It's Dussera today. The day Ram defeated Ravan in a battle for Sita. Near where I live, a makeshift stage was set up where some actors with terrible singing skills were enacting the Ramleela in lurid costumes. I didn't stay till the end. Had seen it before. Ravan's cracker-filled ten-headed effigy would be burnt with a single arrow. The only show of skill at least for this evening.
I read in Bill Bryson's 'Short History of nearly everything' that history is written by winners. I wonder about Ravan. What kind of a chap was he? And of Valmiki and why he portrayed his characters so black and white. I wonder, like Mahabharata, if Ramayana had allowed for shades, would Ravan still be called demonic, or just a brother taking revenge for his sister's nose being cut off. Maybe if it was written so, then instead of effigies burnt, songs on Ravan would blare on loudspeakers, on rakshabandhan day.
There are many who don't see him as all black. They speak of him being a Brahmin scholar, a connoisseur of art and music, a great singer, astrologer and a generous king to Lanka. Shobana who recently played the role of Ravan in her dance drama 'MayaRavan' researched him in detail and says 'Ram would not waste his energy in killing someone insignificant; he killed someone who was equally powerful.'
The Sinhalese regard Ravan as former king of Lanka. And have many places named after him. India, though, relates to him as a kidnapper, an evil man, who died so good could live. Ravan means villain in the Indian lexicon. MidDay did an article that asked, 'Who is the Ravan in your life?' Answers ranged from boss to BEST to auto drivers and bai's. But not all of India agrees. There are temples dedicated to Ravan here. In Kanpur, in Rajasthan, in Vidisha. There's even a mandap where Ravana is said to have married Mandodari, in Mandor, Jodhpur, which the locals respectfully call it Ravan 'Jee' Ki Chanwari. As India celebrates, the Dave Brahmins of Mandor even perform the shraadh of Ravana on Dussera every year.
Wikipedia says that the term Ravan is a derogatory reference to him. His original name was Dasamukha, which means bearer of ten heads. It is said in Valmiki's Ramayana that once Dasamukha annoyed the Great Monkey King Vaali by lifting the mountain on which Vaali was praying and was punished by Vaali who trapped his hand with the mountain. Dasamukha howled for ten days after which he was freed by vaali. The term Ravana means Howler. Since Dasamukha howled for ten days when trapped, he began to be referred to as Ravana meaning the howler. Some also say Ravana means "(He) Of the terrifying roar", a name given by Shiva as he pressed Mt Kailash down on him.
The stories are plenty. But there's no doubt that Ravan is the most intriguing character in Valmiki's opus. I just read that Mani Ratnam is making a film on Ramayana. Not surprisingly, he's chosen to call it Ravan.
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