Mythological fiction: Radha and Krishna’s eternal love story gets a new retelling

At noon in the month of Bhadon, on the eighth day of the waxing moon, I was born to Raja Vrishbhanu and his wife Keerti Devi in the village of Barsana. While singing lullabies to me in my early childhood, my nurse-maid Vishakha, who had taken care of me since the day I was born, often spoke in hushed tones about the esoteric mysteries that surrounded my birth.

“You are no ordinary mortal, my darling princess,” she gushed. “Just look! You have perfectly formed conches on the soles of your feet. Ordinary mortals don’t have these. You are a special celestial being, gifted by the Lord Almighty to the people of Barsana. You are here on a divine mission, Princess Kanvi. You are no ordinary mortal.”

I doubled over to check if there really were conches etched on the soles of my feet. They were there. Dai Ma’s sensational revelations never failed to transport me to a world of fantasy where fairies and angels ruled. Where majestic swans and peacocks flitted amidst blue lagoons, dense foliage and exotic flowers. Where the celestial music of the spheres and a heady fragrance of heaven’s perfumery prevailed over the senses.

“As the story goes,” Dai Ma continued,...

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