Navkrut my grandson
(oil on canvas)

Emboldened by the response from the unsuspecting and loving Sulekha public and with a nagging guilt feeling that Grandpas are there to tell Ramayana to the grandsons... I decided to embark on this project...to take Navkrut (my five year old grandson) experientially through our great epic Ramayana... there is a sutradar guiding the actors,  the play is posted in bold font and the background conversation is in italics....

 

(“Navkrut you want to hear Ramayan...”

“Thatha ... I hate it....you will make it long and boring”

Not new to me...many Sulekha friends have often told me this.... but now they have given up...

“Navvu I am not going to tell you Ramayan... we are going to fight Ravan in Ramayan...”

The word fight and Ravan perks him up... He is quite thrilled with the concept of ten heads...

“Ok.... Thatha... I want to be Hanuman and I want to fly like this”.......

He lands in front of me ....he shakes his back in a gyrating motion and hits me with his tail...

”ouch... Navvu...”)

 Act  ....one; Actors....Thatha as Kaikeyi and Navkrut as Dasrath.....

Sutradar(self): “Dear Nav you are Dasrath and I am kaikeyi and we are fighting enemy Rakshasas ... ok... You are killing many many rakhshasas...  Kaikeyi helped you at that time in fighting...and you promised her a boon for helping you....”

 
Dasrath is at it... He is jumping all over the place... his expression is ferocious and his mouth hands and legs act simultaneously... With each swish of his word he kills many rakshasas...

Dasrath: “Dishyoon... Dishyoon...Dan dan... Tishhh tithe...  You bad rakshus die ... Tat tat tat... dishun dishun...

The fight goes on now here (navvu here) and now there (navvu there) Unabating...

(“Navvu... enough I am Kaikeyi.....I have helped you so much..... Give me the boon no!)

 Kaikeyi shouts amidst the chaos....

Kaikeyi:  Lord.... all Rakhshasas are dead we have won...Yeh... Yeh...

Dasrath: “Yeh yehh... hahaha....... I want to give you moon... what do you want?   Tell me just now?”

 (“Navvu.... not moon...... but boon...”

 “What is boon thatha?”     

“A gift kanna”...

 “Thatha when are you giving my happy birth day gift.”

 “Navvu when your happy birth day comes I will give you.....Now we are going to do something very interesting... You know...we are going to light a fire...a homa...”

“A fire ....wow” his face lights with anticipation... “But now what should I do Thatha.”   “The gift nanu, the gift”...)    

Dasrath: “Ask me for a birthday gift”

Kaikeyi: “Lord I want two boons but I will ask you later “

Dasrath: “Okay...let us go light the fire...”

Act ...two;   Actors...Thatha plays a dual role as the pundit who performs the homa and as god...Navkrut as Dasrath

Sutradhar: “Navvu..... Dasrath is now making a fire and a puja... called homa to ask god to give him children ... ok.....You have to light a fire in the middle and say “Om Nama Shivaya” many times  and god will come and give you mangoes   . You have to give mango to Kaikeyi, Kauaslya and Sumitra...After they eat the mango, Rama and Lakshman and Bharath and Shatrugn will be born...”

(“Thatha I also want to eat   mango...Will god give me...”

“Nanu this is magic mango..... if they eatthis  baby will be born. If you eat it you will have a baby ...everyone will say shame shame ...only girls will have babys”

“No Thatha ...  you have to give me a mango.... I want a mango”...

“Ok!  we will ask the god to give you ordinary mango...  

 “Thatha I am going to light the fire..... you should not comeand help me”...

”ok da now let us start”)

Dasrath: “I need wood and paper and other things to build a fire...”

 Brings papers form the rack...

Dasrath:“I want to put chocolate in the fire”

Pandit “Why chocolate?”   

Dasrath “God can also eat chocolate... thatswhy”

He takes pundit’s mobile and puts that into the homa khund

Pundit: “Why this mobile?”

Dasrath: “god can talk no”

He takes beena’s calculator and puts it into the homa khund

Pundit: Why this nanu

Dasrath: He can count one, two, three, four mangoes no....

Pandit relapses into silence knowing fully well the wisdom of Dasrath... Then it was pencil, some visiting cards, Book, directory, diary...Went on for some time... he gets a match (ball point pen) and strikes it on the floor  

The fire is on... He starts singing and going around the fire

 (“Navvu you have to sit and say Om nam sivaya ...”.He looks at me and obediently says  ...”I am going to sit on the fire... “I had to drag him and tell him that he cannot sit on the fire... the logic I used was saying that god cannot come out of the fire if he sits...)

With his brows knitted together and a serious expression he folds his hands and says “Om namas shivaya...”and god appears

God: “I have come to give you magic mangoes ... take the mangoes and give to your wives”

Dasrath: “Where is my mango?”

