their final wish is not for gold, power or immortality but to remain together. Even their morphing into trees symbolises the permanence of their love.
Likewise, in Indian culture and religious folklore, the Banyan and Neem trees are quite often grown in proximity so that their branches and roots wrap around each other. This intertwined pairing is viewed as a sacred, divine union and is called the holy marriage. In many rural parts of India, communities perform formal wedding rituals (Vriksha Vivaha) between the two trees to symbolise marital harmony, loyalty, and the balancing forces of nature.
The enduring message of Baucis and Philemon is extremely simple. Kindness offered without expecting a reward in itself is a form of greatness. In a world increasingly concerned with status, possessions and appearances, their humble cottage reminds us that a generous heart can be richer than a palace.
Writtenand posted by Kamlesh Tripathi
Author, Poet, & Columnist
*
https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com
*
Like it and Share it
*
Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:
NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION
Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)
IFSC code: BKID0006805
***

Copyright@shravancharitymission
QUOTES 4/10/26
*
You can’t become a dictator through checks and balances… TOMMY CHONG
*
Blessed influence of one true loving human soul on another! Not calculable by algebra, not deducible by logic, but mysterious, effectual, mighty as the hidden process by which the tiny seed is quickened, and bursts forth into stem and broad leaf, and glowing tasselled flower… GEORGE ELIOT
*
What insurance companies have done is to reverse the business so that public at large insures insurance companies…GERRY SPENCE
*
“You are not wrong who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.” …EDGAR ALLAN POE
*
Making new petroleum should be as simple and straightforward as brewing beer… GEORGE M CHURCH
*
Practise loving those who do not love you. Feel for those who do not feel for you. Be generous to those who are generous only to themselves. If you heap hatred on your enemy, neither he nor you can perceive the inherent beauty of your soul…. PARAMHANSA YOGANANDA
*
Shakespeare once said ‘You can smile and smile and still be a villain’.
*
‘Some people with great virtues are disagreeable, while others with great vices are delightful’… FRANCOIS DUC DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD
*
For magic and applied science alike the problem is how to subdue reality to the desires of men…CS LEWIS
*
A person is a person through other persons. None of us comes into the world fully formed. We would not know how to think, walk, speak, or behave as human beings unless we learned it from other human beings…I am because other people are… DESMOND TITU
*
The job of the Central Bank is to worry…ALICE RIVLIN
*
There are two aspects of individual harmony: the harmony between body and soul, and the harmony between individuals. All tragedy in the world, in individual and in multitude, comes from lack of harmony. And harmony is the best given by producing harmony in one’s own life….HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN
*
It is the vice of a vulgar mind to be thrilled by bigness, to think that a thousand square miles are a thousand times more wonderful than one square miles, and that a million square miles are almost the same as heaven…EM FORSTER in his novel HOWARDS END
*
At its best, schooling can be about how to make life, which is quite different from how to make a living…NEIL POSTMAN
*
What kills us isn’t one big thing, but thousands of tiny obligations we can’t turn down for fear of disappointing others…ALAIN DE BOTTOM
*
I prefer peace. But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that children can live in peace…THOMAS PAINE
*
The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion… ELISABETH KUBLER-ROSS
*
Prejudices are what fools use for reason…VOLTAIRE
Copyright@shravancharitymission
DOES GEN Z ALSO FACE THE DILEMMA OF BEING CHOSEN, LIKE RIA?
What happens when you want to marry, find a companion and build a life with someone, but no one seems willing to choose you?
That is the question at the heart of One to Tango: Ria’s Odyssey, a story that begins with Ria’s search for a life partner but gradually becomes a much larger exploration of rejection, self worth, relationships and the search for meaning.
Ria wants to marry. She wants a companion with whom she can build a life. Yet one prospective suitor after another rejects her. The writer brings the arranged marriage process vividly to life through Ria’s encounters with prospective matches. Some of these meetings are amusing, even awkwardly hilarious, because of the questions asked and the expectations placed on a prospective bride. But beneath the humour lies an uncomfortable reality. A woman is placed before strangers, observed, questioned and assessed, sometimes as though her entire future depends on marriage and on being accepted.
For Ria, the repeated rejection is not merely disappointing. It slowly begins to affect the way she sees herself. The question changes from “Why did they reject me?” to the far more painful, “Why does nobody choose me? Am I not worth anything?”
And this is where Ria’s story becomes surprisingly relevant to Gen Z. The generation that speaks more openly about independence, personal choice, compatibility and self worth may approach relationships very differently from earlier generations. Yet beneath these changing attitudes lies a very old human desire: to be loved, accepted and chosen by someone.
Many women today consciously choose singlehood and create independent, fulfilling lives. Ria’s predicament is different. She wanted marriage, but circumstances gradually push her towards a life she had never imagined for herself.
Interestingly, the book places another kind of loneliness alongside hers. Viren is married, has a daughter and holds a high profile corporate position, yet his personal life leaves him emotionally unsettled. His troubled marriage, marked by conflict, hysterical tirades and emotional turbulence, raises another uncomfortable question: can a person have a family and still feel profoundly alone?
Ria and Viren therefore enter the story from very different circumstances, yet their lives begin to intersect in ways that make the reader look beyond the simple labels of married and unmarried.
One of the most powerful sentences in the book captures this paradox:
“There are some on this planet who never get to live with someone they love, and there are many who keep kicking their partners and don’t realise the bliss of God in making them life partners.”
It is a striking thought because it turns the familiar conversation about marriage on its head. Having someone beside you does not automatically mean having companionship, just as being alone does not necessarily mean living an incomplete life.
What follows takes Ria somewhere she could never have anticipated. Her encounters with Viren become an important part of her journey, but the real transformation happens within her. Slowly, the woman who once measured her worth through the eyes of prospective partners begins to look at her life differently. Rejection starts losing its power over her, and new possibilities begin to emerge.
This is where the book becomes more than a story about finding a husband. It becomes a story about finding oneself.
The language is fluid and easy, making the book accessible without making its questions simplistic. There are moments that make you smile, moments that make you uncomfortable and moments that make you reconsider what we casually call a “settled life.”
For Gen Z and for those who came before them, the book raises a timeless question. Relationships may have changed. The way we meet people has changed. Our expectations of marriage have changed. But has the fundamental human need for companionship really changed?
And then there is the title.
Tango is traditionally a dance for two. Ria begins her journey believing that certain dances in life require another person. But what happens when the other dancer does not appear? Does the music stop?
Perhaps that is the question readers should carry into the final pages.
Because One to Tango is not simply about whether Ria finds the person she has been waiting for. It is about what she discovers along the way.
And the final turn in Ria’s journey is beautiful. It is unexpected, deeply moving and best left for the reader to experience. Revealing it would take away from the pleasure of discovering how Ria’s journey finally comes together.
Sometimes the most beautiful endings are the ones we never see coming


