Sunil Seth looked surprised, but then he steadied himself. ‘I always loved your mother. She loved you,’ he said. His father looked sad and Govinda felt sorry as he looked at him and realised that it was the first time he had seen his father as a real person. He looked out and noticed the flashing red lights again.

For a moment he felt secure and loved and as though he had nothing to fear. Then he heard his father speak. ‘This is the age of death and destruction, but it is also the time of rebirth and recreation. We are all connected to a super soul. Life invariably leads to a fiery end but that will end all suffering and then rejuvenation will begin. Everything dies and decays. The trick is not to panic. That was Kali’s whisper.’

Christopher Raja migrated to Melbourne from Calcutta in 1986, and now lives and works in Melbourne and Alice Springs. His short story ‘After the Wreck’ was adapted for radio and broadcast on ABC Radio National in 2007. His play Drew’s Seizure was performed at Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs in 2009. His co-authored play The First Garden ran at the Olive Pink Botanic Garden in September 2011 and was published by Currency Press in 2012. The Burning Elephant was written under a New Work grant awarded by the Literature Board of the Australia Council.

This project has been assisted by the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council, its art funding and advisory body.