The banana tree is considered to be very versatile because every part of this tree is a gift given to mankind by nature. The stems of this plant are rich in fiber and helps to control many severe ailments of diseases like diabetes. The leaves are also used as ecofriendly plates during auspicious days in the Indian tradition. The flowers help to boost immunity and the fruit, favorite among monkeys to minions, has many nutritious qualities. This tree, which we like to call, the tree of everything, has a backstory in the Hindu mythology which tells us where it originated from.
This story is about Rishi Durvasa and his wife Kadli. Rishi Durvasa was known for his anger issues. Anger was always running through his veins and if a man like that had a power to curse anyone, you wouldn’t want to get on their wrong side. Even if people didn’t get on his wrong side, he used to curse them so easily, like throwing confetti. At that time, someone should have really recommended an anger management course to him.
Once, Kadli, by mistake, woke Durvasa from his sleep. Durvasa was furious about this and he cursed Kadli. “From now on, you will no longer be a woman, you will be a plant.” Obviously, Kadli wasn’t happy about this but a curse is a curse, it cannot be taken back and she might have thought that being a plant is better than staying with her husband. She accepted the curse but put forth her conditions, “I will become a plant but I should have the choice to be which one.”
“Turn me into a plant whose leaves, flowers, fruits, stems and every part can be used for something or the other. A plant which is evergreen and whose leaves can be used while worshiping God and also be turned into utensils. The fruit of which can be eater either raw or cooked.” And then she turned into a banana plant.
Even though this is a mythology, we can take important morals from this story. Kadli had no option but to accept her faith and however cruel it was, she decided to make the best of it. Life can have its own inevitable twist and turns, the only choice we get is how we deal with it.
Writer
Ulka Mayur
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