The Fallen Demon

Ram Leela

Padmashri Haldhar Nag, the popular Sambalpuri poet, folk-singer, and theatre-artist, in his customary role in the village Ram Leela as Lankeshwari - the guardian deity of Ravan’s golden Lanka - is happy to be defeated by Hanuman who unfortunately had a minor wardrobe malfunction, but handed over his unstuck anga vastra with nonchalance to a boy while simultaneously thwacking him with his gada made of cardboard.

Ram Leela is not yet dead, not in Delhi, in several parts of the country, not in Haldhar’s village - Ghess, near Bargarh, Odisha. But, why has the veteran performer not been invited to play Sita, or even Ram; owing to the colour of his skin?

At a village near Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, the villagers are in mourning on Dussehra day. Ravan, a Kanyakubja brahmin, is our ancestor, they say. Ram-Ravan epic war, a feud between Kshatriyas and Brahmins for the top slot?

Tallest Ravan

Our Ravan was the tallest in the country, proclaimed the Organising committee of Dwarka, New Delhi: 211 feet tall, built by 40 workers over a period of four months, and costing forty lakhs. The tallest Ravan of Madhya Pradesh – 150 feet – was at Kolar, Bhopal. How very interesting that the tallest Ravans of MP, and India were at the capital cities!

No organising committee ever boasts that their Ram is the most valiant, powerful, and handsome. Ram, being an  avatar of Vishnu, is the Supreme One; so, all actors playing Ram in the thousands of Ram Leelas in the country are equal. All Ravans are equal, but some more equal than others! Evil keeps evolving, morphing, transforming, and transmuting; is that why Ravan gets taller year by year?

Ravan and his fellow demons  are granted a brief life-span of about two weeks every year. At Bhopal, the fabrication commences near EPCO premises. Business is brisk, all sold out a day before Dussehra. We supply Ravan to as far as Betul, Itarsi, and Vidisha, said one of the sellers. Small to large, modest height to tallest; Evil comes in many shapes and sizes!

(Representational Image, Source: ndtv.com)

Bagh Mugaliya’s Demons

A day before Dussehra, the little girl announced, ‘Uncle, Ravan has arrived?’

How do you know?

I saw him with my own eyes. He is lying in Dussehra maidan. Do you know, he came in several pieces – the body without the head, one big head with a crown, and a cardboard with heads painted on it.

Oh, why did they not get a whole Ravana?

He was brought on a tractor. His extra heads would have fallen off on the way. There are too many potholes on the road.

At Bhopal, Dussehra morning began ominously with a little drizzle, soaking the effigies of the three asuras, and worrying the organisers. Mercifully, the sun shone brightly during the day, and the effigies were dry and good to burn by the evening.

The old couple went up to the terrace about 7.30 pm, as usual, to watch Ravan dahan, and the fireworks. Why are so few people this year, she asked? It’s not yet time for the funeral, he said. The speeches went on for another hour. No VIP this year, no election round the corner, he said.

The crowd was getting restive for real action now, so the key actors in the Ram Leela – Ram, Hanuman, Ravan, Kumbhakarna, and Meghnad were granted about ten minutes to spout their climactic dialogues. Ram’s dialogues could not be heard; Ravan spoke little, and his loud peals of laughter were more comic than terrifying. Hanuman swished his tails at young kids who shrieked in mock horror. If Ram resented the speakers eating into his time for angry last words to Ravan, he didn’t show it, for he knew his Ram ban- the deadly fire arrow- would kill Ravan, not the speeches.

At the maidan, there were three effigies – of Ravan, Kumbhakarna, and Meghnad. Ravan, the tallest, had a cardboard attachment with nine extra heads painted crudely, but had more firecrackers stuffed inside as befitted the fallen king. Unfortunately, when Kumbhakarna exploded, the impact toppled Ravan, as though he was overwhelmed with sorrow, and suffered a stroke at the death of his beloved brother. Ravan must fall to Ram’s arrow, and not die from a fall; so, he was revived, made to stand again, and while several volunteers held on to ropes wound around Ravana’s waist to keep him standing, Ram hastily shot his arrow of fire to set the demon aflame. However, the unanticipated tumble had dislodged the strategically placed fire-crackers, and the combustion was uneven and irregular. While the other two demons had been burnt reasonably well, the half-burnt Ravan looked angry and humiliated. Don’t I deserve a proper funeral, he seemed to ask Ram, where is your rajdharma?

Once the fireworks ended, the crowd began dispersing. Good had vanquished Evil. Parents returned home after having bought for their pestering kids big red ballons, shrill whistles, and Dilli Ka Laddoo.

Ignoble Death

A rather forlorn park in a colony, neither fancied by the aged walkers since the terrain was uneven and risky, nor by kids as the few amusement-equipment were tattered. A solitary senior citizen walked mindfully in an area flattened with a little roller by  kids who had improvised a pitch and practiced cricket on holidays.

Two young kids raced into the park, rode the not-yet-broken swings; after a while, practised cricket shots with the jugaad bat and a rubber ball, but soon quarrelled over who would bat or bowl.

Next, they spotted the cadaver at a distance, by the little heap of stone chips where three street dogs lay soaking in the sun. One kid tried to lift the half-burnt effigy but failed after which both manoeuvred with a stone and stick and propped it up. What are they up to, wondered the lone walker, maintaining a discrete distance.

They hurled a few stones at the effigy but the scaffolding stood unfazed, tall, and imperious despite his half-burnt body, full of contempt and scorn for these tiny tots.

The taller kid said, we need bigger stones. They found the right size at a little distance, and struggled to carry one each with both their hands. At the count of three, we hit him hard, said the leader, and began counting. Both released the stones in sync, and the demon toppled. They whooped in joy. Let’s kill him again, said the younger kid. They had tasted blood, and it felt good. They repeated the game. The second toppling was easier. Role-playing to tackle evil when they grow up?

How do they know it is Ravan, wondered the walker? This park is not the Dussehra maidan, which is more than a hundred metres away at west of Laharpur nullah. Who might have brought the half-burnt effigy here, and why? Isn’t it inauspicious to touch a corpse?

The disgrace of being dragged to an unknown venue by characters not part of the Ram Leela, and the final humiliation of being stoned to death by little kids was too much for the fallen demon king to bear. He fell apart, and scattered his bones. All that remain at the park are pieces of half-burnt bamboo sticks, and the skull.

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(Padmashri Haldhar Nag as Lankeshwari in Ram Leela of Ghess)