Tag: Sita

  • Sita

    Devdutt Pattanaik

    Fantastic!

    When I reached page 250 (almost 5/6th of the book!) – at which point Sita is freed – I finally allowed myself the comparison that had been bubbling inside my head for a while. Jaya, an illustrated retelling of the Mahabharata by the same author, ranks among my top five books of all time. Thus far, this book had not really touched those levels. Rationalisation was easy – the Mahabharata is perhaps a more complex and interesting tale because of the sheer number of characters, the back stories, and the grey shades that permeate every character in it. There were many little nuggets I hadn’t known about earlier, and that made the reading more exciting. On a relative note, the Ramayana is more ‘linear’, and there are a limited number of layers that the author can add to situations or characters. I consoled myself with the fact that the narration was as spectacular as Jaya, and I had gained at least a couple of perspectives beyond my current understanding of the epic and its underlying philosophies. (Aham, and Aham Brahmasmi, for example) I did wonder though, why the author had to call it Sita – there wasn’t really a justification. (more…)

  • The world we create

    A while ago, I had written about the narratives of our lives, a look at various narratives across time – from religions and nations to popular culture and brands to the internet – that have (arguably) tried to fulfill our sense of belonging. All the narratives I had considered were external in nature, though they might be dictated by our choices and preferences.

    An excellent comment on the post by The Lit Room made me consider ‘the narrative of individual imagination’. As I answered, it is probably the most important one, as it takes all sorts of external stimuli, and converts it into a unique stream of consciousness. Just when I began thinking of writing a follow up post by including that aspect, I was reintroduced, thanks to Devdutt Pattanaik’s Sita, to the concept of ‘aham brahmasmi‘ – “every human creates his own imagined version of the world, and of himself. Every human is therefore Brahma, creator of his own aham“. I think it is impossible to crack everything that goes into the making of one’s own consciousness, which is probably what led to

    Clipboard01

    (image via)

    But there are at least a couple of perspectives that the book provides in terms of how one can create an ideal ‘world’ for oneself. It says, “stay true to the idea of dharma. Be the best you can be, in the worst of circumstances, even when no one is watching.” I thought a bit about what actually drives our actions, and realised that at the bottom of it is fear. (debatable) Not just one fear, but many, many fears driven by our contexts – some we acknowledge, some we don’t. George Lucas probably figured it out earlier, (see) though we might travel paths different from what Yoda has suggested. The book also states that – Fear is a constant, and faith is a choice. Fear comes from karma, from faith arises dharma. Faith in what, was the next thing I pondered over. In oneself, and a moral code that one adheres to? Or a higher power/cosmic law that governs all that happens? Or is it just a mechanical process with the fittest surviving? There are more options as well, probably, but I like to go with the first, because in the world that I create, my actions can ensure I do not have to fear.

    Meanwhile, also from the book – Shiva chooses the path of asceticism and self control to control the aham, and the world it creates. Vishnu chose to live amidst materialism and yet find a way to break free – a middle path. (now I can see why Buddha is assumed to be a form of Vishnu) I think there are several degrees to choose from, and there lies the challenge. I also realise that it if each of us are creating our own worlds, we cannot really answer the questions of the world at large – a universal answer – because it is an aggregate of each of our worlds, which are different from each other and have unique rules. We can only find the answers to our own world, and through our individual paths, find our own version of the answer to the purpose of life.

    until next time, muddled path

  • Lankan Reams – Day 2 – Sigiriya, Sita Kotuwa

    After another hearty breakfast, we started out for Sigiriya, which we’d heard was quite an uplifting experience. It was only half an hour away, and we almost got a peacock to pose on the way. Our consolation prizes were a hawk-eagle and a bee eater.

    At Sigiriya, we got ourselves a specialist guide, recommended to us by our own guide, who I said would be sleeping while we climbed. We posed by the inner moat, which allegedly had crocodiles. This high security was because our friend King Kashyapa (from yesterday’s Habarana reference) had much to fear. Allegedly, the only good thing he seems to have done is building this magnificent place. The gardens are at three levels – water, boulder and terraced.A few snaps from the first two. The hole-stone is actually a fountain, which still works, the architecture using only the water’s own force to push it up.

