Mummy tells her son Rama “Ramayana”
By
P.R.Ramachander
(once upon a time I was a story teller to children. I
thought , why not try telling Ramayana in my fashion and this is the result)
“I am sleepy ,
tell me a story Mummy “ , said Rama,
And Mummy
laughed and said, “Why not?”
“Long long ago ,
there was a king called Dasaratha.”
Rama said , “funny
name , what does it mean.”
Mummy laughed “Ït
means he can fight with ten people,
And that king
had three wives” and Rama , was not happy?
“Why Mummy? . in all my friends homes
there is only one Mummy.”
Mummy replied ”Kings are big people and so
they marry many people”
Rama said Öh” and Mummy said, “ there were
no children ,
In their home “and Rama nodded” like the aunty next
door,
And did that king
do any pooja like the next door aunty? “
Mummy replied , “yes and a
man came from pooja with a bowl. “
Rama was surprised “Never heard of anything like that” and mummy said,
“The bowl had
four spoon of kheer and Dasaratha
gave one spoon ,
To the three queens, Kausalya, Kaikeyi and Sumithra and
The one more
spoon Sumithra , whom all liked. “
“After some time
Kausalya got one baby boy,
Kaikeyi another
baby boy but Sumithra,
Got two baby boys.”Rama jumped up and said,
“ I know one baby
boy per one spoon of kheer,
Oh Mummy , I am only
one boy , did you,
Take only one
spoon of kheer” and she just smiled.
“ Dasaratha called
his Guru vasishta
to name the boys.
He named Kausalya’s
son as Rama, because he was pretty.”
Rama jumped up
and down “and so Mummy
I too am pretty”
She said “ The
Guru called Kaikeyi’s son BHaratha because
he would rule well.”
“He named one son of Sumithra as Lakshmana
, because ,
He was perfect and
the other Sathrugna because ,
He will kill his
enemies “ and Rama asked “Munmmy ,
How could the
guru knew all
this about the babies?”
Rama’s Mummy said
“Vasishta was a great sage ,
And he knew what
is going to happen for all.”
Rama said , “Mummy
I wish I knew him” and mummy smiled,
And Said , “Äll
the four children went to Guru’s
school to learn”
“ After some
time the Guru told Dasaratha that
his children,
Have passed out and on that day an angry
sage called Kaushika,
Came to Dasaratha’s palace and told
him , “Some asuras ,
Are not
allowing me to do pooja,Please send Rama
to help me.”
Rama asked “who are
asuars” and his mummy replied,
“bad people who trouble
Good people” and “Dasaratha,
Did not want his very small child to
go and fight with,
Asuras and he
asked, “shall will come instead of him “.
The angry sage got very angry but Guru of Dasaradha,
Advised him to send Rama , because it would be good
for him”
Rama said “I do not follow Mummy, you always say,
Fighting with any one
is bad “and mummy smiled
“True Rama” but Rama
was an expert in fighting and,
Unless he fights ,
how can we drive away bad people”
Lakshmana who liked
his brother , too too mmuch,
Went with them and
both brothers killed all the bad people.”
“The sage was glad
and told them that he will take them,
To Sita’s SWayamvara.”Rama said “mummy you are going very fast,
Who is Sita
and what is SWayamvara”, Mummy
continued ,
With a smile , “there
was another king Janaka with just one wife”
“He too did not have any children, “Rama said “ Oh then , he did,
Pooja and that
person came out” , Mummy said , “No , he thought,
He will raise a
garden” Rama said “funny mummy , Is there,
Any tree, which gives
babies”, Mummy said , “not at all””
“But when he dug the land
he got a box and it had,
A lovely girl baby”” Rama could not keep quite ,
“Öh Mummy let
us dig a garden , I want a sister”
Mummmy laughed out loud “these things do not happen any
more.”
“That king named her “Sita” and that king had a huge
bow,
Which even hundred people
could not lift, but one day ,
When the golden ball
she was playing with , went below,
The box, Sita
simply lifted the box and took her ball.”
Rama said Öh “ was
she as strong as Rama or was she,
KIngkong” Mummy
said , “neither but she had great
power.
And so her
father decided she will marry a person ,
Who also can lift
the bow”, Rama said “sounds Okay”
Rama said , “Mummy did
your father ask Daddy,
To cook Pista,
like you , before you married him”
Mummy said, “Do not be silly , Daddy does not know how to cook,”
And let me tell
you , “what is SWayamvara?”
“During those
times when a girl wants to get married,
They will call one
day, all boys who want to marry her ,
And ask her to select
the boy she wants to marry and that is Swayamvara”
Rama jumped and told, “keep swayamvara for me tomorrow”
Mummy said “do not
be silly, , The sage took Rama and
Lakshmana,
To the kings place
but on the way Rama stepped
on a stone,
And the Stone
became a lady called Ahalya”” Rama said,
Mummy , Please do not send me there, I do not want to
make a stone in to a girl”
Mummy continued, “Rama broke the bow easily “and Sita
liked Rama,
And Sita’s father
called Rama’s Daddy and Mummy and
very grandly,
The marriage of Sita
and Rama was celebrated”,
Rama caught hold,
Of his Mummy’s
hand , “Please Mummy , I too want to
marry that Sita”
Mummy laughed and
told, “hey little bundle of Mischief,
You are still a baby
and when you grow up , I will
find a Sita for you.”
Mummy continued, “When Sita and Rama were returning back,
To Rama’s place , one angry man called Parasurama stopped them.”
