Tuesday 17 May 2005

Ramayan in the subconscious

Today it is raining and Nadia insists on putting the "raincoat" on Brando before we go out for the evening walk. The raincoat is something that mainly protects his back from getting wet, and it has to be put around his neck and and around his legs. As soon as Nadia uses the word 'impermeabile' or "raincoat", Brando tries to hide under the table. After calling his name repeatedly, he slowly comes out, his head hanging low, his tail between his legs, looking miserable. I call it his "Sita maiyya" look, as if he is imploring the mother earth to open and swallow him.

In the park, he sometimes decides that he has had enough of following me and refuses to move, holding on tight to the ground, looking at me defiantly. This one I call his "Angad ji" look. Today while walking in the park, I thought about this going back to personalities from Ramayan. Of course, it is all between me and him since here no one else, including Nadia would understand what I mean by Sita maiyya or Angad ji. However, I am a bit surprised how some things can remain alive deep inside the mind and come out suddenly like that.

Another example is the involuntary "hey Ram" when I saw a bad accident. The words came to me when I had looked at a boy's body covered with blood. Later, the words 'hey Ram' kept on echoing in my head for a long time.

Yet, if anybody asks me if I believe in Ganesh or Ram or other Gods, Hindu or from any other religion, my answer would be an emphatic no. I don't feel that praying before a statue or saint is going to change any thing. Yet, I know, I will go on using words like Sita maiyya and Angad ji and hey Ram.

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