TVP turns a year old! Reflecting on the path so far

2 years back this time (i.e. June 2020) a lockdown was imposed to contain a pandemic that was brewing up. It was this time when my best friend fell sick terribly. He was having an existing health condition and having contracted the virus, his health was deteriorating rapidly. I tried my best to be with him during this phase but I was not allowed anywhere near him as I could succumb to the virus. I stayed away but my thoughts were fully with him. At the same time, some of my relatives fell sick. One of my closest friend’s father passed away due to the pandemic. He was devastated by the turn of events. I was pained to see people not being able to gain access to food. I was constantly updated by the number of people who came in contact with the virus and how many have succumbed to it.

I wondered why it seemed to me as if all the awful things that could happen, happened at once.

There was fear, anxiety, stress, restlessness and a sense of hopelessness filled me. It was during this time I spotted an old book in the cupboard. It seemed like no one bothered to read it in a long time that they might have even forgotten that such a book existed. I was spontaneously drawn to this book and started flipping through the pages. There were many exquisite stories of Bhagwan Sri Krishna which took me on an emotional roller-coaster ride. Stories of Prahlad, Parikshit, Krishna, Vyasa inspired me.

I contemplated how Raja Parikshit was able to soothe his agitated mind during the last 7 days of his life through the stories narrated by Suka Rishi. I observed how the stories of Itihasa and Purana have helped me by keeping me engaged in inquiring about the deeper import of these stories.

That’s when a question came to me: how would it be if children can listen and learn from these stories right from their early ages instead, during their final days?

That's when The Vedic Pond was born, a year back on June 7th.