    The first view of the Sigiriya Rock is awe inspiring and scary at the same time, the latter because you have to climb it. Right till the very top, braving shaky looking spiral steps, small and steep staircases, with many a pause in between to catch the breath, and the magnificent views. Since the pictures don’t do full justice, I tried a video too.

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZJ-vH_2RbM

    The first big stop is to watch the slightly NSFW frescos – of the 500 concubines our friend Kashyapa kept in his palace, and quite apparently, many of them roamed about topless. From the frescos its easy to see that all sorts of races and nationalities had a representation in his palace. We then climb down a spiral stairway to reach the next attraction.

    The next stop is the Mirror Wall, so called because of its shiny surface. Several generations, unfortunately, chose this place to proclaim their love. Thankfully, there are no heart signs, though someone did practice their English alphabet. This is what it looks like from the outside.And then we climb again, until we reach the lion’s paws, where the last stage starts.

    This is quite a hellish climb, especially if you have a problem with heights. The only solace is the breathtaking view from the top. And like most climbs, this one manages to give you a satisfaction at the end that’s difficult to describe.

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcv8NohJeXc

    On the way down, we saw among other things, Kashyapa’s swimming pool, throne, and the Cobra Hood cave, although I did think the last one looked straight out of ‘Planet of the Apes’.

    When we got back, our original guide told us that he had found out the route to my principal agenda of this vacation – some Ramayana sites. We eagerly got in, and in half an hour got completely lost.  We also realised that the guide had assumed that a visit to these places knocked out Dambulla from our plan. It was now a long detour, so we moved on. The place was pretty scenic though, and offset our irritation quite a bit. But the wandering also meant that though we did visit Laggala, Dunuvila, Weragantota and Yahangala, we never actually located the exact sites, which required treks. In case you plan to do this, double check that your operator knows these sites very well. Ours obviously didn’t, mostly because these sites are not in the regular tourist’s itinerary.

    The redemption came in the form of Sita Kotuwa, her first temporary prison. This place was also used by Buddhist monks later. Its easy to understand why. Its quite a trek, and a slippery one at that. But in the end, we safely reached our destination. And then we had a stroke of luck. The caretaker of this archaeological site told our guide that the caves used by Ravana and Sita were a walkable distance away, but the path was very slippery and it would be tough. But we were more than happy to see them. And see we did! When epic meets reality, its indescribable. Epic awesomeness.

    It surprised me that Ravana made a stop here, when his principal areas seemed closer to Ella. Ella is situated quite in the interior, and it means that unlike the comics’ depiction, it  wasn’t on the seaside and it required a long trek to reach Lanka’s capital. From the stories floating around, the Pushpak seemed to have developed a problem. Gurulapotha had a repair centre, and was nearby, hence the stop. It was all real, in some form!!! I have promised myself an exclusive Ramayana trip.. someday!

    The guest house there was a really sad story. A typical old government place that you would encounter in mofussil India. Hardly anyone visited and revenue was minimal. No facilities, they said, the new traveler lists air-condioners, internet and a television in the room as mandatory. They gave us milky tea and said that a few Indians had visited a few weeks back. The Lankans, I was beginning to realise, are doing a lot for the Buddhist heritage structures, and the later kings, but no one seemed interested in Ravana. I wondered if it was because of Hindus being a minority – 7%.

    We took the road to Kandy, curves and vista all the way, discussing car manufacturers and shopping options with our guide, and even Bangalore’s metro, once we realised that our guide was a ground technician with SriLankan Airlines earlier, and had gone on a Tokyo – Osaka bullet train.

    The Hotel Suisse at Kandy had a huge colonial hangover, but nothing to complain about. This was easily the most tiring day of the vacation, and in the end, our feelings were best expressed by

    Coming up – Day 3. And in case you missed them,  here are Days 0 and 1.