Isabelle of Bombay: A Cosmic Conflict

Colleen Ph.D. Ansley

Description

This riveting novel tells the story of Isabelle, a beautiful child, who grows up in the tempestuous city of Bombay. It takes readers through Isabelle's emotional roller-coaster of a journey - her childhood, her starry-eyed romance, the killing of innocence as she endures a traumatic marriage, and her final tryst with true love in Canada.

The book is richly evocative and entertaining in its portrayal of Bombay. But saddened by the overwhelming poverty, depressed over the disparities and contradictions of society, and disappointed by the taboos of colour and gender, Isabelle leaves her people and the city she loves to migrate to Canada, a new land.

Incredibly, two celestial beings follow and guide Isabelle, from above and afar, throughout her life. They don't intervene actively but subtly guide her toward contentment and love. The real merges with the surreal.

Caution: You may not be able to put this book down! You won't forget Isabelle - her joys, her pain and torment, her love, her devotion to her family and her sacrifices for it. And you will envy Isabelle for her two cosmic Samaritans!

In sum, Colleen Ansley's debut novel is a gem!

- S R Madhu, writer-editor, Chennai, India

Sujets

• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 21 février 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780986705212
• Langue: English

Extrait

Colleen Ansley
 
 
Isabelle Of Bombay: a cosmic conflict
 
 
Maza Ghar Publishing Toronto


Copyright © 2009 by Colleen Ansley
 
Published in eBook format by Maza Ghar Publishing
Converted by http://www.eBookIt.com
 
ISBN-13: 978-0-9867-0521-2
 
All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the publisher is an infringement of the copyright law.
 
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
 
 
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Ansley, Colleen
Isabelle of Bombay: a cosmic conflict / Colleen Ansley
– 1st ed.
 
ISBN 978-0-9867052-0-5
 
1. Title
 
PS8601.N55182 2011C813’.6C2010-906696-0
 
 
 
Maza Ghar Publishing
65 Harbour Square, #3210
Toronto, Ontario M5J 2L4


 
 
 
To
Shawn and Sherry
My children, my precious treasures.
 
PART I: Isabelle’s life in India
 


1
A Cosmic Confrontation
Heaven is astir with unfamiliar sounds.
Two cosmic beings are clashing over an Indian child.
Brigid and Kali quarrel over their earthly child Isabelle of Bombay. Each considers it her sole responsibility to protect the little one. The Christian saint Brigid claims that the five-year-old girl chose her as patron. The Hindu goddess Kali asserts her right to guide and protect Isabelle, and keep a promise she made to the child’s ancestors.
Brigid and Kali’s arguments have aroused the curiosity of other gods. Why does this earthling matter at all to Brigid and Kali? Who is the child’s rightful protector, her true guardian angel in Heaven?


2
Brigid vs. Kali
The gods waste no time investigating. They look at the beautiful fair-skinned Brigid with her flaming red hair and wonder why she is so obsessively interested in an Indian child.
Kali can never go unnoticed. Her intimidating appearance makes her stand out amid all the gods. A charcoal-black goddess, Kali has three eyes and four hands. Her scarlet tongue protrudes hideously from her mouth. Her only clothing, besides a garland of human heads, is a girdle of dead men’s hands. This fearsome-looking goddess would keep any god away!
The gods approach St. Peter, the Christian gatekeeper of Heaven, to know more about Brigid and Kali.
“You mean that Irish maiden dressed like a nun in a white robe?” Peter points to Brigid as he replies to the Norse god. “She’s Ireland’s beloved saint from the fifth century, the daughter of a chieftain. You can see that she carries her family’s royal sceptre under her arm and between her palms the first cross she wove from wild rush.”
“How did she win sainthood?” another god asks.
Peter relates the story of a few of Brigid’s miracles that led to her recognition as saint.
Asked about Kali, Peter is sombre and guarded. Brow furrowed in thought, Peter says, “It would be wise for Brigid to stay away from Kali and not upset her. This goddess has been worshipped for thousands of years by millions in India, she has been here much before my time.”
“How do her worshippers see her?” the gods are eager to know.
Peter responds with a chuckle, “Just as you see her.” He adds, “She’s the most exalted Hindu deity who has power over time and death. She looks terrifying but is misunderstood by many.”
“Misunderstood, you say?”
“Oh yes, this goddess shows motherly compassion and unconditional love towards her children.” Peter then explains the symbolism of Kali’s frightful form. The extraordinary power of this ancient goddess humbles the gods. One of them comments, “Oh dear, I feel sorry for Brigid. She has no idea who she is dealing with.”
 
