Talent: Nothing to be proud of!

Sarvam Sree Krishnaarpanam Astu

Om Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

Talent: Nothing to be proud of!

You would have come across many people in your every-day life, — who believe they are past the phase of their life where they could have been at the peak of what they wanted to do and what they believe they are good at. They always say that “For the amount of talent I had, if only fortune had favored me, things would have been different…” You will see most people saying this to claim not just that they ‘were’ good at something, but also, it was just ‘darn bad luck’ that had kept them away from what they perceive as ‘success.’

What is success? The definition of it changes from person to person. For some its about wealth, for some its about fame, or at least recognition, for some its peace, for fewer, its about having the freedom to do what one likes, and for all, it’s the sense of accomplishment. Achievers in any field are far and few. Most people can be good, but ‘greatness’ is not for all. And people equate it to fortune. And in the age of social media and its insidious penetration into every mind in the world, irrespective of social class, wealth or age, people’s exposure to ‘successful’ people, the outlier, is now greater than ever. The mediocre is never celebrated, and why would they? Outliers sell. And much of the world is mediocre. Not that there is anything wrong with mediocrity. But the perception that ‘everything is right with success’ is what makes people unsatisfied about their own life, and feel insufficient about their own competence (which they seldom admit). It is also exactly what makes people go into the ‘could have, would have, should have’ downstream, in their desperation to stay afloat and relevant in the flood of billions.

Talent is so overrated. Every single person has talent. What they are talented at varies, and most people don’t explore the options (roles) available in the ‘game’ of life to even find out what they are good at. Instead, they get attracted to the few roles that frequently get the world’s attention and compare their own prowess at those roles, and yearn to be recognized as a great in them. Sports (only popular ones, mind you), movies, literature, art, photography (a common trend in social media), music (who hasn’t dreamt of riffing a shining electric guitar on stage, while girls shrieked and threw their panties at you), technology (among the savvy lot), are some fields where the achievement of success is obvious (in their visibility) and the celebration is perceived to be long-lasting. Every field, and every skill takes time for learning, practicing, and mastering and there is no short cut to it. This is obvious for any field, so I am not writing about that in length in this discussion.

‘Success’ in the most common sense is easy, when people find out what they are naturally good at (i.e. talented) and develop their skills in those particular fields (yes, one can be talented in more than one field). The secret of success, I believe, is indeed a combination of hard work, discipline, persistence, desperation, intospection, detachment from emotions, sacrifices, marketing, indeed luck...just a bit though, and talent, which can help in a big way, among others. The perennial whiners can cease to be so, if they followed a few steps in life. I am not going to say anything new or ground-breaking, but sometimes it’s the obvious that need restating.

Evaluate:

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye

shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh

findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

 

-Matthew 7:7–8

 

This is indeed true, if only one knew what to ask, where to seek, and to whom to knock at. If the right things are done, anything can be achieved. So find out what exactly you want, and what needs to be done to get it.

Hard Work: 

Grafting long hours in the creation of something or the mastering of some talent is no easy task. Smart work is a core subsect of hard work, in the sense that you have the smarts to know what requires more effort, what can be avoided, and what can be automated or delegated.

Discipline: 

Discipline is after all repeating hard work day in and day out, irrespective of the wavering moods and the distractions of life. One workaround to overcome this particular problem is to use your 'pursuit of a goal' as an escape from the distractions of life. "Escape into your work!"

Persistence: 

It is the ability to keep fighting despite rejections, defeats and every attempt by the universe to push you farther from your goal. Push so hard, that even the universe cheers for you.

Introspection: 

Analyzing objectively what you are and what you are not good at, what could be done to correct the mistakes, and compensate for whatever is lacking.

Desperation: 

Desperation is when nothing but the achievement of your goal is acceptable. Everyone can dream of doing anything, but only few are unsatiated by mere dreams.

