The Living Legend
Credit: Special Arrangement
Rama is all of 16 when Sage Vishwamitra takes him to the Dandaka forest, with Lakshmana accompanying them. At first, the spirit of adventure fills the two teenage brothers, but it is a curtain of pitch darkness when they enter the forest in broad daylight. The smell of decaying flesh, flashes of fire, and the gloom of animals, birds and foliage in terror affect Rama deeply. For the first time, he feels fear. He hears derisive laughter — is it from the forest or within him?
The first lesson he recalls from the sage Vashistha is: What is the task at hand? How can he understand the gravity of what is happening? Is the earth calling out for help? He gathers his fragmented thoughts and, feeling for the arrow from his quiver, shoots at a shape-shifting demon who terrorises the forest. The Living Legend by Vayu Naidu is packed with such twists and reflections and showcases the strength of relationships Rama, Sita and Lakshmana created with nature to restore the very balance of life.
Vayu Naidu is a PhD scholar in the Epic and Oral traditions of Ramayana and Mahabharata. She is a Royal Literary Fund Fellow, a Visiting Fellow at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), and is Professor of Practice at SOAS in the School of Arts.