Week 9 Story: An Ordinary Man
An Ordinary Man
There was a man named Ravi who lived in Mumbai, India. He devoted much of his time to worship Shiva. He meditated and prayed every day for years to gain the position of Shiva’s most dedicated devotee. He even quit his 9-5 job to devote as much time as he could to Shiva.
He lived a very normal life and gave much of his time to the things he loved. The only thing Ravi did not tolerate was anyone messing with his younger sister, Ramya. His sister was his world.
One day while Ramya was running a few errands at her nearby grocery store, she
noticed a handsome young man there as well. It was love at first sight for her.
She decided to approach him and ask him out herself. This young man was Rama,
who was newly married to Sita.
“Hi my name is Ramya!”
Startled, Rama responded, “Hi, I’m Rama. Have we met?!”
“No, we have not!” she exclaimed. Excited she said, “I want
to marry you.”
Rama shocked, responded “I have a wife” [He took out his
wallet and showed a picture of him and Sita]
“I cannot marry you”, he said.
Ramya couldn’t believe that someone could reject her. She drove
home to her brother and cried, “I got rejected by Rama, the love of my life.”
Ravi was furious. How could someone reject his sister. I
must get back at him somehow for hurting Ramya.
“He has a wife, and she is very pretty. He would never leave
her for me. It’s not worth it” Ramya said.
“Great, I will kidnap his wife, then he will have to marry
you.”
Ravi tracked Rama’s moves the next few weeks and found out
when Sita was home all by herself. When the right time came, Ravi kidnapped
Sita and held her hostage.
To find out what happens next…come back next week!
Author’s Note:
I based off this week’s story on Ravana’s
encounter with Rama and Sita. I wanted to write this story from the perspective
of Ravana and his sister. In the Ramayana it is based off Rama and Sita, and it
conveys a different message. Most stories create Ravana as an evil character,
but in his hometown Lanka, he is seen otherwise. I wanted to portray him from
that perspective. A man (Ravi) who devotes much of his time to Shiva. He loves
his sister (Ramya) and will support her in any way he can.
Bibliography: Tiny Tales from the Ramayana from Laura Gibbs
Hey Aarushi! I really enjoyed your story; I like how it takes a new perspective from the original story, and I like how you changed the environment and setting. We, the readers, can now see Ravana’s perspective and in a new, modern world. The ending really got me hooked, because now I’m curious to see what happens next. Overall, it was a great story!
ReplyDeleteHey Aarushi,
ReplyDeleteYour story is really good and an easy read. I really liked how you changed the perspective to make Ravana as sort of a good intentioned man who is very devoted to Shiva and his family. Also, the dialogue between characters is very well done and does a good job characterizing them. I would love to see how you describe what happens next in the Ramayana. Great Job!
Hello Aarushi,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your retelling of the story of Ravana. I liked how in your authors note you explained how Ravana is seen as a bad guy by most people, but not all. I was not aware that there were people who saw him as anything but a villain but it was nice to get a change in perspective that I wouldn't have thought of my self.