Detachment of emotions: 

Claiming to be passionate about something sounds good, but when you are passionate about something, and when anything that challenges your object of passion or threatens to derail it, can turn you emotional, then it’s a big obstacle. A trauma from pain has a deeper engraving in your psyche, than a good memory from pleasure. This is good and is the way of nature to keep you alive. Pain, which in turn causes fear, is needed for a deer to escape from a lion hiding amidst the grass. Temptation, caused by past pleasure, is what gets a fly trapped by a pitcher plant, luring it with its colors, scents and a promise of pleasure. Similarly, humans remember the pain of past rejections and failures more than the pleasant memories of successes. When a failure or rejection rears its head, we tend to list down all our past failures, equate this failure with them, and claim that ‘luck’ has never been with us.

When a rejection occurs, you need to go into an objective mode and treat this rejection or failure as a separate event/incident from the past. This is needed to circumspect and do the ‘right’ things to get the required result.

Sacrifices: 

Time for any being is limited. As many experiences as one wants to enjoy, choosing what is important is highly necessary. In an attempt to experience all, one might miss out on everything. And when a long-term goal has to be achieved, sorting out everything that is below this goal in the order of importance, and sacrificing a few of them for the sake of this superior goal, is essential. Prioritizing and eliminating the unnecessary is crucial, as along with time, energy one can spend, is also limited. Sacrifices help you divert your energy onto something that you want more than the one you are sacrificing.

Stop with the facade: 

People tend to drop names, show off, exaggerate just to grab and retain the attention and approval of others. Why would you want to claim that you knew a celebrity from their childhood and had played together? It only highlights that despite coming from similar backgrounds, that person has achieved much more than you have thus far in life. Exaggerating one's ability will also make them start to falsely believe in them. Belief should indeed be in oneself, not in their exaggerated versions of themselves. This will also prevent the individual from correctly identifying what they lack and how they could fix it. Showing off can work only for a limited time. Your true nature will eventually be found out. The greater the temporary good impression made through pretensions and affectations, the greater will be the disgust and disrespect faced, when the true nature is inevitably revealed.

Just do it! (a la Shia LaBeof): 

“There is no better time than now” goes the saying. Procrastination is generally perceived to be due to laziness. But it is not always the case. Sometimes when you really want to do something good, you get overwhelmed and anxious about it and keep postponing it, eventually not doing it at all. Do not worry about the quality of a work initially. Just start with it. There is no quality to nothingness. Create something first to worry about its quality next. Procrastination can also be due to confidence. When you know you are really good at something and can do it anytime, you always choose every time than the ‘now.’ In such scenarios, imagine there is no tomorrow. Today is all you have. Do what you care about the most now.

Compete with the self:

We all need a rival to keep us on the run, and help us push our own boundaries. And in any game, each contestant must have similar skills and abilities to compete with each other, to make it an interesting game. Who could be more similar to you than you, but from yesterday? Sure you've heard this one a lot before. Don't compare yourself with others, but your own self from yesterday. Do better than what you did yesterday. This will surely propel you forward and inspire you more than an external rival, who might have other hidden advantages that you might not be aware of. In your race with your past self, you are the one at advantage compared to your rival, i.e., yourself from yesterday. You have gained a teensy bit more wisdom than your yesterday's self and it will always remain so. Hopefully... 

Marketing: 

People want attention when they don’t have it, and don’t want attention when they have it. At least a large section of the world populace is of this nature. It’s always better to market a work, than the creator, for the former helps it reach the intended audiences, and the latter does everything to put people off. Do not be shy about displaying your work, whatever it might be. You will never be satisfied with it and will always feel it could be better. There will always be critics but there will also be admirers. But that’s the way it is.

Handling Criticism: 

1 admirer is worth a 100 critic (if the criticisms are not valid). 1 genuine critic is worth a million admirers. Analyze the criticisms received for your work objectively. It is definitely easy to identify what is a genuine criticism, and which is not. A genuine criticism will help you correct your follies and make yourself and your work better. Ignore the not so genuine critics as naysayers. Do not take any criticism to heart. Learn from it, and not burn from it.

Luck: 

One can’t claim that luck has no part to play. But if you’ve done everything within your control in the right way, you wouldn’t bother with luck. You will feel a sense of peace and satisfaction, even if luck doesn’t bring you the fame and fortune you crave. People who have genuinely been good at something, have given it their all in trying to achieve it and yet not gotten the recognition and appreciation, will never speak of ‘what they could have been’ and their ‘talent,’ as there is a sense of satisfaction in them. Those who speak of the ‘ifs’ and ‘could haves’ are the ones who have done nothing other than be proud of their talent.

