Naagin 1

No doubt, you have come here to read about Naagin, the show. But before diving into the story, I believe a little understanding of this concept is a must. So, what exactly is a Naag or a Naagin?

‘Naag’ or ‘Naagin’ literally means a snake or a serpent. While the words ‘Naag’ or ‘Naga’ are proper nouns in Sanskrit for a cobra, over time, it came to be a word to generically describe any snake. ‘Naag’ was used to denote a masculine snake and, ‘Naagin’ became the word people used to call a female snake.

But the show we are discussing here is about an Icchadhari Naagin. So, what is an Icchdhari Naagin? Where do they come from?

It’s not so crazy. Simply put, these are shape-shifting serpents. ‘Icchdhari’ means a being or creature that can change its appearance as per its wish. Ideally, they do not need any special timing or anything else for the change to take place. They can change from the snake to the human form and vice versa at their will. According to their power or seniority, they can have more than one head. They are also great devotees of Shiva.

It’s quite awesome if you ask me. Imagine someone in the modern world having such an ability. What will we call that person? Snake-man…? Serpentina - the hissing superhero…? Oh, the possibilities. 😂

That being said, my scientific brain keeps on trying to understand the DNA of such a creature. I mean humans are mammals and, snakes lay eggs. Even if they could magically change their appearance, the change will have to be on a molecular level. Will their DNA also change depending on the form they have taken? When these cobras are given the boon of becoming an Icchadhari Naag or Naagin, is their DNA altered or mutated in some way?

I will probably never get answers to these questions. But the stories and legends that our grannies and their grannies have told remain with us. This brings us to the question, how do Icchadhari Naags and Naagins come into existence?

The legend goes that a Naag, specifically a cobra (male or female), has to do a Tapasya (penance) of 100 years to please Shiva. So pleased, Shiva blesses these cobras with the ability to shape-shift. They can then take the form of any creature on the face of this earth and can turn into humans too. They also live for a very long time and don’t get old – ageless like the vampires of old. (One could wonder if that’s their only secret. Would they also use Retinol in their night-time skincare routine?)

Nevertheless, in the event that they are killed or murdered by anyone, the killer’s face is captured in these Icchadhari Naags and Naagins’ eyes. Isn’t that just wonderful? If only this ability was given to us normal mortal humans. The police of our world could see the murderer’s face in the victim’s eyes and BOOM… here is the accused, Your Honour! Life would have been much simpler for our over-worked police force, I tell you. They could have arrested the Zodiac Killer so easily.

These Icchadhari Naags and Naagins also have something else that is considered extremely valuable. The Naagmani or the serpent crystal or the snake’s pearl. As legend would have it, the Naagmani is thought to be very powerful. It can give great abilities to the bearer along with protection from snake-bites. It also gives the person holding the Naagmani the ability to control snakes.

Scientists say that this is nothing but an animal’s bone that was used by traditional medicine practitioners in the olden days. Calcified poison glands of venomous dead snakes are also called snakestones. And no, I don’t believe that they have any special meaning either. Like stones made from animal bones, these calcified poison glands were also probably used to remove the snake’s venom from the victim’s body.

And so, we can consider this Naagmani business a legend. But don’t we say that all legends and myths spring from one seed of truth?

Dear readers, when I tried to check the origins of our beloved Naagin, I found that this belief of shape-shifting serpents stemmed from the stories of deities found in the Indian Mythology during the Vedic Period. As per our mythological stories, Nagas are the children of Rishi Kashyapa and Kadru. In case you have never heard these names, let me give you a few details about them.

Kadru is the daughter of Prajapati Daksh (mind-born son of Bramha) and Panchajani (whose parentage is quite debatable, but she is credited with giving birth to thousands of children). I know, even I thought it will be Prasuti, daughter of Svayambhu Manu. Anyway, Kadru is also a sister or rather half-sister to Sati (who becomes Parvati in her next life). So, a pretty strong familial background.

Rishi Kashyapa is one of the Saptrishis (seven sages). His parents were Rishi Marichi and Kalaa (although very little is known about her). Marichi is said to be the mind-born son of Bramha. Rishi Kashyapa has also fathered other divine beings like the Devas, Asuras, Danavas, Apsaras, etc. Sesha, Vasuki and Takshak are some of his more famous Naag offspring. Vasuki and Takshak are considered Naagrajas, meaning Kings of Snakes.

