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The Hindu
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Review of The Living Legend by Vayu Naidu
The Living Legend by the British-Indian writer Vayu Naidu is yet another book on the Ramayana. It is not a retelling in the sense of adding a hitherto unexplored interpretation of a character's supposed motives or responses. But it is a 're-telling' in the sense of telling the same story again. It draws from several versions of this epic as it travelled orally across geographies and it uses the format of the seven kandas, without labelling them. The introduction to this book expresses the author's intent. It is an attempt to foreground 'not just the internal drama of the characters… but the dependence and interrelations between animal forces and plant forces'. It also speaks of the principles that sustain both individuals and societies and it elaborates on the multiple levels of interpretive possibilities of this epic. The Dandaka forest is a metaphoric space and the story is an unfolding of the truth of consciousness. To Dasaratha, Rama is his 16-year-old son but to the sages Vashistha and Vishwamitra, Rama shows the way to dispel the darkness of ignorance. What, however, propels one to turn the pages of this book is neither the theme of cosmic interconnectedness nor the metaphoric interpretations but the sheer power of the 'internal drama' of the original story. No matter how many times one has heard the story, one is hooked to Rama's encounter with Ahalya, his breaking of Shiva's bow to claim Sita's hand in marriage, his exile into the forest, the abduction of Sita by Ravana, Hanuman in Lanka, and the whole tragedy of the two lovers, Rama and Sita. Contemporary contexts This leads one to wonder why people 'write' or 'tell' the same stories again? If the plot is a well-known one, then there should be something special about the 'style' of presenting the story. The genius of the writer's voice must shine through — like Tulsidas' Ramayana or that of Kambar. Just as a pastoral poem or an elegy has its poetic convention, our epic poems too — principally the Ramayana and the Mahabharata — function within the framework of the timeless principles of dharma, artha, kama and moksha. Dharma or ethical principles and moksha or salvation are the outer guiding boundaries within which the play of artha and kama (wealth and pleasure) are acted out. If these boundaries are taken away in the retelling, we are left with only the flippant beggary of a 'romantasy'. The attempt in this book is also to make the story accessible to the millennial reader by using contemporary contexts. 'Lakshmi had just returned from a timeshare on the ocean-of-consciousness holiday'; 'Ayodhya would continue to host the best Performing Arts festival'; 'Rama was cool'; many courtiers saw the Rama-Sita alliance as 'the dawning of a new era in economic expansion, military security through diplomatic negotiation, and tourism…' These and several other such examples are creative and interesting but the judicious young reader can decide if these enhance the contemporaneity of the story. While Naidu acknowledges her gratitude to the publishers 'for insightful editing', several bloopers dot the novel. Errors are understandable but is it pardonable to write Ishvaku for Ikshvaku? Is it appropriate to mis-write 'mahavakyas' as 'mahakavyas'? Where is the hurry to bring out a book? This story is not running away from anyone — let's give it the regard due to it. The reviewer is a Sahitya Akademi translation award winner. The Living Legend Vayu Naidu Penguin Ebury Press ₹399
The Hindu
21 hours ago
- General
- The Hindu
‘It is mind-boggling that local people are capable of protecting wildlife to this extent'
Rama Devadiga, an inhabitant of Yellapura, recalls a frightening story from his past: how he was attacked by a bear while cycling to a temple. 'I'd see bears often, and they were always harmless,' he explains in writer and poet Sourabha Rao's new documentary, Huliyappa. In this case, he says the bear's two cubs were sleeping on the path, and he did not see the mother approach him. 'It was when she gripped my cycle carrier, and I turned around that I realised she was there,' says Rama, whose head still bears the jagged scars of that encounter. Rama's story was particularly poignant for Sourabha, the co-founder of multimedia production house, Owletter Creations, who could not help but notice how matter-of-factly Rama described this incident. 'He doesn't play the victim card or use the word trauma,' she says. This was someone who had 'knocked on the door of death' but managed to be casual and matter-of-fact about it. The stoic attitude, she says, is true of many local people who live in close contact with wildlife. 'There is a sense of dignity to their resilience and endurance that evokes a lot of respect,' she says, something that the film highlights too. 'These people do not glorify their tolerance and love for wildlife. There is no sloganeering or chest-thumping.' Without romanticising the consequences of the co-existence of humans and animals, she still feels that 'it is mind-boggling that they are capable of protecting wildlife to this extent. I still can't wrap my head around it.' According to her, local people do understand humans need to respect animals as it is their space and have been there for a longer time than people. 