Accept Responsibility:

It is easy to shift blame onto others or onto fate or destiny itself, if things don’t go your way. Accepting responsibility for every event, and analyzing what you could have done to avoid it, will help you go a longer way. Every event involving you, will have at least a tiny part of your action. Sometimes it would be something you could have done differently; sometimes it could be something that you shouldn’t have done at all; and sometimes it could be something that you didn't involve yourself in sufficiently. Responsibility has to be taken for inaction as well. When you focus entirely on your hand in any event or incident, you will grow faster as an individual. 

Talent: 

Goals can be achieved relatively easier, if you are aided by talent. How? Your natural talent can help you reach certain milestones quicker, which can, in turn, inspire you to do more. The initial successes and the relative ease with which you achieved it, can give you the push required to persist through obstacles and failures, which are inevitable. It can keep you disciplined and it can make you confident enough to overcome bad fortunes (oh, the irony of it all).  

So, if somebody claims to be talented at something and yet they have not had success with it, then it means they have not used their advantage. How could you be proud of having an advantage in something and failing at it? Ask this question to anyone who claims they are not successful yet claim to be talented.

You can still be successful in the field you choose to be successful, without talent, if you have all the aforementioned and perform the required actions. Now that is a reason to be truly proud. You have achieved without any natural advantage! Kudos!

It’s never too late:

People who mostly claim they ‘could have’ done something, assume they have reached a phase of life where they could not do anything anymore. I don’t have to list down the names of people who have achieved great things in the latter stages of their life. There are whole lot of blogs, videos, and posts on various social media, about them. Unless, you are taking in your penultimate breath, you have no excuses! Get on with it!

 SriVishnudaasan.

 

 Sarvam Sree Krishnaarpanam Astu

 

To our Eternal Mum and Dad...

 

It is said that You are beyond grief, sorrow, and anxiety. It is said You love every single creation of Yours. It is said that a life cannot be born on earth, without having any sins to spend. It is said that You want every soul to return to You eventually. It is said that You know yesterday, today, tomorrow & thereafter. If You love every single creation of Yours, how could You be happy on seeing us suffer? Maybe because You know everything would be right eventually and we will return to You in the end. But this end seems never to come, as we, Your creations, keep accumulating more sins, to stay back in this world, extending our separation from You, more and more and more. We, your creations acted against each other, sinned against each other, and suffer the consequences of our actions. Yet it is You, who we blame for the misery that perennially follows us. We blame and scorn You for being happy in Your abode, while we suffer here, if by just a flick of Your finger, You can relieve us of all our pain and suffering caused by our sins. But doing so would mean us not learning from the mistakes we have made against each other. And so this continues, on and on, birth after birth, millenia after millenia. If You truly love us, You wouldn't be enjoying this separation between us. And I doubt not Your love for us. But I doubt the sayings that You are beyond grief, sorrow or anxiety. I know, deep down, You are sorry for us, You fear for us, You grieve for us. We mere mortals cannot bear the separation from the few loved ones we come to know in our lifetime. You have trillions of souls as your loved ones, from a billion lifetimes, suffering every single moment in this illusion filled life. Within a single moment of existence, we build sufferings for several new lifetimes. And You suffer due to our actions. To whom do You go to for comfort? Who is there to wipe Your tears? I know there is none, even though we are trillions. Come lay Your head in my shoulder. I lack the wisdom to counsel You. I lack the vocabulary to shower You with soothing words. All I have are my hands to hug You and my heart filled with love. For You, our eternal mum and dad, my soul opens its arms and heart. Om Sri Lakshmi Narayanaya Namaha.

 

-SriVishnudasan.

The Elves of the Mangelinian Woods.

The Elves of the Mangelinian Woods

 

Beyond the furthest walls erected by mankind,

On the islands to the north of the northernmost human settlements,

In the midst of snow covered rocks and ice covered valleys,

There remained hidden, a lush green forest,

Given life to by the underground glacial rivers,

Given heat by the sub-subterranean geysers,

Given solitude by the absence of humans,

There grew a species long forgotten by mankind;

The Elves of the Mangelinian Woods.

