Forests and Farmlands as Home 

Check out the theme here: A Retelling of Valli and Karttikeya’s Love Story

This post is a part of BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2026.

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Years passed. People thrived. The forest flourished.

Valli grew up into a cheerful girl, pampered by her parents, adored by her older brothers, and loved by everyone in the village. She was always happy, which made others feel light and carefree. Her kindness was well-known, too. She treated everyone with empathy and politeness.

Her daily routine included learning various skills from her mother, grandparents, and brothers, playing with her friends, and worshipping Skanda. She would sit in front of the murti, gazing at his majestic form for hours. When she was around two years old, Valli declared she would marry none but Skanda. Her parents agreed to please her, though they hoped she would grow out of it in a few years.

However, her love for Skanda only grew with time. She continued to insist that she would marry no one else.

“Let’s not trouble her now. When we find a good groom, we can try to convince her. Or, he will woo her himself and change her mind.” Nampi said to his wife.

When Valli came of age, they sent her to the millet farm to guard it. This was a custom in the Merpati village. Women stayed took care of home and finances, while the men and boys worked in the fields and forests. The young girls sat guard when the fields were lush with maize plants. The villagers built a small thatched frame on every farm. Four sturdy wooden poles supported the roof. Underneath this, the girls would sit and keep an eye on the proceeds. They had a spear-like stick and a sickle with them to use if required. Though they mostly had to shoo the crows or scare any other animals that tried to eat the crops.

Some girls played with stones, wove garlands, or braided their hair into different styles to pass time. Valli made a small murti of her beloved Skanda with clay and kept it with her. She spoke to the murti, sharing her thoughts and the village gossip with him.

On some days, her best friend, Nila, accompanied her to the farm or the forest. They would walk hand in hand, giggling and skipping, unbothered by everything else except what was on their minds.

Valli and Nila explored the forest as much as they were allowed to do so on their own. Once in a while, they accompanied their fathers or brothers on a hunt and were taught to shoot the bow and arrow at random targets. Valli didn’t particularly like this, though she knew that her family hunted only as was required for sustenance and even then, they were careful not to cause an imbalance by killing only males or females. They took a break from hunting during breeding seasons to avoid accidentally killing a pregnant animal.

“Where are you, Valli?” A voice called her from behind. She smiled and tiptoed to hide from her second brother. Her green skin made it easy to become a part of the forest. Though she wore a red saree and left her thick black hair in a loose braid down her back, it was easy to blend into the background. This was one reason her family didn’t like to let her into the forest often. They were worried about losing her, though she could easily find her way back to them.

“I found you in the forest. What if the forest takes you away from me?” Mangai would ask with a sad face. Valli would hug her then, assuring her mother that she would always be her daughter.

“Valli!” her brother called again, exasperation evident in his tone.

She stifled a giggle, but he heard her. Being a hunter meant his senses had to be sharp. Before she could hide again, he grabbed her hand with a laugh. “Little monkey, stop playing games. Let’s go home before Amma worries.”

With a basket of fruit in her hand and a dead bird hanging from her brother’s stick, they walked back to the village.