Rama's
Crib
Announcer: On this exciting episode
of InTV Cribs...(clips play of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana in front of
their house, and also of them walking and laughing by the river) we
will take a once-in-a-lifetime tour of Rama's house in
Panchavati.
Don't miss it, coming up NEXT!
(Music of lutes and drums plays,
while "Cribs" flashes on the screen, and opening credits roll.
The show begins by showing the house, which is raised up off
the ground by thick stilts. We ascend the short ladder, and see
Rama and Sita welcoming us to come through the front door of their
home. They are smiling, and Rama's arm is tight around Sita's
waist. Rama is wearing his bark clothing and Sita is wearing some
of the nicer clothes and jewelry she was given by Anasuya.)
Rama: Hello! Welcome,
everyone! We are honored that you came to visit us here.
(He smiles at Sita.)
Sita: Welcome, friends.
Rama: There is a lot to show you here
at Panchavati. Let's start with the house, so come in please.
(The camera moves in through the
door. It is still fairly light inside the house because there are
many windows. The house is made of bamboo woven together, and the
floors are grass. It is very clean-looking and spacious inside
with
no clutter or much of anything.
Lakshmana greets us inside also wearing bark garnments, with his bow
slung over his shoulder.)
Lakshmana: Hello all, nice to
have you. This is one of the houses I have built while we have
been in exile here in the forest, so I will tell you a bit about
it before you look around. It took me only a day to build.
That's because I've
built a few now since we are nearing the end of our fourteen years in
the forest! I think this is the strongest house we've lived in,
and
when the rains come I don't think they will find a way in through all
the leaves I used for the roof.
Rama: We love it here. My
brother did a wonderful job with the construction of our forest
bungalow.
Sita: It's very nice. We
are so lucky to have talented Lakshmana.
Rama: Well as you can see, we
have many rooms, but as residents of the forest, we keep very few
material objects. Come, I'm sure you want to see a few more rooms.
(The camera follows Rama through some
mostly bright but empty rooms, and into the back of the
house. We come upon a bedroom with only a plain white bed and a
small
table. On the table are more of Sita's treasures--lotions and
jewels, given to her by people they met along the way.)
Rama: This is our
bedroom. It's not much, but it's all we need.
Sita: I love it, because I have
my Rama. (She looks at him adoringly.)
Rama: Why don't we show you
where we spend most of our days? It's beautiful outside.
(The camera moves from the bedroom,
back toward the front of the house. We follow Rama and Sita, who
walk hand-in-hand down to the edge of the river. The sun is
shining and everything is a beautiful bright green. Flowers are
blooming at the river bank. The trees rustle in the gentle
breeze.)
Rama: Sita and I come here
almost every day. We bathe in the river, and then relax and enjoy
all the beauty of the river and animals, and of course we just enjoy
each other. Lakshmana looks out for us, and keeps trouble from coming
our way.
Lakshmana: There have been some
strange people lurking around Dandaka forest lately. I just want
to make sure they stay far away from the house, as well as Rama and
Sita.
Sita: Yes, the animals have
been acting a little strange I've noticed. (she addresses Rama) We
should show them the cave, too!
(Rama nods yes, and the camera cuts
to more scenes of the beautiful forest, then to a scene of the three
walking down by
the riverbank. A small cave in the side of a hill becomes
visible. The scene cuts to the dim inside. We see the three
of them standing and they are surrounded by mossy walls and a dirt
floor.)
Rama: We love it in here, especially
on warmer days. It stays very cool in here.
Sita: Sometimes we just lie on the cool earth in here and talk
for the whole day.
(They all begin to talk and laugh,
then the scene cuts to the three of them standing at the foot of the
ladder to their forest bungalow, where it is bright again.)
Rama: Well, thanks for coming
and we
hope you enjoyed seeing where we live. Come back soon!
All: Goodbye!
(The camera backs away from the house
and the scene is sped up with effects. Music plays again as a few
of the scenes from their house flash by to the beat of the music. The
credits begin to roll.)
Announcer: Next time, on InTV
Cribs, we'll see homes from the Mahabharata. So stay tuned!
Author's note:
I wanted to make sure the
personalities of each of the characters showed through during the
tour. I hoped
to portray them all as very welcoming, and glad to have visitors.
I wanted Rama to be especially accommodating, and to be the star of the
show. I wanted Sita to be a bit reserved compared to the others,
but while still seeming very happy there in the forest. I made
sure to include Lakshmana wearing his bow, because of his protective
nature. I also hoped that the references to Sita and Rama looking
and smiling at each other make the reader recognize how much they are
in love. It is a very important part of this story because even
though my storybook is about homes, I feel that the way a person acts
when guests are around says a lot about their character.
This story was a little harder to
write than Ravana's, because in the book, it only talks about this
house for a page or two. I combined descriptions of other forest
homes they lived in with this one, and added some of my own
ideas. Most of what I had to work with was that it was, "Built on
pillars," and had "bamboo," "grass floor," and a "leaf roof." I
hope it was clear that although they had few possessions, they were
very happy there together.
Bibliography:
Buck, W. (1976). Ramayana: King
Rama's Way. Berkeley: University
of California Press.
Narayan, R. K. (1972). The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose
Version of the Indian Epic.
London: Penguin Classics.
Image: Bungalow in Bali,
Indonesia. Agung
Raka