Pointy ears & shining hair, they didn't always posses.

Feminine poise and grace, little did they carry.

Protruding noses, were replaced by tubby snouts.

The blue in their eyes, outshone the moon on a cold winter's night.

Tall, lean, weightless bipeds they seemed;

Had strides that bridged large floating chunks of ice;

And had skin, as pale as long-frozen specters.

Experts they were in living hidden amidst the snow;

Experts they were in foraging wild northern berries.

Little about them was known by mankind;

As knowledge about them spread only as rumors and folklore;

That too, only among the remote settlements in the northern hemisphere.

Cold wintery winds they could conjure at will, when displeased.

Lakes and rivers they could freeze instantly, if they pleased.

So the next time you have a sudden snowstorm up north.

Remember there is a snow elf expressing his mirth.

 

-A. Prashanth Narasimhan

(SriVishnudasan). 

A night in the woods...

 Sarvam Sree Krishnaarpanam Astu

 

A night in the woods...

 

A night in the woods...alone

No human to accompany me.

Just me and the moon,

That lighted my way.

Then came the dark clouds,

That hid the moon from me.

A night in the woods...alone.

No moon to accompany me.

Just me and the fireflies,

That glowed & fluttered all around me.

Then came the breeze,

That shooed the glitterbugs away.

A night in the woods...alone.

No fireflies to flutter around me.

Just me and the sound of dried leaves,

That cracked and splatted, with every step of mine, to keep me company.

Then came the raindrops,

That moistened the dryness away.

A night in the woods...alone.

No dry leaves to crackle below me.

Just me and the canopy of trees,

That shielded me from the pitter-patter of the rain.

Then came some mighty winds.

That blew away the leaves that shaded me.

A night in the woods...alone.

No trees to protect me from above.

Just me and the pitter-patter of rain.

Large drops pouring over me.

A million little companions drenched me.

A night in the woods alone, was all I needed to realize, I was never alone.

As one companion left, more came to embrace me.  

Thus seemed life.

The more loved ones I lost, the more loved ones appeared.

The intensity of the relationships thinned

But the love I received never lessened.

I learnt to embrace the love,

Knowing well the source will soon leave

But more sources will appear

Just to give the same amount of love.

More importantly, as the raindrops flowed.

I learnt to become the well.

For I too have to become the source

To quench the thirst for those seeking love.

 

-A. Prashanth Narasimhan

(SriVishnudasan)

A Special Place, My Safe Space!

Sarvam Sree Krishnaarpanam Astu

A special place, my safe space!
In the depths of the cathedral grove,
In the midst of the redwood forest
Is a special place awaiting my presence
Eagerly luring me toward it
With the promise of peace and solitude
A safe space where I could be my own
Stripped of my affectations and pretensions
Not another human to make me worry
About their perception of me
Their, so hard to achieve, validation.
No judgements…of me…to be made
No approval and appeasement, I’ve to strive for
Like the autumn leaves that wither away
So are my worries, doubts and concerns that drift away
Like the quail’s coo, my own breath sounds
So amplified yet serene, in the sea of silence around
The sight of green and brown in the ever shrinking jungle
Unlike the bright and blaring neon of the ceramic jungle
Gives me the feeling of peace, all anxieties quieting down
The earthly stench, the smell of wet mud,
This is the place that feels like I’m meant to be
 A very special place, my safe space! - A. Prashanth Narasimhan (Sri Vishnu Dasan)

Melancholia

Sarvam Sree Krishnaarpanam Astu

Melancholia:

Life was going on normally.
Nothing to ponder as an anomaly.
No achievement to be celebrated as success.
No failure to be brooded over or obsess.
Yet the heaviness of the heart increments,
Without any apparent predicaments.
What is this paradise that I seek to reach?
What is this fortress that I seek to breach?
None seem to come to my petty mind;
No real defeat to put far behind.
Apathy and Sadness, art thou siblings?
Bound together by invisible strings?
For together, in my heart, you linger,
With no reason to be deemed your bringer.
Moods are known for their nature to swing.
What tune do they really want me to sing?
Have my heart and mind turned into a single burrow?
To store and hoard, cauldrons worth of sorrow?
Day and night, it remains, this melancholy;
Any takers to exchange them in monopoly?