Born to a Christian family in Bombay, Isabelle does not know about goddess Kali or of any other Hindu gods. At the convent school Isabelle attends, Sister Agnes reads stories on the lives of Christian saints. She has asked the children to choose a saint as their intercessor to God. From all the stories, little Isabelle likes the story about St. Brigid best. It reads,
“Saint Brigid is the dearly loved saint of Ireland. A maiden of royal descent, she was fond of learning, clever with her hands as well as her head. She never failed to notice the hungry look in a beggar’s face as she passed him on the road. She would stop, give him a little milk and home-made bread; she took time to help any one in pain who chanced to come her way.
Brigid grew more and more beautiful, a delight to the eye. She was fair with auburn hair, her eyes as deep and blue as the mountain lakes. Many noblemen sought to marry her, but Brigid was interested in none. There was but one Lord of her life and she had made up her mind to serve Him.
Her father was angry at her decision and insisted that she choose a prince of noble blood and wed him. Brigid said that she had chosen the noblest Prince of all, the Lord Christ. Her family grew more and more angry. Brigid knew that God would help her and she prayed earnestly to Him. Then in His goodness God took away her beauty for a while and men seeing she was no longer fair, left her in peace.
Brigid was consecrated to the service of God. Her fame spread over many lands because of her love for children and her gentle care for all poor mothers. Brigid’s beauty was restored to her, and love of her became deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. People learned to know the love of Christ through the tender compassion of Brigid.”
Brigid felt pleased that Isabelle chose her as patron. However, the saint discovers that Kali also claims custody over the child. Trying to assert her exclusive divine right to Isabelle, Brigid confronts the goddess.
In the Heavens, the Brigid-Kali war of attrition over Isabelle escalates. Saint Brigid rebukes goddess Kali. “Aren’t there millions of other Indian children who need your attention? Your concern for this particular child strikes me as peculiar.”
Kali retorts, “Isabelle is my child and I have a responsibility to watch over her.”
“Isabelle is your child? Ha! She doesn’t even know you. Isabelle chose me as her mediator to God.”
Her face contorting with anger, her voice resonating like thunder, Kali responds, “Isabelle’s of Indian soil. Her Christian name and dress do not make her any less Hindu. Her Hindu ancestors have worshipped me for thousands of years. I will keep the promise I made and I will never abandon my child.”
Brigid exclaims in exasperation “Isabelle’s a Christian and has chosen me . Why don’t you understand that?”
Kali’s blood-shot eyes narrow as she goes into a deep trance. Brigid’s aggressive stance in the presence of other gods provokes her wrath. A long quiet ensues. Misreading her silence, the saint imagines that she has the better of the goddess and remarks smugly, “Fortunately, Isabelle made a wise choice at such a young age.”
Kali’s bright red tongue protrudes even further against her black-as-night skin. Streaks of lightning bolt out in every direction from her three red eyes. Her body grows larger in size and her fists clench as she displays a lust for battle. She does not need to tell Brigid “Get away from my child or I will harm you” – her looks say it all. Kali thunders, “My child will find me and choose me of her own free will without a sword put to her throat.”
Brigid does not know what Kali means or what to expect next from this terrifying deity. She had no idea of the goddess’s unusual powers. Brigid is embarrassed at being humbled in the presence of other celestial beings. She fidgets nervously. Realizing that she may have gone too far, Brigid capitulates. She is scared and wants to calm Kali down. In a gentle subdued voice, she says, “I guess I’m just curious to know why you continue to watch over Isabelle.”
Conscious that she has frightened Brigid, the goddess smirks. “You are a babe in our world of gods and have much to learn. Do you really want to know the answer?” Kali asks as she deflates to normal size.
Brigid humbly nods. She seizes this opportunity to get Kali to explain her interest in Isabelle.
“We’ll have to travel back five centuries to give you a quick idea of Isabelle’s ancestry. Are you prepared?”
Promptly, Brigid says, “Yes.” She is worried that Kali is stubborn and shows no sign of softening her stance on Isabelle. The goddess’s words “I will keep the promise I made and I will never abandon my child” torment and mystify the saint. What promise did Kali make? When, why and to whom?

3
Isabelle’s Ancestors: A horror disclosure
“Let’s go then,” Kali declares to Brigid.
Kali picks up some heavenly stardust, rubs it between the palms of her hands and blows on the shiny powder. A cloud of shimmering golden dust rises into the air and gradually changes into a swirling globe of the Earth. Brigid watches wide-eyed as in a matter of seconds, time moves back 500 years.
The goddess zooms in on India as it stood during the 15th century. Its west coast and east coast gently taper down to a triangular point, giving the Deccan Plateau a shark-tooth shape. Sandy beaches carve a continuous scalloped pattern of beautiful golden bays all around India’s coastline. On the Arabian Sea close to the northwest side of the coast, seven small islands snuggle near each other. Lush vegetation on these islands stands out – green emeralds amidst the sparkling blue ocean. The islands’ beaches are dense with coconut groves. Forests of acacia, tamarind, mango and other exotic fruit-bearing trees cover the land.
“See those islands?” Kali points out to Brigid, “This is how they were before man linked them together to make the modern city of Bombay.”
Brigid listens fascinated as Kali continues, “The Koli tribe inhabits those islands. They are fisher people who follow the Hindu religion and worship Mumbadevi as their patron goddess. Isabelle’s ancestors are Kolis.” Brigid n