Forging The Brotherhood

           
            “This story was told to me by my father’s father, who heard the story from his father’s father, and so on.” Budhil began the story as the young boys sipped their tea.

            “Rama was a strong warrior prince who loved his country and his family very much.”

            “I’m strong like Rama, right Grandpa?” Andrew interrupted.

            “Of course you are, Andrew,” Budhil continued. “The only one fiercer than Rama was his brother, Lakshmana.” Although Jason had been somewhat withdrawn, his face suddenly lit up.

            “That’s like me, huh, Grandpa?” Jason asked. “I’m bigger and stronger than Andrew!”

            “Well, Jason, you may be physically stronger than your younger brother,” Budhil replied, “but there are many other forms of strength.” Budhil winked at Andrew and drew out a smile from him, erasing his previously disappointed expression. “The two boys had an evil step mother,” Budhil continued, “and she wanted only what was best for herself.”

            “Mom’s not evil!” both boys exclaimed simultaneously.

“No, of course not, boys. Rama and Lakshmana, on the other hand, were not quite as lucky as you two. She convinced their father to exile Rama for fourteen years!”

“What does exile mean, Grandpa?” Jason asked while Andrew looked confused.

“Oh, sorry boys. Exile means that she got the king to kick Rama out of the kingdom, away from home.”

Andrew’s eyes enlarged, “That’s terrible!” Andrew shouted. “Mom would never do that to me!”

“I bet Laksmana really missed his brother,” Jason added as his face drooped. Jason remembered the unkind words he had shared with his younger brother earlier that day.

“Actually,” Budhil responded, “the brothers were never separated!”

Both boys looked confused, but then Andrew yelled out, “So their dad didn’t really make Rama leave?”

“No, he kept his word, Andrew,” Budhil replied.

Jason sat in thought for a second and then questioned Budhil, “So the king exiled Lakshmana too?” Jason looked a bit upset as he thought of his mom and dad.

“Wrong again!” Budhil chuckled as the two boys looked at each other, agreeing their grandfather was crazy. Budhil settled down and looked intently at the boys and said, “Lakshmana swore to protect Rama, and refused to leave his side. He fought many battles along his side, and was willing to follow him to the ends of the earth.”

Andrew slowly processed what his grandfather had just said, “So Lakshmana left his mom and dad, just to protect his brother?” Meanwhile Jason began to sob.

“I was so upset about mom and dad leaving that I didn’t even think about Andrew,” Jason realized. “I’m not a good brother like Lakshmana, am I Grandpa Budhil?” Jason said with tears in his eyes.

Budhil leaned forward and met eyes with Jason, “That’s for you to decide, Jason. You are very young and have a lifetime of choices to make.”

          Jason straightened up and declared with a determined look on his face, “I’m going to look out for Andrew. He’s my little brother, and I’m always going to be there for him!” Budhil smiled warmly as he watched Andrew wrap his arms around his big brother, and they began to playfully wrestle. Budhil knew in his heart this summer would not be one the three of them would easily forget.
 
      Cover Page
      Introduction
1. Forging The Brotherhood
2. The Right Path
3. Self Sacrifice
4. Role Model

Author’s note :

            Aside from Rama and Lakshmana, I intentionally left out the names of the other characters from the Ramayana. Namely, I excluded Kaikeyi, Dasaratha, and Bharata. I did this to place a stronger focus on the brothers. I used the traditional story, as told by Grandpa Budhil, to fully develop the frame tale between Andrew and Jason. I thought this to be especially important in the first story of my storybook. Once I have the frame tale properly set up and rolling, I can now go more in depth into the ancient stories and their meanings. Although the fact that Lakshmana followed Rama into exile would seem like a minute detail relative to the plot and progression of the story, I knew that this was critical to highlighting the brotherly relationship between the two characters. This first story exemplified two brothers doing the right thing. The next story will highlight a more dysfunctional relationship. This should do more to enhance the diverse quality of the stories. After all, what is good without evil? I plan to use the contrast to make my storybook more interesting. I also plan to go into greater detail of the Ramayana tale. Now that the frame tale is well established, this should be easy to do.

Bibliography:

Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.

Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic.