Ambareesh Teaches Me the
Facts of Myths

chillibreeze writer — Shubhrata Shankar

Once upon a time, they were the colors from a huge palette that shaded my vacations - fairytales that rendered a magical shade to my childhood. Amar Chitra Katha left an indelible imprint of yonder day queens, lithe nymphs, slender maidens like Shakunthala; of forts and castles, of kingdoms and battles fought, of Lord Krishna and Rama.

Gradually, mystery novels like Nancy Drew and books by Enid Blyton invaded the house and we preteens were always on the lookout for an adventure! Then landed adolescence with an awkward thud which precipitated the fascination for Mills and Boon novels!

So it’s but natural that I glut Ambareesh’s childhood with books! However, while my gullible mind lapped up all that the colorful pages dished out, little Ambareesh’s skilful mind scrutinizes the books and reasons out so well, that I’m sure it could make Vyasa and Valmiki revise their creations!

I narrate the immortal tale of the Lion headed Narahasimha and how he vanquished the demon Hiranyakashipu. Ambu listens with rapt attention, with his marble sized pupils dilating rapidly at my every spoken word! I explain how Prahlad was pushed down titanic mountains by his father Hiranyakashipu and how little Prahlad’s unswerving faith in the Lord, saved him from getting hurt.

Just as I slip into the kitchen to get more food for Ambu’s, I hear the doorknob turning and find him on top of the stairs! There he’s grinning and raring to go… aiming to dive, announcing that Lord Krishna would save him!

Whisking him down, I break into a cold sweat not because of my timely feat, but at the question that awaits a befitting reply, “Won’t Krishna come to save me?” “That was Prahlad who never misbehaved and always thought of the Lord. You first try to be like him and then see.” I challenge Ambu and pat come the reply, “You always say God answers if we call him. Even if we’re bad; he’ll come if we say sorry!”

Ambu kicks the wall hard to see if Narhasimha would emerge from the pillars. Seeing him writhe in pain I grab the chance to explain, “See you’re in pain. It’s the Lord in the walls who has punished you.” I continue with the story, “Clever Hiranyakashipu asked for a boon that he should not be slain by man or by beast, neither during the day, nor at night, neither inside nor outside…”

I repeat each line and explain, “Can it be possible - Neither by man nor by beast? Is it possible- Neither during the day nor at night? You know after the day that is after the sun sets, comes the night, after the night comes the day. So that was crafty Hiranyakashipu’s plan to evade death.” My enthusiasm as a narrator crumbles as Ambu comments, “Hey, after the day, comes evening. Only then comes the night!”

I introduce him to the world of CDs, illustrating epics. He watches the Ramayana CD with great absorption. I feel nothing less than Veermata Jijabai who was instrumental in instilling righteous values in her valiant son’s mind. My pride is short-lived, as Ambareesh who never minced words, questions, “Amma why is this Lord Ram such a fightercock? He’s always fighting with people.”

In psychology we learned that behavior can be taught by role modeling and imitation. Today’s children teach us that questioning behavior can also mold behavior.

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in April, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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—About our writer:

Shubhrata Shankar is passionate about writing, reading, singing and the occult. She writes short stories on life in general, her son being the protagonist in most stories. She is a Feng Shui practitioner and Tarot card reader who writes prediction columns in the magazine, ‘Green Business’. She enjoys any form of creative writing, especially travel writing. Passionate about music, she performs for a select audience in Mumbai.

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Ambareesh Teaches Me the Facts of Myths

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Ambareesh Teaches Me the
Facts of Myths