The speaker laments that this deity “has left me behind, he’s never returned, he’s never sent me a single word,” in a mystical poem addressed to him by the bhakti (“buck”-tee) poet Mirabai. For 10 points each:
[10e] Name this deity, who converses with Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita (BHUH-guh-vudd GEE-tah).
ANSWER: Krishna [prompt on Vishnu]
[10h] The speaker of this Bengali poem claims to be “the flute in the hands of Krishna” and “the ruthless axe” of Parashurama (PUH-ruh-shoo-rah-muh). Written in 1921, this poem ends as the speaker raises his head “high, ever erect and alone!”
ANSWER: “The Rebel” [or “Bidrohi”] (by Kazi Nazrul Islam)
[10m] Laila undertakes a spiritual journey after seeing a “Krishna Lila” in Journey to Ithaca, a novel by this author of Clear Light of Day and Fasting, Feasting.
ANSWER: Anita Desai [prompt on Desai]
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