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The Ramayana Series by Ashok K. Banker - A Review

The Ramayana series by Ashok Banker is a brave attempt at rewriting the entire Ramayana in the fantasy genre. It is as brave an effort for the sheer scale of the attempt as for doing something, which if gone slightly wrong, could incite religious groups all over the country. Yet he successfully manages to thwart both problems and gives us the story in a very palatable form. The defining part of all the six books is that, though varying from the actual plot at places, the retelling remains true to the spirit of the original story. The intention of the author comes across as genuine, and his stand is always humble, never claiming to best any of the previous versions that have existed over the millennia.

Banker has an eye for detail and that serves him well during the narration. It helps him bring out the finer shades in the characters and gives credibility to the incidents. From the transformation of Ravana to ‘The Dark Lord’ to Rama as ‘The Chosen One’, all the characters are neatly defined, and there never comes a point in the story where the narration is slack. For the average fantasy reader, there are enough thrills in each book to satisfy the simple need of the joy of reading, while for the more serious reader, the philosophy of the Ramayana is kept intact and in fact, at most times, the reader tends to get absorbed in the story and forget that he’s not reading one of the versions that have been doing rounds forever.

The books trace the journey of Rama’s life from the ‘Prince of Ayodhya’ to ‘King of Ayodhya’, his life as he grows from a prince to an exiled king-in-waiting to Maryada Purushottam Rama to a demi-god for all those around him. It is a great portrayal of the kind of monumental decisions that he had to take from a very tender age, the dilemmas he had to face in the name of dharma, his stoic resistance of the demons of his own will and a nagging self-doubt in the wake of all the praises showered upon him at large. Halfway through the story, even the reader starts to feel sympathetic to his cries of “I am a mortal, a normal human being with all the regular flaws and desires. Please treat me as such and not as a deva.” Yet, as the story progresses, it so happens that all his attempts seem futile and by the end, his pleas seem perfunctory, even forced as he kept amassing more and more followers from Lakshmana to Hanuman, Sugreeva to Jamabavan and Vibhisena to the reader.

Inspite of the focus being on Rama throughout, Banker does well to bring out the characters of Dasaratha, Kausalya, Kaikeyi, Sumitra, Manthara, Bharat, Vashishta and Vishwamitra. The earlier fame of Dasaratha, his just rule, his later transgressions, Kausalya’s resilience for the sake of Rama, Kaikeyi’s character from her youth to the queen of pleasures, Bharat’s overnight change to a man on learning of the exile forced upon Rama are all beautifully portrayed.

The relationships between Rama & Lakshman, Rama & Hanuman and Rama & Sita form the highlight of the series. Lakshman’s love for Rama, his devotion for his elder brother is unmatched. From the very beginning, he is shown as a naughty, happy-go-lucky teenager with immense faith in Rama and as time progresses and events unfold, the same nonchalance to life manifests itself in the form of unrestrained anger and frustration arising from the helplessness he feels in the situation, from his inability to act in any way. His only solace is in following Rama to wherever he goes, whatever he does. His character reaches a peak in book three, where, as they are about to reach Chitrakut, Rama asks him one final time to follow his own dharma, to go back to Ayodhya and serve his people. Lakshman, angered by his requests, gives Rama his own version of dharma and ends by saying, “My dharma is Rama.” That is the high point of Lakshman’s character and it doesn’t really grow a lot after this, and there is a definite disintegration of his character in the last two books.

Similarly, Sita’s character is never fully developed. Even she has her high points, but is largely overshadowed by Rama, and Ravana, for that matter. Once one is through reading the book, she doesn’t come across as the epitome of purity and chastity as we are accustomed to see her. Banker is found wanting on that account. His portrayal of Hanuman, though, is worth commending, for the absolute devotion that he’s been able to bring out, if nothing else. Rama’s each word is like a blood-oath for him. What is good to see is that we get an insight into the inner turmoil of Hanuman, what he had to face, and sacrifice to remain true and loyal to Rama. This is something that we generally tend to overlook when talking of him. It is a sensitive description of him and his feelings.

All said and done, Banker saves the best of Ravana. It clearly is the high point of the series and the best developed character that continues to grow and amaze at each step in the story. Banker deftly brings out the ambiguity in his character, the ‘Lord of Asuras’ as he is now and the penitent Brahman lost in meditation that he was at one time. Every time we see Ravana at his worst, there is some redeeming factor, some act of his that seems good, even noble, which casts a seed of doubt in the minds of the reader. By the end, one is more intrigued by him than anything else. Though Banker leaves a lot of questions unanswered, it comes across as if it was Ravana who actually planned his own murder through the hands of Rama. He remarks to Mandodhari at one point that he and Rama were friends in an age past, will be friends again in ages to come, but in this particular age, they are the worst of foes. He knows that Rama won’t kill without reason, so by abducting Sita, and other deeds, he gives him a reason to come and kill him. As we approach the end, the only thing we want to know is who really is Ravana, what is his purpose, is he really evil, or even, can Rama be wrong?

The simple reason that Banker succeeds for me in recreating that entire universe is because, though overtly, the story is clearly Rama’s, he is the protagonist and the warrior of dharma, as he himself puts it, subtly, he gives us enough clues and incidents, even direct reasons through Rama’s own self doubts and the apparent lies propagated by Ravana which make us reconsider if Rama was actually the hero. Not necessarily that he was in the wrong, but that Ravana was the sole hero and the villain of the whole story, and Rama, like a thousand others, was only a minion in his grand schemes, whether they be to spread evil or to decimate it through his own slaughter at the hands of Rama. It does raise that question, however lightly and with that, the story ends. In the end, this too, is a story of love, of life, of faith, of devotion, of dharma. In essence, this too, is Ramayana.

posted by Swetank Gupta @ 3:17 pm