'They never use words or phrases that can be troublesome,' she says. Instead of saying things like 'dangerous' or 'beast,' while referring to these animals, they say that the animal took away cattle or a dog, adds Sourabha, who, as a writer herself, is fully aware that 'your thought informs your language and your language informs your thought.' Worshipping predators Huliyappa, which premiered at the Bangalore International Centre (BIC) on June 7, explores this co-existence of indigenous people and wildlife. Set in the lush green landscapes of Uttara Kannada, which is flanked by the Sahyadris, better known as the Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot and a UNESCO World Heritage site, the film is a testament to the natural beauty of the landscape as well as to the people, wildlife and cultural traditions it nurtures within it. 'I am very fond of the Malenadu region. It is an amazing biodiversity hotspot, and I have been visiting it for nearly 10 years,' explains Sourabha, who first began thinking about this intersection of people and wildlife around five years ago, while working with a couple of Bengaluru-based conservation organisations. It was over a casual conversation with a friend from this region that the idea for Huliyappa came about. 'I was telling her how amazing it was that people worship predators,' she recalls. 'And she was like, ' Hey, we do this too. Huliyappa is one of our deities, and we worship him during Deepavali.' That is about it. There was no looking back for me,' says Sourabha, who would spend the next five years traversing through the region, talking to people. 'We went to some of the most remote villages you could find there, without cameras, just to establish trust,' she says, adding that she wanted to ensure that all the voices of different communities who lived in the region, including the Brahmins, Devadigas, Vokkaligas, Gowlis and Siddis would become part of the final film. 'There is a whole gamut of communities there, and we have spoken to them all.' She also witnessed the actual worship of Huliyappa, something the film captures in all its glory, showcasing the pilgrimage of scores of people trudging through remote tree-flaked landscapes, coalescing at Huliyappa's shrine. 'The deified tiger of the human imagination,' as Sourabha puts it. This is followed by a complex ritual that includes washing the deity with water and then milk, smearing it with butter, garlanding it with flowers, offering it coconuts and performing aarti on it. 'The first Deepavali, I recorded things on my phone because this entire ceremony was visually striking and the energy infectious.' Experiencing this ceremony shifted something in her, reveals Sourabha. 'We see so much cynicism, rage and scepticism in urban lives and believe that the rational side of things must always overrule the rest of our being.' She could not help but feel that these people, however, only seemed to worry about what they could do for their immediate environment. 'They don't want to change the world, like most of us , but instead, just wanted to take care of their backyard…what was all around them,' she says. 'Where humans meet wildlife and vice-versa, a faith system like Huliyappa can play a vital role in maintaining harmony, despite adversity and losses.' Making a film Sourabha and her team began shooting the film last year, self-funding the entire project because, 'after sitting with this story for five years, I realised that I couldn't wait any longer,' she says. 'We just decided to look at it as an investment.' She also chose to make the film featuring people speaking in different dialects of Kannada with English subtitles, 'because the way Kannada helps you articulate a thought around an animal, a forest or a tree is very different from English.' Additionally, for the the film to have a direct connection between the people and the audience, the team did not have a voiceover/narration, 'to avoid the imposition of our interpretations and inferences,' points out Sourabha, who ensured that a private screening was arranged for each and every person featured in the film. 'Before we premiered it for the world at large, we went to them. The film happened because of them.' She describes the process of researching and making the film as 'a humbling experience that has eroded my cynicism.' Recounting how she was forced to often confront uncomfortable questions during her research, she says, 'It helped me discard my own arrogance and pre-conceived notions and made me fall in love with our planet. We have probed the entire universe, and this is the only thing that contains all of us.' Sourabha has begun submitting the film to various festivals. In the future, she hopes to tell more such little-known stories she has gathered from the many years spent in this region. 'I think I have at least three or four fascinating stories that can easily become films,' she says. 'We are just looking for generous donors and funders who also want to tell these stories.'
