THE AFFIRMATION OF MOTHERS AS GURUS

DID you know until the elections that the presiding deity of Tripura is the Devi in her supreme energy as Lalita Tripurasundari? I didn't.

- RENUKA NARAYANAN

I jumped out of my skin when I read it, because my granny's name was Lalita and her mother's name was Tripurasundari. They were so far south of the northeast, but apparently their ancestors were inhabitants of the Hindi belt who moved aeons ago via Magadha to ancient Tondaimandalam, around Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu.

The dotted lines run far and wide across the subcontinent and the Mahodadhi (the Bay of Bengal). The Indic bandwidth runs a good way into Eurasia, too. Last year, at a talk I gave on Indian culture, I was told by a young Lithuanian diplomat that her language contained many Sanskrit words.

What does all this have to do with the Devi as Lalita Tripurasundari? Just this: while ideologies may flourish and decline, we must absolutely try to live amicably and supportively with each other. So, let's not exist in disconnected mutual ignorance. Lalita Tripurasundari, the beautiful concept that we all share culturally, whatever creed we follow, calls us to the peaceful path, saying, 'Am I not yours?'