- A. Prashanth Narasimhan (Sri Vishnu Dasan)

The Green Giant Gerald

Sarvam Sree Krishnaarpanam Astu

The Green Giant Gerald!

“Tell me, tell me all about him…tell me now!” said a squeaky little voice from within a pile of blankets, even as thunder rolled outside the quaint little house in Jones Mcintyre Street. A lone candle cast a light in an otherwise dark room, with the latest storm knocking out the power grids in the neighborhood. A pair of large, brown eyes shined from within the blanket, illuminated by the candle light nearby.

“It’s really late, you must go to bed” said another young voice, albeit older than the one from within the blanket.

“No no, not yet…Tell me about the Green Giant Gerald!” came back the voice from within the blankets.

“We need to go to sleep now…Mrs. Viola won’t be tolerant again to hear our loud voices at this time of the night…” replied the twelve year old boy, with brown curly hair, freckled nose, dark brown eyes and a mouth salivating excessively due to his newer braces. He was sitting near the pile of blankets, adjusting his pillows and keeping an eye at the door, fearing it to get opened any moment now.

“Mrs. Viola has taken her cough syrup. She won’t wake up any time now!” said a four year old girl, who for a quick moment removed the blankets over her, revealing her straight brown hair, puffy cheeks, thick lower lip and big brown eyes. “Now tell me all about the Green Giant Gerald!” she said excited at the same time nervous, before disappearing into her blanket, covering herself from head to toe.

“Fine! But this is the last time…Promise me that you would go to sleep right after?” said the boy, sighing.

“Yes yes…for sure…Promise!” smiled the girl.

“Centuries ago, in the mountains of Jotunheimen, on a thunderous and rainy night, just like today, a strange creature came into being,” began the boy with a dramatic tone.

“Where is Jotunheimen? Why is he strange? And-“ began the girl, but was interrupted by the boy.

“Jotunheimen is in Norway! He was strange because his father was a giant, and his mother was a mud nymph. And no more questions! We don’t have time to go into too many details. Mrs. Viola will get awakened any moment!” said the boy nervously.

“Alright alright…just one question…what’s a mud nymph?” asked the girl innocently.

“Gaaah! End of story!” said the boy grumpily.

“No! No more questions…Go on…Pretty please?” said the girl with a pleading look.

The boy stared at her for a couple moments, breathing hard and then eased down.

“Fine…He was named Gerald. He was twelve feet high, had hands and legs as large as the trunk of a red wood tree, had dense orange beard that came down till his belly button, but didn’t have a strand of hair on his forehead. Very weird indeed…” the boy agreed seeing his sister about to interject, and the girl nodded from within the blanket.

“He wore a large brown and green tunic, had a shiny golden ring on his right ear, had a huge mole above his left eyebrow, and carried with him a log of tree…a new tree log each day, that he bit, and chewed and spat out to nothing during the course of the day. His teeth were rotten and were full of wooden pieces sticking out. He kept humming a strange ghoulish song all day…Legend has it, that his humming continued even during the night, while he snored and farted…”

A low giggle emerged from within the blanket.

“His feet were huge! Was covered with his own hair and mud…Big chunks of wet mud…”

“Ewwww…” said the girl, “Won’t there be earthworms?”

“Hmmm…Some say that many of the hair on his leg, weren’t even hair, but earthworms!” said the boy, making things up as he narrated.

“Double Ewwwwww!” said the girl, sticking her tongue out.

“When he walked, the earth shook. When he sneezed, storms formed. When he puked, landslides occurred down the mountains!”

“Ewww…Ewwwww…and triple ewwwwww!” said the girl.

“But that is not the worst. He was hungry all through the day and had to eat at least six times a day. And he didn’t eat fruits or vegetables or cereals. He devoured entire villages for each meal!”

The little girl gasped in horror and got deeper into her pile of blankets.

“Landslides caused by his puking often contained remnants of human bones, animal skulls and even bird feathers. When he got hungry, he ate anything that lived!” said the boy in a horror inducing tone, with his eyes wide open.

“No! How could someone be so mean!” said the girl scared, “All those poor people!”