As I mentioned earlier, these stories are said to have been originated during the Vedic Period. This is the same time when people of this era were settling or were already settled in the northern and north-western parts of the Indian subcontinent. With time and travel, the stories of these semi-divine deities spread across the Indian subcontinent albeit a bit modified or changed depending on the language* in that area. The more interesting part is that the ‘Naga’ holds cultural importance in the mythology of Southeast Asian countries like Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand as well to name a few.

The ‘Naga’ has held significance in Buddhist and Jain traditions, too. Both religions give us many different stories about them. One Buddhist story tells us of King Mucalinda, the Nagaraja or the king of serpents. While Gautam Buddha meditated to attain enlightenment, King Mucalinda protected him from a great storm and rain with his hood of seven snakeheads.

Fascinating, isn’t it? However, I keep on wondering since when exactly have we been obsessed with these shape-shifting serpents as part of our entertainment culture?

Friends, I have checked, and while I was not shocked, I didn’t expect the date to be so recent. Of course, the stories then the legends and later the superstitions have been with us for a very long time. In the modern Indian psyche, however, we see that the obsession started with the tune from the movie ‘Nagin’ in 1954. As we hear Lataji (Lata Mangeshkar, a very famous and legendary singer) singing ‘Man dole mera tan dole mere dil ka gaya….’ we can’t stop ourselves from swaying to this tune even now. Oh! The brilliance of Kalyanji and Raviji.

Since then, any hawker with a flute (a been) or a snake charmer out to provide a living for his family would entice kids and adults alike with this tune to watch a performance and earn some money. It was a beauty then; it is beauty still.

A good 22 years it took before we saw another interesting movie that had a Naagin. It was the multi-starrer 1976 movie ‘Nagin’ starring Reena Roy in the titular role. I couldn’t find any other information to retract, so we can safely assume that this is the first movie in which we see a shape-shifting serpent. And the song, guys… ‘Tere sang pyaar main nahi todna…’ This song has probably been on the playlist of many a lover. And it is still just as popular today. Duh! You are reading my review with the story and spoilers of Naagin Season 1 for heaven’s sake. Imagine the time when the best and most constant source of entertainment for the layman used to be the radio. Picture it, a heartbroken guy or girl calls the radio and requests this song for his or her one true love.

Other than that, we obviously cannot forget Sridevi’s ‘Nagina’ and ‘Nigahein’. We just can’t. Is there any girl who can say that she has never danced or considered dancing on ‘Main teri dushman, dushman tu mera’? No one ever.

So, it’s not much of a surprise that we brought this interest in the world of Icchadhari Naags and Naagins to the TV and daily soap. Probably the first show about it was ‘Naaginn - Waadon Ki Agniparikshaa’ on Zee TV in 2007. Goodness knows how many people will even remember this show. It’s not like everybody had access to cable TV even then.

There was a slight lull and then came the infamous ‘Naagin’ created by Ekta Kapoor on Colors TV in 2015 with its great TRP ratings. It is clearly a very compelling story and we have been loving every new season she brings. And still, many of us mock this show as a baser version of a plot-line about revenge and romance.

But I have told you that I will talk only about the story of any show that I am reviewing. So, what do I think about the story? For me, this is a book that can be classified in the sub-genre of low-fantasy where fantastical shape-shifting serpents are reacting and affecting the normal world. This is all it is and we shouldn’t try to find any logic and far-reaching social teachings in it. I mean, did werewolves have logic when they came along in our romance novels?

Having said this, I am now completely ready to start reviewing and, yes SPOILING, Naagin Season 1. Let’s dive in.

* Languages of South Asia and Southeast Asia intermingle in many ways with each other and European languages. The meaning of certain words can be different and, some words, phrases and, expressions may and sometimes do lose their meaning and significance in translation. Hence, the possibility of finding the exact word-to-word stories from Indian mythology in other languages is very slim.

P.S.: All this information about Naags and Naagins and the films about them was something I found from my search on the internet. Have you seen or heard about any modern literary work that talks about Nagas? Have you seen any fiction novels or short stories about them? Do write about them in the comments below. I am very interested to know this. And please, please, please don’t mention Mahabharata. 😂