By the description of the Goddess herself, being attributed to doomsday, time and death; plus the

appearance of having blood dripping from her hands and heads necklaced around her body, I
initially would have disagreed by the result of being the Hindu Goddess, “Kali”. No one might
want to be coined as violent or bloodthirsty in the first place. However, as I took time reading
articles related to her qualities, I was struck by the revelation of one act made by the goddess.
Despite being depicted as a vicious deity in violent endeavors of gods, in one legendary battle
with the demon Raktabija, she made a sacrificial move of stopping evil from spreading. The
wounded Raktabija’s dripping blood has caused clones of demons from causing more chaos.
Kali, on the other hand, turned as the savior as she was able to drain the blood of Raktabija
before it reaches the ground to form the clones. This made me reevaluate my understanding of
her true characteristics. How come an evil-labeled character would do that? That’s the time I
arrived at the conclusion that Kali might just be one misunderstood character.

“Time” and “Death” encompass a lot of meanings. Most people would say that these two are
unlikely facets of life because it signifies loss of someone or an event. Yet, I find neutrality in its
sense because both of are nature’s greatest equalizers. Regardless of how rich, beautiful, skilled
or talented we are, there’s not a single person who can stop death and time from happening. We
need that to strike a balance in this world: To remind us that at the end of the day, we share one
end in life. The thing is, someone must be responsible to take on such crucial role. Kali was
brave enough to break the norms of the label brought upon her. That’s why there is no doubt that
20th and 21st century analysts dub her as an icon for feminism and empowerment.

I, too, share an ideology with Kali about bringing on balance in this world: between pride and
humility, strength and weakness, of beauty and folly, just as time and death balances all things in
this world. Practically speaking, my stand in life is setting equality in many aspects of this
society such as gender orientation, bullies and the bullied, and the elite and the marginalized.
That’s why the depth brought about in the shoulders of Kali would make me somehow agree that
I am like her.