Living Ramayanas- Exploring The Plurality of The Epic in Wayanad and The World

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

Azeez Tharuvana was born in 1974 at Tharuvans in the Wayanad district of Kerala. He earned his postgraduate and doctoral degrees in Malayalam from the University of Calicut He has served as Editor, Kerala State Institute of Languages (2008-2011) and Assistant Director, Institute of Tribal Studies and Research (2011-2012). He is currently an assistant professor and the head of the Department of Malayalam at Farook College, Calicut, Kerala. He is also a research guide for Malayalam Studies at the University of Calicut, Kerala.

He has several books in Malayalam to his credit. They include the Wayanadan Ramayanam, about the different versions of the Ramayana in Wayanad; Etrayetra Ramayanangal, on the plurality of the Ramayana, Osho Darshanikathayude Girisringam, a study on Osho, Basheer Phalithangal and Basheer Sambhashanangal, about the Malayalam writer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer; 60 Gibran Kathakal, a collection of short stories by Kahlil Gibran translated into Malayalam; Wayanattile Adivasikal: Charitravum Varthamanavum and Adivasi Padangal, studies on the Adivasis; PK Kalan: Adivasi Jeevithathinte Samaramugham (editor), a collection of essays on the Adivasi activist P.K. Kalan, and Vidyabhyasa Chinthakal (editor), an anthology of essays by famous thinkers on education and pedagogy. He was awarded the Ambedkar National Excellency Award in 2014 for his work Wayanadan Ramayanam.

Different 'tellings' of the Ramayana story exist in various parts of India as well as in foreign countries. However, most of the studies are based on the works of Valmiki, Tulsidas, Thunchath Ezhuthachan, or other texts which have gained literary recognition. Many regard the Ramayanas in regional languages as variant texts of the Valmiki Ramayana.

Variant texts of the Ramayana are found not just in the tens and hundreds, but in the thousands. A.K. Ramanujan, the renowned scholar, is of the view that these are not variant texts of the Valmiki Ramayana, but largely independent 'tellings'. A limited cross-section of this view can be found in his essay "Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translations' published in the book Many Ramayanas edited by Paula Richman. The other essays in that book are responses to this view. Richman's book deals with the Ramayana story according to the Buddhist tradition, the Ramakiya of Thailand, the Streemaymozhi in Telugu and the Pavakoothu of Kerala. The articles in it not only draw our attention to the plurality of the Rama story, but also point out the need as well as scope for further research in this field. For this to become a reality, the first step is to reclaim the tellings prevalent among different communities.

A.K. Ramanujan, in his essay "Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translations', cites a folk story:

One day when Rama was sitting on the throne, his ring fell off. When it touched the earth, it made a hole in the ground and disappeared into it. It was gone. His trusty henchman, Hanuman, was at his feet. Rama said to Hanuman, "Look, my ring is lost. Find it for me."

Now Hanuman can enter any hole, no matter how tiny. He had the power to become the smallest of the small and larger than the largest thing. So he took on a tiny form and went down the hole.

He went and went and went and suddenly fell into the netherworld. There were women down there. Look, a tiny monkey! It's fallen from above. Then they caught him and placed him on a platter (thali). The King of Spirits (bhut), who lives in the netherworld, likes to eat animals. So Hanuman was sent to him as part of his dinner, along with his vegetables. Hanuman sat on the platter, wondering what to do.

While this was going on in the netherworld, Rama sat on his throne on the earth above. The sage Vasistha and the god Brahma came to see him. They said to Rama, "We want to talk privately with you. We don't want anyone to hear what we say or interrupt it. Do we agree?"

"All right," said Rama, 'we'll talk' then they said, 'Lay down a rule. If anyone comes in as we are talking, his head should be cut off.

"It will be done," said Rama.

Who would be the most trustworthy person to guard the door? Hanuman had gone down to fetch the ring. Rama trusted no one more than Laksmana, so he asked Laksmana to stand by the door.