He told them, “Hey silly Rama, You seem to be proud that you have
broken,
A silly bow that
this girl had, I will not allow
you to go from here .
Till you break my bow also and Rama easily did” Rama said,
To teach that angry man, Rama should have given the bow to Sita to break”
Mummy said , “”Wonderful kiddo , This thought never occurred to me,
Rama, Sita and his parents reached their place
and lived happily,
And Dasaratha
became old and wanted Rama to help him to rule his country,
And he wanted to
make Rama also a king and all
people became happy.”
There was a hunch
back called Mandhara who was a servant
of Kaikeyi,
And she did
not Like Rama becoming
the king”, Rama asked “Why?”
She said “ When Rama was
a baby he threw a ball at Mandhara and it hurt her,
And so she hated
Rama, and so she went and
told Kaikeyi “ÿou are a fool”
“She told Kaikeyi
, “Rama is not your son, .Ask Dasaratha
to make ,
Your son Bharatha
the king”Kaikeyi told her “”how can I do it?”
Then that crooked hunchback told “Once you saved Dasaratha,
And he had
promised to give you any two things that you want.”
“ So when
Dasaratha returned from his office , Kaikeyi asked,
“Do you remember
you had promised any two things you
want?”
Dasaratha said ofcourse, and she asked, “ My son
Bharatha ,
Should become the king
and Rama should go to forest for 14 years”
“Mummy , that is
very bad, Let her son become the
king ,
But Why should , Rama go to forest?” jumped up and down
our Rama,
But then his Mummy
said “all people felt like that ,
But Rama went to
forest along with Sita and Lakshmana”
“Unfortunately being very sad , Dasaratha died
and ,
Bharatha who had
gone to his uncles place for
vacation,
Came back, shouted aty Kaikeyi, refused
to be the king,
And went along with all to the forest
to call back Rama”
“I like Bharatha , Mummy
, he should have beaten his mummy”,
Said Rama and his Mummy told “ Will you ever beat me Rama”
Rama said ,”” never mummy, because you are my darling”
Rama’s mummy hugged him
and said , “ My darling”
“When Bharatha met Rama, he refused to come and told him,
To be king for fourteen years but Bharatha refused and asked,
For Rama’s slippers
and went back and made Rama’s
slippers ,
As the king, And Rama
along with Sita went further in
to the forest.
“Mummy , What
Bharatha did is wrong, how can poor Rama,
Walk in the forest barefooted”, his mummy agreed but continued,
“Rama, Lakshmana and Sita built to a pretty hut in a
place ,
Called Panchavati and started staying
there. Happily”
Rama asked,””How can they be happy Mummy , Barefooted,
That too in a
small hut” and Mummy continued, “One day
,
A lady called
Soorpanakha approached Rama
and asked him,
To marry her , but
Rama playfully told “I already have a wife”
Rama asked, “But Mummy his father had three
wives”
His mummy laughed
a lot and replied, “True , but he was
not,
As great as his
father and he sent the lady to
Lakshmana,
And Lakshmana cut
off her nose as well as her ears”
Rama said ,” Ït is bad of Lakshmana , he could have told
,
I too have a wife in Ayodhya” Mummy said “but he did not”.,
And Soorpanakha
went to her ten headed brother
in Lanka,
And told him, Ï saw a pretty girl in forest for you”
“But when I went
to bring her , One Rama cut off my ears
and nose.”
Ravana became angry
and asked his uncle
Marreecha to dress up ,
Like a golden
deer and run before Rama’s hut. And when
Sita saw,
The deer , she
wanted it and Rama chased the deer deep in to the forest”
Rama said “Sita should not have done that, Which fool
will believe,
That a golden deer
can exist” and Mummy continued,
“Ravana took off Sita from her hut
, took her to Lanka,
And kept her in
prison in a park called äsoka vana”there.
Rama told “better
than Rama Mummy ,He is still in
forest,
And Sita has
reached a park,”Mummy continued , “Rama
And Lakshmana
searched everywhere but could not find Sita,
And then on the way
they met a monkey called “hanuman””
Rama asked , “What is the use
of monkey , Mummy ,
They can perhaps
climb trees and steal Bananas”
Mummy replied “Hanuman
was not like that.
He was God and he was minister to Sugreeva”
“Sugreeva was
another God monkey and requested,
Help of Rama to defeat
his brother monkey Vali,
Who was very strong. . Rama said, “mummy,
Monkeys will fight
each other even if they are Gods?”
Mummy smilingly said “Rama killed Vali, made sugreeva
,
The king of monkeys
and all the monkeys ,
Searched all over the world For Sita and Hanuman,
Reached Lanka
by crossing the ocean by jumping over it
Rama said, “you always call me monkey but never allow,
Me even to jump and cross a pool of water”and Mummy said,
“I never
called you Hanuman monkey” and “ any
way,
Hanuman met Sita ,
met Ravana , and burnt
Lanka,”
Rama said””monkeys
will always be monkeys” and Mummy
Continued”He jumped back, met Rama , told everything ,
And Rama with all
moneys started towards Lanka”
Rama said , Ïf one
monkey can burn Lanka , with so many monkeys !“
Rama with help of
monkeys built a bridge and when he was,
Doing that
Vibheeshana , the good brother of
Ravana ,
Came and surrendered to Rama” .Rama said, “oh,
He had a good
brother too , and then what?”
They crossed the ocean
and after great war,
Rama killed Ravana
and in a plane owned by Ravana,
Reached
Ayodhya , where he became
the king”
Rama said “Mummy I
am sleepy , Sri Rama Jayam”
