ICYMI, we're now at the fag end of the Navratri festival. If it's Pandels in Bengal, it's Golus in Tamil Nadu and parts of Andhra and Karnataka. Most houses will have on display dolls of various shapes and sizes arranged on 3, 5, 7, 9 (you get the picture) or 11 steps.
Now that the wikipedia description is done, let's twist it up a bit this time, with a whole new interpretation.
Here's what Anita Raghuram and Bharat Sivaram, based in the UK, have done with the Dashavatars (the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu).
As it is written in the Gospel of Marvel;
Avengers Assemb...erm Dashavatars Assemble!
Aquaman and the Tortoise: Nothing Fishy Here
What do you do when all the world's submerged in a deluge? Who do you call? Matsyavatar (fish avatar) of course! Or you could call Aquaman, who's born of the sea and is king of Atlantis.
And when it's time to churn the ocean to bring out the amrit that turns you immortal, Leonardo the teenage mutant Ninja turtle will bring his waxed shell to the table. That's who the sages of yore called 'Kurmavatar' (the tortoise avatar).
Nothing fishy about all this. And if you've got a problem, you can talk to the shell.
Claws and the Boar: Pumbaa is Varaha and Wolverine is Narasimha
When Pumbaa's got your back, you've got nothing to worry about. But if you're the demon Hiranyaksha, then it's Hakunama-tata-bye bye! The Lion King's Pumbaa is this Golu's Varaha Avatar (boar avatar)!
Oh, and you think you've got anger issues? Just check out Logan, or the story of Lord Narasimha from the Puranas. They'll both tear you a new one when they're miffed! Not sure if Lord Narasimha had claws of adamantium, but they were sharp enough to tear through a stone pillar!
The Dwarf and the Groot: Ant Man is Vamana, Groot is Balarama
Balarama was Krishna's elder brother. He was gentle when calm, and a brute when angry. Just like Groot, the botanical Avenger who fits the bill!
If Vamana could grow taller than the three worlds, Ant Man can at least outgrown three stories! How do they compare? Well, we'll have to ask King Bali won't we? He's the one who saw him first leg...erm...first hand I mean.
The Axe and the Arrow: Thor is Parashurama, Hawk Eye is Lord Ram
Lord Parashuram destroyed 21 generations of corrupt kings with his battle axe. Thor chopped off Thanos' head with his. They're like two sides of the same axe! Too bad there was no Captain America when Parashuram was around. Now no one knows if anyone else can lift Parashuram's axe!
And if you're looking for a Puranic sharpshooter, it's Lord Ram who remains the first and the best. Enter Stage Hawk Eye, who can split an arrow mid-flight and hit three moving targets at once! But can he slice through seven trees with a single arrow? Maybe in the next installment of The Avengers!
The Discus and the Arrow: Dr Strange is Krishna and Batman is Kalki
Lord Krishna's weapon of choice was the golden discus, Sudarshan Chakra. That's what Dr Strange's mantric 'thingy' look like! And that's what he uses to bend reality and beat up the bad guys. I guess the similarities end there, but it's a start!
But you need the Batman to finish it all! That's why he could be interpreted as Kalki Avatar, the incarnation that's yet to come, whose sole purpose, is to end this 'season' of the never ending series that we all call 'creation'.
Let's hope we don't get to see Kalki in our lifetimes! But now that DC's Joker is a hit, I'm sure another Batman is round the corner! Or hiding in a dark alley!
How did you like the comic book interpretation of the Dashavatars? And what have you done in your Golu this year that's new, novel, twisted (or all of the three)? Write in to us! Share your photos.
And Happy Navaratri to you!
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