“Yes, he was the vilest being in the world. None can match his strength. Entire armies have been gulped down by him. Including their giant siege weapons and tough armors made of steel. The rate at which he was eating, the entire Scandinavian region was feared to go uninhabited in just a matter of months. But then she arrived…”

“She? She who?” asked the little girl, meekly.

“The mom…The one who no vile creature in the world should ever dare mess with…” said the boy in a mysterious tone.

“Whose mom?” asked the girl, now peeking her head out of the blanket, seeming excited.

“She is not any mom. She is THE mom…” said the boy with a smile. “Gerald, one evening felt like having a dessert, after having gulped down an entire village of 700 people. He just needed something to make his tummy soft. So he chose to devour the children of a shepherd woman who was moving with her herd and two children just a few miles off the village that just got eaten down. She first felt overwhelmed by the sheer size of the being, when she first came across him, but convinced herself that she shouldn’t react any differently to how she would react on coming across any normal man. She just felt it would seem rude and hurt the giant’s feeling if she displayed her surprise of seeing his gigantic size. She tried to be kind and polite to the giant, even greeting him, not knowing his malevolent nature. The giant sure was surprised by the woman’s reaction, but his craving for the children, walking behind her, made him ignore her. He straight away nudged aside the woman and picked the two children straight off the ground, by their legs.”

“Woah! Did the children cry? Did they scream? I know I sure would have…” said the little girl, now standing on top of her pile of blankets, too excited by the story. She didn't understand many of the terms used by the boy in his narration, but she just didn't care, as long as she understood most of what he said.

“No…they were in fact laughing…Because they knew nobody could hurt them while their mom was around. Their giggling and laughing made the giant very confused. He flicked them with his large fingers and they just laughed even more. He thought them to be bonkers and even wondered whether he should eat them, fearing to catch on to their madness. But no, they weren’t mad. They were just so confident about their mom.”

“So what did she do next?” asked the girl, unable to contain her anxiety.

“You know what happened…This is not the first time you are hearing this,” said the boy, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion.

“I know…but this is the best part! Tell me, tell me…TELL ME!” the girl jumped in excitement.

“Shhhhh! You are going to wake up our nanny! Mrs. Viola is going to thump us hard!” said the boy, nervously looking at the door.

There seemed to be no movement beyond the door. The boy heaved a sigh of relief and admonished his sister for acting unruly.

“Sorry! I just couldn’t contain myself…” said the girl, looking apologetic. “Please do finish the story…”

“Alright, alright! Quiet down!” said the boy, composing himself for a moment, before continuing the story. “The mom initially thought that the giant was just playing with her kids in the way he best knew, but then noticed a human bone sticking out of the side of his lips. This terrified her and she right away kicked the giant in his shin, making him lose his balance slightly. The mom used this moment to pull her two children away from the giant’s grip, which was surprisingly not that hard-“ the boy added wondering if there was some logical fallacy in his narration and trying to fix it.

“He probably wanted to eat them whole and not crush them before,” said the girl.

“Maybe…The two kids were taken away from the giant by their mom and this only made Gerald extremely angry. He stomped his way closer to the shepherd woman, who, after asking her children to run back to the village, right away climbed up a papaya tree nearby. Gerald assumed she was running away from him and began moving after her, but the mom just climbed the tree, high enough to get close to Gerald’s head…”

“And did what?” interjected the girl.

“She grabbed hold of the giant’s ears and twisted them hard. The giant flinched in pain. He grabbed the papaya tree and shook it hard to make the woman fall down. But it was just large papayas that fell on his head, making him shriek in pain and eventually get knocked out by them…”

“Did the papayas kill the giant? Did the mom get away unhurt?” asked the girl nervously.

“Nobody in Jotunheim knows the fate of the giant after that. But as he fell down, his shriek was so loud that the trees in at least ten kilometers surrounding the giant’s location, felt its impact, with some smaller plants getting knocked out by the shock wave, and some larger trees losing several of their branches…” said the boy, deeply contemplating the possibility of his tale.

“What about the mom? Did she get killed by the sound of the giant’s shriek?” asked the girl, almost tearing up.

