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The torturous walks with his dogs in the blistering heat, as commanded by his mother Yashoda, had irked Krishna in the highest possible way. The only remaining solution to attaining tranquillity was to consume mind-numbing content on social media in the luxurious comforts of his grandiose mansion. On opening Instagram, he was greeted by 16,000 DMs from the Gopis, vying for his attention. Finding himself annoyed, yet secretly enjoying the wondrous attention, Krishna began inspecting the ingenious poetic messages about his dogs, his partiality towards his farm, and his fondness for the guitar.
Discovering new texts from the alluring Lalita, a gopi he usually spent time with, Krishna curiously clicked on her account to scrutinize her various posts. Countless farm pictures surfaced on the screen, displaying at length her butter-churning skills, and sociable nature with cows and ducks. Chitra, constituting a similar character to Lalita, also did not fail to tag Krishna in every captivating picture she posted. Interacting with the gopis taught Krishna more than ever about himself; his praises frequently weaved themselves through their short conversations. Their desperate voices sought him through the sea of people around him, yet Krishna found himself often repulsed by their inability to devote themselves completely to him. In his eyes, Radha was the one he adored most, the one envied by all, the epitome of devotion and sacrifice. She had surrendered herself to him wholly. He immensely loved her company, because she did not question his relationships with other gopis, nor did she try to compete with them like they often did with her. She simply valued his words, perhaps more than his appearances or actions.
Pings from his phone pulled him out of his daydreams as new posts by Vishakha, Sudevi, and innumerable other gopis materialized. Having accomplished the objective of momentarily enchanting Krishna, he sent out articulate invitations to a select few to accompany him to the local pool. A mildly animated Krishna noticed himself sharing with his dearest friends, Arjuna and Sridama, his plans for the weekend. He smiled mischievously, as the thought of stealing the gopis’ belongings crossed his mind, his plan solidifying alongside the encouragement of his friends. While the gopis habitually forgave him for his questionable endeavors, he contemplated this to be a different situation.
* * * * * *
Lalita’s eyes reflected towering palm trees parallel to the expansive pool as she turned towards Krishna. Her friends, Chitra, Vishakha, and Sudevi, also expressed the same excitement she had. After days of longing, they were finally able to get Krishna’s precious time. The group proceeded to the nearest sun loungers and shed the long t-shirts they wore over their costumes. Testing the water, the gopis made their way into the depths of the pool as Krishna observed them from the top of the sun lounger.
The gopis soon involved themselves in pretentious games, enjoying the cool water against their freckled skins. Shifting their attention towards the time, the gopis realised they were due home shortly. On coming out of the pool, the gopis looked towards the abandoned loungers— both their clothes and Krishna were missing. Shivering, Chitra heard Krishna’s laughter coming from the floor above them. Dangling from his hands were their t-shirts, almost in their reach but not quite. The barefoot, dripping gopis adorned with skin-tight, barely covering costumes could not travel to any higher to reclaim their clothes.
And so, they begged. They begged for him to return their belongings. They pleaded with him, telling him that they would never trouble him again. The piteous gopis agreed to all of his commands, feeling miserable and defeated. The soft cotton t-shirts fell from Krishna’s grasp, and the gopis hurriedly covered themselves, yearning for the protection their clothes provided them with. Infatuated and infuriated, the gopis were confused about their reaction; Krishna stared at them questioningly.
Context for the story:
Please find below references to the details mentioned in the story. The story is a modern take on Krishna stealing the gopis’ clothes, consisting of pools, and social media platforms which now form the basis of modern society (especially in the summertime).
Krishna was always surrounded by gopis, who were the local girls of the village he grew up in. They adored Krishna, played with him and often fed him butter. Krishna himself had a deep connection with animals, an amiable personality, played the flute well and had an affinity for dairy based products. The gopis tried their best to catch his attention with a myriad of methods. A majority of them were jealous of the deep connection Krishna and Radha possessed. The names of Krishna’s senior wives/ gopis were Chitra, Sudevi, Vishakha, and Lalita. His favorite Gopi was Radha. He also had over 16,000 junior wives who were women he married after freeing them from the captivity of the demon Narakusar.
About The Author
Nayantara Rao is an avid reader and mathematician. While she has a deep passion for STEM and bridging the gender gap she finds within it, she loves stories whether they're in the written medium or as film. She likes to spend most of her time with family, friends and her adorable dog.
Cover page by Yifei Wang
Edited by Poorna Prakash