Short Story: And Then It Was Done by Chandrika R Krishnan

In this short story, Chandrika R Krishnan narrates a poignant tale where fiction meets mythology and creates magic.

Place: The mythological museum – Gopalapuri

As I stood in front of a very realistic portrayal of Baby Krishna, opening his mouth to reveal the universe within, I was instantly transported to Dwapar Yuga. I was taking my time visiting the mythological open-air museum where one could re-live the stories that formed a great deal of my childhood growing up in India. 

The mischievous cherub walked straight out of the tome of Mahabharata, into the hearts of millions of Indian mothers. He is one baby most mothers dream of having- affectionate, cheerful, naughty, and beautiful. Paeans have been sung on the mother-son relationship and, Yashodha the foster-mother had her hands full dealing with baby Krishna who was fond of butter and was adoringly mischievous. Right from childhood, it was clear that he was the chosen one when he suckled the life-breath out of the demon, who was supposedly sent to kill him. Yet, the mother in Yashodha, worried about the little charmer and was kept busy taking care of the mite. He was to her the entire universe just like how the universe was controlled by Lord Vishnu in his Krishna avatar.