Will You Come Home?

Ravi stood at the edge of the bustling Mumbai market, his eyes fixed on a vibrant royal blue kurta hanging in a nearby shop window. It was October 9, 2024 — Navratri Day 7 — and the city pulsed with energy and devotion. But Ravi felt disconnected, an outsider to the joy around him.

At 35, Ravi was a successful corporate lawyer, but success had come at a price. He had lost touch with his roots, his family, and himself. The fierce gaze of Maa Kalaratri from a nearby poster seemed to pierce right through him, challenging him.

On impulse, he bought the blue kurta. As he changed into it in a small changing room, he remembered his grandmother’s words: “Royal blue is for confidence, beta. Wear it when you need strength.”

Stepping out into the market, Ravi felt different. The colour seemed to resonate with the festive atmosphere. He found himself drawn to a small, ancient temple tucked away in a quiet lane.

Inside, the air was thick with incense. An elderly priest was performing aarti, his voice strong despite his years. Ravi closed his eyes, letting the Sanskrit mantras wash over him. For the first time in years, he felt a connection to something greater than himself.

As the priest finished, he turned to Ravi with a knowing smile. “Maa Kalaratri has brought you here,” he said. “She destroys our demons, but first, we must face them.”

Ravi’s mind raced to his estranged parents, the colleagues he had stepped on to climb the corporate ladder, the simple joys he had forgotten in his pursuit of success. These were his demons, he realized.

The priest handed him a lemon and a red rose. “Offer these to Maa Kalaratri,” he instructed. “But remember, the real offering is the change in your heart.”

With trembling hands, Ravi placed the offerings before the fierce goddess. As he did, he made a silent vow to reconnect with his family, to find a way to use his legal skills to help those in need, to rediscover the parts of himself he had lost.

As he stepped out of the temple, the Vijaya Muhurat — the hour of victory — was beginning. The market had transformed. Where before he had seen chaos, now he saw vibrant life. The smells of jaggery and incense mingled in the air, and the sound of devotional songs filled his ears.

Ravi’s phone buzzed — a message from his mother. “Beta, it’s Navratri. Will you come home?”

For years, he had ignored such messages. But today, wrapped in royal blue and filled with a new sense of purpose, he typed a reply: “Yes, Maa. I’m on my way.”

As he walked through the festive streets, Ravi felt as if he was shedding an old skin. The fierce Maa Kalaratri had indeed destroyed his demons — the demons of indifference, disconnection, and spiritual emptiness.

He arrived at his childhood home just as the evening aarti was beginning. His mother’s eyes widened in surprise, then filled with tears of joy. His father, initially stiff, softened at the sight of his son joining the family prayers.

As the night deepened, painted in shades of blue, Ravi knew that this Navratri Day 7 had marked not just the goddess’s victory over evil, but his own victory over the darkness within himself. In embracing the fierce protective energy of Maa Kalaratri, he had found his way back home — not just to his family, but to himself.