Stories of War........

When I was small I frequently pestered my Grand Father for more stories. Being a language teacher, a master of Sanskrit and Malayalam he never ran out of stories. Now he does not narrate stories but insists that I read more books, and not waste my time in front of the T.V and computer. The most striking feature of the stories that my Grand Father told me was ‘War’ as all of them were from the epics or other Hindu mythologies, and after each story we discuss its political aspect. Now I see my heroes Ravanan, Karnan and Parashuraman not just as mythical characters but as leaders who represented and led their people in the war against the other group.


Every day the media sells the stories of war, the war between countries, races, political groups, religions and casts and even the intellectual and publicity wars between writers, celebrities and business firms . All these did not start just like that in the 19th or 20th century. The war that started during the Vedas between Aryans and the Dravidians reached its peak in the epic Ramayana. Ram an Aryan prince was not just fighting the abductor of his love; it was really the war between the races. If it was not so it would have been the best for Sita to live with the handsome and powerful Ravan than go with Ram (only to be divorced and sent in exile) who was only interested in the welfare of his people. I think he being an Aryan went on war with the Dravidian king, just to keep his people happy.

In Mahabharata it was war between Aryans themselves. Only that this time Pandavas had the support of the Dravidians through Bheem’s matrimony with Hidumbi. The cast system was so intense that the Kauravas failed to use their most powerful weapon ‘Karnan’. This aspect about Karnan is beautifully explained in the book ‘Mritvinjayam’ by Janpeeth winning writer Shivaji Savant.

In the book ‘Purana nigandu’ K. Kunhanandan Nair (my Grand Father) says that the story of the 5th incarnation of Vishnu, Parashuramn is about the war between haheyyas and Bhargavas i.e. the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas. The Haheyyas being the teachers took away all the wealth from the Bhargavas who were the ruling clan in the form of guru dakshina. This made the bhargavas hunt the Haheyyas down and forcefully take away their pocessions. The teaching class had no other options but to retreat to the forests. Raman was a Brahman who made war his way of life. He used a ‘parashu’ or an axe to chop off the heads of evil Kings and so the name Parashuraman. It’s said that he destroyed the Kshatriyas 21 times and created a lake of royal blood to avenge the death of his father. In Ramayan there is a part where the two Rams meet each other. The bhramin Raman was then convinced that the Kshatriya Raman was also an incarnation of Vishnu. They then parted as brothers.

I think it is necessary that people read these stories. Then we will realize that how stupid and unnecessary the violence that is going on in the society is. As it is stated in Devi bhagavatham, all these stories are untrue but they are written as morals to enlighten the world about a better life.

Drizzling..........

I always feel lazy when rain is falling like cats and dogs. But my imagination is never idle even when there is nothing better to do than sip a hot cup of tea and simply watch the wrath of the clouds pour down and spoil all your plans to go out and have fun. I think about all the stories that I have heard about rain, and as we all know there are countless stories people have made up about rain in different cultures in different parts of the world.


At times I feel that rain is some sort of prank played by the nature, because in Hindu mythology rain is associated with Indran who is always up to some mischief. But it is this control on rain that really makes him the king of Gods. In the early Vedas we do not find the trimoorthis very important. It is Indran who is the eldest among devas, all this shows that our ancestors found the rain and the rain god very important. There are stories of indran blessing and cursing people with rainfall. One such story is the story of ‘Ghandeevam’, the famous bow used by Arjun, the third Pandava prince. Agni the fire god who fell sick after the consumption of a lot ghee and sugar during yagas fell sick had to eat the Ghandava forest as a remedy. The forest was protected by the rain god who never allowed a forest fire to happen in ghandava. Agni had to seek the help of Arjun , and for this task he was given the bow Ghavdeevam and a special arrow holder which will never run out of arrows. Agni then burned down the forest in the shade of Arjun’s arrows, this time the rain god was defeated.


Even though I am happy that rain is defeated in the story I don’t actually hate rain, in fact I love rain as a natural phenomenon. It’s fun to go for a stroll when it is drizzling and take in the warm smell of the soil. It was so much fun walking back home from school keeping the umbrella neatly folded in the bag and being very happy getting wet until we reach home taking shelter in the local shops when the rain is too heavy and enjoying roasted groundnuts. Rain is beautiful to look at sitting in the veranda of my ancestral home munching fresh rice flakes mixed with sugar, coconut and banana. Rainy afternoons are also the best time to play chess, caroms and cards.