Grandma announced, "I have made a special dessert that I will keep on the roof under the moon now, and everyone will go up there to eat it later. Come on, Tony and Monu, let’s go to the terrace tonight and then sit there and eat it. It’s a full moon tonight and, as they say, the nectar drips from the moon on this special occasion."
Tony could not hide his smile, "Grandma, do you believe in all these old stories, which are nothing but rumors."
Listen, Grandma explained, "In mythological terms, we believe goddess Lakshmi was born on this day when it was a full moon night, by churning the ocean by gods and demons. From that day, the goddess of wealth comes to visit the earth every year and brings wealth with her. And those who sit on their rooftops on this night, waiting and worshipping her, then the goddess of wealth will live in their houses forever. "
Monu wasn’t convinced, so he asked, "What will you do with this dessert, Kheer’?"
Grandma said, "On the night of the full moon, the gods shower the whole earth with holy light, and with it rains heavenly nectar." Based on these beliefs and traditions, I have made this dessert, ‘kheer’ and I will keep it in the moonlight tonight. I am confident that the Goddess will pour heavenly nectar into it, and that will make our lives happy. "
Monu refused straight away. He said, "I want to watch TV after doing my homework."
Tony said, "And I want to play video games, I don’t want to eat this special dessert while sitting on the roof, blue moon or no blue moon."
Grandma’s eyes became moist, she thought. Are these two the same kids I raised? Tony and Monu used to be so close to me. They never said 'no' to whatever I told them to do.
Loken saw his mother feeling upset, so he interrupted and asked his children, "No video games or TV tonight, but everyone will go to the roof with my mother and do as she said."
The children looked at their mother with hope in their eyes. She probably could have saved them, but there was a disappointment from her, too. She was already fixing the table and chairs on the terrace as she wanted to help her mother-in-law.
Later, while going to the roof, the grandmother took their phones from their hands, including her son’s. The children could not stop laughing when they saw the face of their father.
When they reached the terrace, they felt a cool, gentle, fragrant wind blowing, as if it wanted to get into their souls and tickled them softly. The flowers were dancing under the moonlight, as if mother nature had showered her blessings on that roof garden. The entire roof smelled of the sweet fragrance of jasmine flowers. In no time, it filled the children with so much joy that they had never felt before. Today, no one had a phone or laptop in their hands, so there was no work, but pure joy.
"What was that about ocean churning, grandma?" Tony asked. "Tell me that story."
Grandma was glad that the children wanted to know about this traditional story. She thought for a moment and then began the story in her lovely voice, "The churning of the ocean was perhaps the only work that was done by the gods and demons together." Otherwise, the demons always fought with the gods. Most of us know that ocean churning took place before the creation of the earth. But the reason for the churning of the ocean was the discovery of Goddess Lakshmi. Lord Vishnu had plans to create the earth because the planet had nothing but water.
To make this planet livable, Lord Vishnu needed different items to set the earth in its present form. He was aware of these things that were hidden in Ocean Ksheer. Then Lord Vishnu decided he would have to churn the ocean to bring all those things out of it. But the gods were not ready to do this, nor were they able to do it on their own. They wanted to find a solution, as all the gods and demons had become lifeless because of Goddess Lakshmi’s anger. Everyone wished Goddess Lakshmi had returned and lived with them for their survival.
Lord Vishnu then planned to make the gods agree to the ocean churning by offering them all heavenly properties and to the demons, the nectar. Despite all his efforts, the churning of the sea was not an easy job. Then Lord Vishnu, with his powers, brought the Mandar mountain into the middle of the sea. But they still needed a strong rope to churn the sea and tie around the Mandar mountain for churning purposes.
Lord Vishnu then requested Lord Shiva to give him the Vasuki, the serpent that lived around his neck, to churn the ocean. However, they could not decide who would hold the Vasuki’s mouth and who would hold his tail. The mouth of the serpent was strong, but it emitted poisonous air, and the tail part was too weak. The demons then decided that they would hold the stronger part. "
Tony laughed aloud, "A snake as a rope, grandma!"
Grandma ignored him and continued, "After that, they couldn’t think of a solution about who would hold the weight of the Mountain Mandar. Lord Vishnu then converted himself into a tortoise and carried the Mandar mountain on his back. The churning of the ocean continued for years. The first thing that came out of the ocean was poison. Lord Shiva drank it all, and since then, his neck has turned blue. After this, a cow, a horse, an elephant, and a number of diamonds, the tree of immortality, and thirteen other precious gems came out.
Finally, Goddess Lakshmi came out of the ocean. As soon as Goddess Lakshmi came out, the ornaments and wealth of all the gods came back with her. The demons were happy to keep the wealth, but Lord Vishnu distributed other items among the gods."
They were all listening and enjoying the story. Suddenly, Tony thought this was the right time to share his problems with his father. He whispered a few words in Monu’s ear, and he agreed with his brother. They talked to their mother and father, and they solved all their problems immediately. They felt they were going through the stress for nothing, and that they should rather spend some time with their parents from now on.
Now they felt better and planned to sing songs. Tony went down immediately and brought his guitar, Monu’s Casio, and the drums of his mother. They all joined in the fun party. At twelve o’clock, amid laughter and melodious songs, Grandma brought dessert to the table. Today, this dessert tasted different. It was one of the most delicious dishes they had ever eaten in their lives.
Grandma then suggested they play dumb charades so they would have a good pastime. The children felt as if they were experiencing the elixir of stress relief, healthy family fun, and the satisfaction of not being alone.
Tony and Monu said in unison, "Grandma, you were right, this dessert tastes like nectar." Tony said, "Give me more, grandma."
Grandma blessed all of them, "On this occasion by the light of the moon, may this full moon night bring happiness to all of you. Mother nature will rain her graces on all of us. Loken was too sentimental. He hugged his mother and said, "May the full moon shower rays of nectar on all of us."
Note: The churning of the ocean is based on mythology.