Ravana’s Many Faces

Two months ago,Anand Neelakantan launched his book,Asura: Tale of the Vanquished,which tells the age-old tale of the Ramayana from Ravana’s perspective. Ravana: Roar of the Demon King,a graphic novel by Abhimanyu Singh Sisodia,and Ravanayanan,a comic series about Ravana’s life by Vijayendra Mohanty,similarly explore Ravana’s life and times.

“The title of the book explains a lot about the story,which is told from the eyes of the defeated Ravana. History is always written by victors and very little is remembered about the person who loses. But Ravana had a story too and this book has given me a chance to explore that,” says Neelakantan.

Sisodia was fascinated with Ravana since his student days. The author feels that Ravana is one of the most misunderstood characters in Indian mythology. “While the original versions of the Ramayana by Tulsidas and Valmiki all describe Ravana as a powerful and erudite man with many shades to his personality,popular versions of the tale paint him in black and white,as a villain and nothing more,” he says.

This revolution is not just restricted to books alone. Ravana’s story is now being enacted on stage by artists such as Maya Krishna Rao in Delhi and the Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam group in Chennai. Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam,for instance,is bringing their performance,Rama Ravana to Open Space,Pune,in October. The group will use music,dance,makeup,costume and drama to present Ramayana in a new light ,telling the story from both Rama’s and Ravana’s sides.

Maya Krishna Rao,who teaches at the National School of Drama (NSD),has been performing Ravanama since last year. Her story follows an an actor who prepares to essay the role of Ravana. As the actor studies Ravana,she discovers new shades and dimensions to him. Soon she is overwhelmed by how complex Ravana is and this realisation begins to change her as an actor. “Ravana was a man who could appreciate great beauty; he was a master Veena player and was extremely knowledgeable. The tragedy of his life is that while he knows beauty,his actions do not have beautiful ends,” says Krishna Rao.

Are these books and performances disturbing society’s deep-seated ideas of good and evil,however? Neelakantan’s book has piqued the curiosity of several readers and he has had a positive response. The only negative feedback he has received,is from supporters of Ravana,who claim that Neelakantan should have painted Ravana in a more favourable light. Krishna Rao says that she has received much acclaim for her performance and will soon be taking it to Germany. According to her,while popular versions depict Ravana as a unidimensional villain,there are folk tales across the country which tell the tale from Ravana’s perspective and sometimes,even from Sita’s. “Most people are curious to tell and listen to stories and to hear different versions of classics. We are continuing this age-old tradition of story-telling,” she says.