The Hindu
2 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Rama, the Supreme One
Vedanta Desika was the author of works in Sanskrit, Tamil and Manipravala. He wrote Achyuta Satakam in Prakrit. In his Raghuveera Gadyam, Desika offers his salutations to Lord Rama as the effulgent One who destroys the darkness called fear, said T.N. Aravamuda Thathachariar in a discourse. Rama shines because of Sita Devi's constant presence beside Him. He is the One who illuminates Paramapada with His brightness. Desika celebrates Rama as Jayathi in his salutation. Why does he begin with the word 'jayathi'? When Periyazhvar saw Lord Narayana, he was afraid people would cast evil eyes on Him, and that this would harm the Lord. So he sang pallandu verses to ward off the evil eyes. Likewise, Desika, in this verse uses the word jayathi to ward off evil eyes. The first choornika of the gadyam also says, 'Jaya Jaya Mahaveera.' Thus the prayer for mangalam and a prayer to keep away all inauspiciousness are there right at the beginning of the work. Vedanta Desika's style is such that some passages are difficult to recite, while some are easy, and Desika himself points this out towards the end of the work. He says some passages are kaTora (tough); some are easy (sukumAra). Raghuveera Gadyam has 94 choornikas, of which the first two praise Rama the warrior. The third choornika refers to Rama as Deva, showing that Rama is the Supreme One. The Upanishadic statement is 'divyO deva ekO Narayana,' and Desika reiterates it here by referring to Rama as Deva. The 94 choornikas can be seen in the context of the qualities of Rama as seen in the various kandas of Valmiki Ramayana. Twenty choornikas pertain to Balakanda; seven to Ayodhya Kanda; 14 to Aranyakanda; five to Kishkinda kanda; one to Sundara kanda; 29 to Yuddha kanda; and 18 to Uttara Ramayana.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Listening or reading Ramayana
People in the Tretayuga were telling each other that God would realise and understand their difficulties if only He came down from the realm of His abode. Hearing this, the Lord has transcended as Rama and lived for about 11,000 years. Although he faced several problems, he did not give up following dharma. That is why, even after millions of years, people continue to celebrate Rama Navami, the auspicious day of Rama's manifestation. Rama tried to hide his divine identity. After conquering Ravana, the celestials, including Brahma, the God of creation, asked Rama whether he was Lord Ranganatha. Still, Rama politely replied that he was an ordinary human being and the son of Dasaratha 'Aatmanam Manusham Manye Ramam Dasarathaatmajam'. Kesava Vajapeya Swamy said in a discourse that our sins act as impediments to our happiness and well-being. It is unfair to accuse God of not answering to our prayers or clearing our sufferings. Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that 'only the ignorants disregard Me, not knowing my higher stature as the supreme Lord of all beings' (chapter 9, verse 11). In other Yugas, if people undertake only good deeds, such as going on a pilgrimage to Kasi kshetra, they would derive benefits. However, in the Kaliyuga, people can derive benefits by thinking of performing good deeds. Equally, in all other yugas, if people even think of evil deeds, they will incur sins, but in the Kaliyuga, such mere thinking will not attract any sin. Three ways are prescribed to cleanse our sins: performing Yagnas, giving to charity, observing Tapas (penance) and reading or hearing Ramayana is a tapas. The Ramayana begins with the word 'Tapas' (Tapaswadhyayaniratham). If a person cannot read the entire Ramayana, one can recite the Sankshepa Ramayanam or the Gayatri Ramayana, which contain 24 slokas.
New Indian Express
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
A solo act brings Surpanaka to life
Thousands of years ago, Rama and Sita were born. They decided to get married. Later, an understanding was reached, where the couple was to spend 14 years of their life away from royalty. The pair, along with Lakshmana, moved through forests. In this journey, they encounter Surpanakha from the Asura clan. Outrightly, she admits her desire to marry Rama. Upon rejection, Surpanakha approaches Lakshmana. And then faces his wrath. Throughout history and most reimaginings of Ramayana, Surpanakha is always portrayed in a one-dimensional, villainous light for daring to speak what her heart desired, for setting her heart on a man, and for stepping outside the bounds of how a woman was expected to behave. Parshathy J Nath, a theatre artiste, finds this 'bizarre'. Why was Surpanakha treated the way she was in Ramayana? Just because she confessed her love for a man, should she be mutilated? These were a few questions she was searching for answers to.
