From the ancient manuscript of grotesque tales

1. A devout couple lived a simple and pious life by the river bank. With the first ray of sunlight, they would begin the day with prayers. A day’s hard work at the fields would end with an evening of sacred chants.
2. Content they were with their lives but for their desire for a child to brighten their daily chores. The man wanted a daughter and the woman yearned for a son.
3. The Gods who listened to their prayers were in a playful mood one day. They granted their wishes and a child was born to them. They were both overjoyed and danced with delight.
4. The pregnant wife’s face was more beautiful than the moon. The happiness of the husband never ceased to show on his face. And nine months later, a boy was born to them.
5. As was the custom, to christen the child and know his future, on the 101st day he was taken to the astrologer who was old, wise and well versed in the arts of astrology, palmistry, face reading and other psychic disciplines.
6. “This child is not normal. It’s a boy below the navel and a girl above. This child will suffer when it grows on account of this. You both are devout and God fearing. I don’t know why this misfortune befell on this innocent one,” said the learned man with a dark seriousness.
7. Stunned to silence, the mother saw her smiling child holding her hand. Her eyes moist with tears, she held him to her bosom and covering him from the astrologer’s wrathful words, ran away to her home.
8. The child was named Krishna. Enchanted by the child’s tantrums, the astrologer’s words faded and flowed away like the waters of the mighty river of Saurashtra and many years passed.

9. Krishna reached adolescence and it was then that the parents remembered the dismal predictions of the seer. Krishna’s voice, face and breasts were that of a beautiful maiden. But, below the navel Krishna was a strong, virile man.
10. The villagers called Krishna a witch for she could sing better than a nightingale and run faster than the cheetah. Villagers avoided her and she became devoid of all friends.
11. Years passed as Krishna and her parents led sad and lonely lives. Krishna helped her father in tilling the land and sang with the birds. And then, her parents died, worried and fearful of Krishna’s future until their last breath.
12. Once a troupe of hermaphrodites came to the village and Krishna left her house to travel with them. Although Krishna was with them she was still lonely and couldn’t find a friend among them. They were boisterous and insensitive while Krishna yearned for nobler company.
13. Krishna earned her living by selling her voice and not her flesh like the others in the troupe. Many men were attracted to her divine face and sweet voice but were horrified to know her secret.
14. Krishna’s first friend was Shyam, a drunkard poet who was ostracized because he was an atheist. Although Krishna was a believer, she liked him because he was a thoughtful and sensitive man.
15. Shyam wrote songs that Krishna sang beautifully. But the people around disliked their happiness like the rain clouds dislike hot lands. They were pushed out of the village and were forced to live with lepers.
16. Shyam fell ill and was bed-ridden. Krishna was again lonely and miserable. Poverty-stricken and desperate, she thought of ending her harrowed life many times. She bore her tribulations only for the sake of Shyam.

17. And then, so was the playful will of the Gods, sorrow and happiness came together. Krishna met a group of women who were kind and loving. Enchanted by her magical voice, they decided to keep her with them as a servant. On the same day, Shyam died.
18. They were women who made love among themselves and avoided the company of men. Each had been shunned by the society because of their deviant desires. Except for Meera who had once loved men but all the men she had known had been deceitful, selfish and violent with her.
19. Meera, strong willed and independent, had decided to leave the world of men like the solitary tigress leaves her mother to find a different family. She was loved and revered in this group and soon assumed the role of the leader.
20. When the group learnt of Krishna’s secret, they were apprehensive of keeping her with them. But, Meera, who had developed a special liking for Krishna, was strongly in favor of her staying with them and her voice prevailed.
21. Krishna was also fond of Meera and soon they were consorts for life. Krishna was the perfect partner for Meera as she was virile in bed and had a woman’s sweet kindness.
22. Krishna led a happy life thereafter and the souls of her parents smiled with satisfaction in the abode of the Gods. Such was the inscrutable playfulness of the Gods.

Disclaimer: This is purely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person (living or dead) or to any texts (ancient or modern) is co-incidental and unintentional.