“Well yes…” said the boy, but then noticed the little girl’s lips quivering in sorrow, causing him to make a change to his story. “I mean no she did not die…She is a mom. Mom’s don’t go away that easily. They fight hard,” said the boy, his voice breaking up a little, as he said it, contemplating the fate of their own mom.

The girl jumped up on the pile of blankets and danced full of joy. “Yaaaay! She survived…”

“Yes…she sure did…But she wasn’t unscathed. The shockwave from the giant’s loud shriek caused all her hair to fall and for her to lose several kilograms of her weight,” said the boy, going into his deep thought.

“Wh-what…oh no…poor mom…” said the girl, her excitement suddenly disappearing.

“Poor mom indeed…” said the boy. “Hey, but she defeated the giant…That’s what she matters. And she would go on to get her hair back and her weight in a few months. The kids were safe, the mom was safe, and so were the sheep. It’s a happy ending after all!” said the boy faking excitement.

“Indeed it is! Happy, happy, happy!” said the girl, regaining her excitement, being loud and jumping around, not caring for Mrs. Viola being woken up.

Right at that moment, the door slammed open and in came the large woman, standing over 6 feet in height, with a large forehead, thick arms, legs and a big belly, a small patch of orange hair under her chin. She wore a green and brown night gown, that she cared about so much. Her legs were large and hairy, some even appearing like little worms.

“Do you kids never go to sleep?” yelled Mrs. Viola, looking tired, grumpy and stressed, her terrible shriek causing the books and toys in the vicinity to slump and fall down.

The two children were quick to fall back onto their beds and cover themselves with their blankets. Mrs. Viola surveyed the room for two more minutes and then walked back slamming the door hard, her footsteps resonating, as she moved back into her own room.

“What about the giant?” the girl removed the blanket from over her head and asked her brother.

“The large number of heavy papayas falling on his head caused him to dissolve into mud and disappear into the ground. He was after all half mud nymph. He wasn’t heard about in Jotunheim ever again…Until years later, when he again formed back into his old self somewhere far away…” said the boy, adding suspense to the story.

“Woooow! Did he eat people again?” asked the girl in wonder.

“Not as many as he had in the past. For whenever he came into being to eat people, there was always a mom to save the day. He’s been defeated over and over again over the years across the globe…with him now appearing in our own home town…”

“What? No! Really? Can we go see him?” asked the girl with a mixture of excitement and fear.

“Oh no…Kids being close to him would only make the mom battling him weaker…” said the boy cautiously.

“What? You mean to say he is now being fought with by our mom?” asked the girl surprised.

“Yes…That’s why she has been away for the past few days,” said the boy, facing away from the girl. His face appeared glum, but he tried to sound confident.

“Will our mom be able to defeat him just like the other moms?” asked the girl nervously.

“You kidding me? If the other moms could do it, our mom certainly can. She is far stronger, smarter and faster than any of the other moms in the history of moms!” said the boy. “But there will be consequences. She wouldn’t have her hair for a while and she will appear much thinner and fragile than before…”

“oh…that’s after she defeats the giant?”

“Yes…But you don’t worry about it. She will become strong and have her hair back soon.”

“You sure about it?” asked the girl.

“Yes…I guess so…” said the boy, hesitantly.

“Then yaaay to our mom! May she return home victorious!” said the girl with a smile and went to sleep peacefully.

“Yaaay indeed…” said the boy, with a sigh.

About ten miles away, in the multi-storied Hospital, a frail, bald woman, puked into a bucket, even as a tube connected to her arm sent through a pale blue liquid into her veins. A man sat beside her rubbing her back, as a nurse kept holding the bucket close to her.

“This is hellish dear…I can’t handle it anymore…” said the woman, puking hard into the bucket.

“Just a little more, ma'am…You will be fine…Not many more chemo cycles left…” said the nurse.

“And then more tests…and then more chemo cycles…” lamented the woman. “Just like the previous two instances…”

“We’ll overcome it when we come to it…For now, let’s hope for the best…” said her husband, giving her a gentle hug.

“I can’t do it anymore. Just euthanize me…” she pleaded.

“No…whenever such a thought comes to your head, think about our two children…You need to beat this giant for them…”

The mom cried for some more and then nodded, trying to control her tears. “For the children…”

-        -  A. Prashanth Narasimhan (Sri Vishnudasan).