Ramayana revisited…
Honor society during my school years were a big deal. If you scored above a certain GPA, you would be felicitated and along with it provided story books as a prize. Those story books were pictorial adaptations of either Ramayana or Mahabharata. So, even when we were little we had an inkling about these supposed mythologies.
It is certainly a debate today whether these stories can be referred to as mythology since the discovery of the Dwarka remains under the ocean off the coast of Gujrat, India. These were probably tales that were passed across generations over time and we thus imbibed a certain narrative of the same. However, monkeys burning Lanka to rescue Sita Ma still feels a little far fetched for even the Hindu in me even though it makes for a compelling story line.
Over the years I have seen numerous plays depicting Ramayana and Mahabharata. Some have been parodies too while some others were molded to fit the current times in hilarious ways. Numerous movies have used the same underlying concepts to form a gripping narrative. From the Tamil movie ‘Thallapathy’ to ‘Rajneeti’ in Hindi were all loosely based on these very epics.
Hinduism is believed to have spread from India to South East Asia centuries ago probably carried by scholars and traders, the mentions of which could be found as early as 2nd century BCE in the Ramayana. As per wikipedia, ‘Yavadvipa’ is mentioned in India’s earliest epic, the Ramayana. Sugriva, the chief of Rama’s army, dispatched his men to Yavadvipa, the island of Java, in search of Sita. It was hence referred to in India by the Sanskrit name “yāvaka dvīpa” (dvīpa = island).
There are mentions of Indian influence in the region in the Chinese inscriptions of early 7th century AD and later in the 11th century AD, the Cholas carried their culture down further south to present day Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Whether the Guptas or the Pallavas conquered parts of South East Asia before the Cholas did is still controversial.
I am no expert in history, so anyone reading can correct me if I am wrong.
My recent trip to Indonesia was an eye opener of sorts. We both pray to the same Gods. Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh/Shiva, Ganesha to name a few. So much that Ganesha stone idols can be seen adorning the nook and corner of streets. There are massive statues of Shiva in certain town squares. Just like we have our kuladaivams/ Thekkadu as you call them down in Kerala where every house has it’s own worship place, the Balinese houses too have a temple attached atop or in front of every home. It is considered a good omen to have so and is seen mostly in smaller towns.
Their temples are stunning. However, unlike Indian temples, you do not have visual access to the shrine/deity. The shrine is cordoned off and their Gods are slightly varied interpretations of their Indian depictions. Their temples like Tanah Lot, Ulandanu and Uluwatu are located around picturesque water bodies including the vast and magnificent Indian Ocean.
Hence watching the Ramayana at Uluwatu in an open air theater after a short tussle with a monkey was stunningly picture perfect. With the sun setting down on the Indian ocean began the 1 hour long narration of this epic tale against the crimson backdrop. It is by far one of the best depictions I have seen interspersed with rhythmic and hypnotic chanting by a group of 70 odd young men.
No one knows if Sree Hanuman was for real, but is revered in Hindu mythology nonetheless. And in the skit too, we had our over enthusiastic Monkey God burning Lanka i.e scattering burning piles of hay in full gusto, even kicking it over to the audience and over the walls on to the ocean below. Take it easy mate :D
Revisiting Ramayana on the last day of my Bali trip was a grand closure of sorts and an hour well spent in awe and wonderous beauty.