God: This is yours but be careful eat only this...

Dasrath takes the mangoes meant for his wives and throws it back for them to eat...

 Act ...three ;  Actors....thatha plays the role of vishwamitra...... Navkrut as Rama

Sutradhar: “Navvu .....Rama and Lakshman are now grown up. The Dhadi (beard)   sage vishwamitra... He is taking them to fight the demons who are spoiling his puja... You should kill all these demons and then   Viswamitra, the dhadi uncle will take you and lakshman to Mythila... There if you are able to lift the great big shiva’s bow and break it then you can take sita home...

(He says with a drawl...”Thaths I can lift the bow with one Hand and I will break it with one finger”)

Vishwamitra comes to Ayodhya and with Dasrath’s permission takes Rama and Lakshmana to the forsest to protect his homa from the demons...

Vishwamitra:  brandishing his beard “Rama will you come with me and help me fight demons, who are not allowing me to do puja...”

 Rama: “Yes I will shoot them with my arrow”

Vishwamitra: “Very good”  ....Vishwamitra takes him and lakshman to the forest.... then starts the tapas

(Navvu is quite thrilled with the make shift dhadi of mine....“Thaths ...can I also wear a dhadi...” “When you become very old like viswamitrwa, you can have a dhadi... ok.... not now....)

Viswamitra: “Rama why are you sleeping...You are suppose to be awake..... get up”

(“Navvu........ That is Kumabakrana who sleeps like that get up.”

 Earlier I had enacted the Kumbakharna story to him and he loved the sleeping demon’s role played by me... where he was Ravan trying to wake me up...

”That story comes later  ...”

There is a naughty smile playing on his lips ...... his sleep intensity goes up)

Viswamitra: My god look at this arrow... it is so long and big....what is the demon saying  ... Rama...  he says.... he will kill you in a second.....Ha...Lakshmana... Where are you?    Come and help me....Rama is afraid of this Demons..... Demons are killing me Help! ...Help!!

 Rama feels insulted , gets up and with a roar pounces on vishwamitra and gives him a kick apparently for detaching him  from the demon...and takes out his sword and ...  Viswamitra, clutching the tummy where Rama had landed the kick ,gets out of the way for Rama to do his job.  

 Rama: “Swish ....Yea ....o.....yea yea....I have killed the demons give me a moon”

For a moment viswamitra is nonplussed...only for a moment....

(“Navvu boon part is over........ Now you have to lift the bow and break it...”

“Ok Thathu...Ok Thathu.”

”Rama this is the court of Janaka.... now lift up the bow and win sita’s hands”...

”thaths i don’t want sita’s hands...”

“No Navvu .. What I mean is take her to Ayodhya...she will be your queen and you will be king.... “

“Thatha I don’t want Sita.... let me take Anishaka...”

 Anishka is his close firend in school....

“Navvu as it is, we have made so many changes in the Ramayana.... if we make more changes then your father will get angry with us  ...   forget  Anishaka now.... let us go and lift the bow   ... I bet you can’t lift that bow)

Rama:”I am lifting the bow with a finger and now I shall give it a karate shot. “....He performs some dance of karate routine  ...

(He is a yellow belt)

Rama: “Thatha the bow is broken ha.... ha ...ha...”

Vishwamitra: “Rama let us take sita home....”

Act...Four ;   Actors...Tahtha  plays the   role of Kaikeyi...  Navkrut as Dasrath

Sutradhar: Navvu you are Dasrath now.....Kaikeyi is going to ask you to send Rama to forest and make her son as the king... you should say no and start crying.  But since you have promised her the boon you should say ok later. After sending Rama to forest    you should fall down and die...”

(“Thatha... in the forest tiger will be there”  ...” Yes nanu”... “Lion...”  “Yes da...” elephant... “Yes nav...”..... “Then thatha let us go to the forest...I will bring my guns... and let us go hunting...”

“Nanu when Rama goes into the bad forest you become Rama... and I will come with you as lakshman and we can go hunting with bows and arrows and sword ..... Ok ...Now... I will talk to you as Kaikeyi...you should in the end cry.... ok...”

He still does not understand why he should cry... and also he feels that being sent to forest was the best thing that could happen to anyone...we had great time earlier playing the hunter game...)

Kaikeyi: “Lord I want you to send Rama to forest and make my son Bharata the king...”

Dasrath: “No”

Kaikeyi: “But you gave me the boon”

Dasrath: Ok but I also want to go to forest

(Nanu.... later when you become Rama we will go baba... not now)

Dasrath: “Ok let him go....” he adds imperiously

(I remind him that he should cry and later fall down dead)

He slumps and acts dead.....

                                                       End of Ayodhya Khanda*...

        *If Ayodhya khanda is like this I do not know how the yuddha  khanda will be....