Today’s Devils and Tomorrow’s Gods

A fiction to convey a fact.

Let X  be today’s generation and Y be our elders.

 

There are many differences between X and Y and  one of them is,  X don’t believe in talks which are logically not true or possible.

 

X asked to Y, grand pa, why we burn Ravana on Dussehra? I read about him on internet that, he was a great ruler, a follower of Shiva, had knowledge of six Shastra and four Vedas, maestro of Veena and a great brahmin. The only mistake made by him was kidnapping of Sita.

 

This is why we burn him, said Y. It is a symbol of triumph over evil.

 

X- But he didn’t do anything wrong. He just took revenge of his sister’s affront, which I would also do if needed. Today people rape girls and burn them for dowry. Why don’t we burn them instead? I don’t believe in all these mythological stories. How one can believe of those fights in which  their weapons had magical powers and they could disappear from here to there?

 

Y- Beta, you shouldn’t talk like this for God’s actions.

 

X- Have you seen those actions? Now don’t say that I have read and seen in Ramanand Sagar’s television show. You just have heard it from others, unaware of the fact that how much of it is true.

 

Y found himself mum and asked- So what do you want to say? Weren’t they god?

 

X- They were, but by their Karmas and not by such fictional stories. I can also write such stories for next age and can create some new Gods.

 

Y- Ohh, how?

 

X- Just read a fiction of me below and tell me what you think. Here we go…

 

Let Z be the next age (Yuga).

 

Archaeology department in Z age found many books which has same pictures as of the statues they found in excavation. On examining those books they found that the same thing had written in all of them.  All the books were written about the greatness and right work about the picture character in the book. Finally they found a book, which was too heavy, too old and in detail, there was no cover page found of that till then. According to that book…

 

March 10, 1957, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,

 

A daemonic son born to Hamida, tenth wife of Mohammad bin Awad, a billionaire in Saudi Arabia. Awad got intuition of some evil signs by this child’s birth so he left his wife and son. Big eyes, four hands and a black sign on forehead. Osama bin Mohammad bin Awad bin Laden was the name given to him by Hamida. As dire his name as he was. While Hamida was afraid of all these signs and actions, Stanley Ann Dunham and her husband was celebrating birth of their first child on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Father of Kawaiaha church told, I knew it, he will come and has come now to annihilate the persecutor. Barack Obama is his name, said father.

 

X said- All other details you already know about both the characters. What I can do is, I can write more about Osama that he had supernatural powers to state his cruel personality and Barack Obama born as an incarnation of any of our Gods to kill the cruel Osama who feared the innocents.

 

After more discovery, archaeology department in Z age found cover page of the book named Benevolence of Obama, The Holy Book.

  

Y-  But Osama bin laden didn’t have four hands and a black sign on his forehead?

 

X- But we have amazing Computer Graphics. By the way, Arvind Trivedi also didn’t have ten heads and supernatural powers.

 

Y- Arvind Trivedi???????

 

X- The face which comes to your mind whenever we talk about Ravana. He is an Indian actor who portrayed Ravana’s role in television series Ramayan. I mentioned his name here because you only believe in that tv series.We can create many movies with great graphics and can write a big volume of the story so that people definitely would believe on it.

 

Y- Might be possible. But what’s your point by all these?

 

X- O my religious grand pa, you forgot what I said. The only mistake made by him was kidnapping of Sita, which was revenge of his sister’s insult. People today are more demonic than Ravana but we hear or read about them in newspapers and ignore them, because we are so habitual of reading 10-15 daily news on rape, eve teasing, molestation, dowry, harassment and many more crimes. It’s very normal for us to read that, two young girls in a rural village were gang-raped then hanged on a tree. Who did? Nobody knows. But everybody is familiar with old demonic characters. We don’t care of today’s problems but do care of old villains and their evil actions. If we think seriously then we can celebrate Dussehra daily, because so many Ravanas kidnap or rape someone somewhere in our country everyday. 

