Shiva strikes the ‘oortha thandavam’ dance pose, with upraised leg, at the Madurai Meenakshi temple. Pic/Sarayu Kamat

I spent a few days last week in the company of gods and goddesses, who were up to all kinds of stuff. For instance, Shiva and Parvati had been competing in a dance reality show at Chidambaram, in Tamil Nadu. Shiva struck an “oortha thandavam” pose, raising his foot above his head. Parvathi, dressed in a sari, and too modest to want to match this, lost the competition. Legend has it that she was so furious at being unjustly defeated, that she turned into Kali and stormed out; her Thillai Kali temple still stands on the outskirts of Chidambaram, where she was once depicted in chains, to contain her rage. Can any contemporary TV dance reality show drum up more drama than these two contestants?