  

Y thought for a while and said-

 

How smart and intelligent is your generation boy. You killed two birds with one stone.

 

First, you opened my eyes. We should recognize the real devils or criminals and should do care of today’s problems.

 

Second, your idea was great. We can give new Gods to next age by writing some new scripture of heroes of our age.

 

X- Ha ha ha, you got it. Time to sleep. Good night dada ji.

 

Y- Jai Shree Krishna beta. 

 

 

 

Reviews

[Willy]

I am sorry that i have to criticize on certain parts of your story but..., i just can't help it. You took Ravana as an example to criticize that our elder generation is blindly believing that whatever is done and told by the gods is right. But, it is the fault of our generation of not understanding the true reason why epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata are made known to the people. They do convey a message. Ravana was of course a good man but, he was killed because, he wanted to have Sita, and the message is....., how much learned or educated a man may be, he will be completely destroyed, if he dared to have a married woman. And the burning of Ravana's effigy is to convey the same to the people, if people don't understand it, it isn't the fault of our good old ancestors who've introduced this ritual.

[Prashant Pandey]

Thnx for reading willy. Can u please give me an answer. Why only Ravana? had there not been other criminals who did wrong with lower general public or with women of that time. Just because it's about Ram, we do believe in this stories. The same you can see today. If a family wants justice for her rape victim daughter, nobody is listening. But if HRD minister found camera in a trial room, a quick action has been taken for that. (Don't take it wrong our HRD minister is also a woman, I know that, but I am here pointing the power or position factor).

[Miyank]

Mythological reference are best to appeal to the Indian readers or audiences, that it is high time now. The message "Be powerful like Raavan but not blind like him." But sorry if it offends you but "Osama and Obama" part made me laugh. You should publish it in newspaper or a magazine. I wish I could have write like that.

[prajakta]

Wow this was so good Prashant!I found it very real..good work!

[Prashant Pandey]

Thank u so much Prajakta.

[Harpreet kaur bajwara]

its very very nice , moralistic, powerful, true nd etc etc. hey pls add me in your fan list.

[Prashant Pandey]

Thanks a lot. your words means a lot. Adding in fan list means i'll try to come up with more interesting and good stuff.

[Abilash Uttama]

powerful message, wonderful story. After reading Shiva trilogy i was thinking this story seems more realistic than traditional ones what if i have been told story in this manner. the thing is we accept everything without questions when it is related to God maybe because we are told to do the same from very beginning of our life. we as a society really need to grow in this matter.

[Prashant Pandey]

Yes abhilash you are right. Thanks a lot for your kind review.

[Pushkar Prabhat]

burning of raavan(a) is a tradition started by someone who could benefit from it......lije almost all nonsensical tradition strated by quite possibly the priets or whoever might be the in charge or ' dharm ke thekedaar'
the god character was also the work of the same people
now about ramayana..the character of raavan was and should be used to teach that even the educated and accomplished person could commit a heinous crime and all his knowledge and wealth doesn't make him invincible and it neither should.
so you are right, instead of burning the symbolic raavan we must burn the real raavan.
:)

[Prashant Pandey]

exactly. i think, we should(youth) change our thinking so that our younger generation would not get in all misconceptions. thank you for reading.

[Mayank]

It's a good piece, story wise as well, a little structuring would have make it better... i am atheist and probably the stories I have written about characters shall turn god tomorrow, at least for my dynasty because I don't like god/s... The message was clear for the criminals, but it's the law who don't give a f**k or too much occupied in handling cases.

[Prashant Pandey]

true. thanks for your suggestion for improvement of structure.

[CA Anurag Sharma]

What a write.... loved the irony in the last line too.....
you are bang on my friend.....I have always wondered about burning Ravna and all..... you raised a very pertinent issue....real good one

[Prashant Pandey]

thank u so much. glad you liked it.

[Rounak Jain]

Superb thought process. Never thought that way. Enjoyed it.

[Prashant Pandey]

thanks a lot frnd.