The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic
R.K Narayan
Link
Ahalya's Story: Pages 19-21
One day, I mentioned to my friend how little drama there was going on in our lives--us and all our friends seemed to be happy and carefree. She replied, "If you're in the mood to hear some drama, I just finished watching this show that was pretty wild." Naturally, I was curious, so she recounted to me the episode about Ahalya.
Once upon a time, there was this beautiful maiden, borne of perfection, with twinkling eyes, long, luscious hair, and a slender figure. Her father, who watched over her almost like a god, placed her in the care of a wise young man named Gabriel. Their connection was strong, and Gabriel proved to be an incredible mentor and kind figure in her life. As she got older, her father told Gabriel, "No man is as fit as you to be with my daughter. Go, you may take her as your wife."
Ahalya and Gabriel married, and their strong friendship from before turned into a perfect marriage. Ahalya was as beautiful as ever, and many men fell in love with her, although she only ever had eyes for Gabriel.
The most intense of her pursuers was Indra. He was tall, dark, and handsome, used to getting what he wanted and commanding others. He was essentially royalty, with a lot of responsibilities across this and many kingdoms. However, none of the kingdoms he journeyed to had he ever found a woman as lovely as Ahalya, and his desire for her slowly turned into a brooding jealousy, coupled with the feeling that he deserved to have her.
Ahalya and Gabriel had fallen into a comfortable routine, with Gabriel rising early in the morning to further his studies, and Ahalya staying at the house, spending time in the garden or reading. Indra took careful notice of this, to see how he might exploit it.
Then one day, as soon as Gabriel left for the day, Indra disguised himself as Gabriel and approached the house, telling Ahalya,
"As I was leaving today, my dear, I thought of your beautiful face, and missed you so much that I thought I should come back and spend the day with you today instead." And as he said this, Indra embraced Ahalya and kissed her deeply.
At first, Ahalya thought nothing of it, for she loved her husband and was always happy to spend more time with him. However, as they returned to bed, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, but by the time she was certain of it, she was trapped in Indra's arms.
That was where Gabriel found her when he arrived back home. Instantly Indra leapt up and tried to sneak away as slyly as a cat, but Gabriel stopped him with a growl.
"How dare you take advantage of my wife like that! Everyone deserves to know how dirty your mind is, and how rude you are towards women." And with that, he grabbed the iron poker by the fireplace and burned a crude tattoo directly onto Indra's forehead.
He then turned his anger to Ahalya, who had been deeply shaken by Indra's abuse and was crying silently.
"How dare you betray me like that!" he roared. "Did you even try to fight back? With such a sin through your body, you don't even deserve to move!"
The fury in his eyes literally froze Ahalya, who stood so still she felt as if she had turned to stone, and wasn't sure she would ever move again.
Eventually, Gabriel calmed down, and when his friend Rama came by, it was as if a spell had been broke, and Ahalya felt free to move again. Meanwhile, Indra's crude tattoo had ruined him. He was no longer respected anywhere he went, and felt confined to the shadows. Finally, as an attempt to fix things so he could go back to work, he got the branding on his forehead fixed by a tattoo artist, to make it look like a third eye instead.
Author's Note:
My story in this post is based on "Ahalya's Story", which is featured in Chapter 1 of Narayan's Ramayana. To tell the story, I modernized it as a soap opera-esque tale, and took the supernatural events out (such as Indra assuming Gabriel's form, turning into a cat, and getting covered in female organs, and Ahalya being turned to stone) and instead kept those elements, but in a more ordinary way. I also changed Gautama's name to Gabriel because I didn't right it down in my notes and didn't remember it.
R.K Narayan
Link
Ahalya's Story: Pages 19-21
One day, I mentioned to my friend how little drama there was going on in our lives--us and all our friends seemed to be happy and carefree. She replied, "If you're in the mood to hear some drama, I just finished watching this show that was pretty wild." Naturally, I was curious, so she recounted to me the episode about Ahalya.
Once upon a time, there was this beautiful maiden, borne of perfection, with twinkling eyes, long, luscious hair, and a slender figure. Her father, who watched over her almost like a god, placed her in the care of a wise young man named Gabriel. Their connection was strong, and Gabriel proved to be an incredible mentor and kind figure in her life. As she got older, her father told Gabriel, "No man is as fit as you to be with my daughter. Go, you may take her as your wife."
Ahalya and Gabriel married, and their strong friendship from before turned into a perfect marriage. Ahalya was as beautiful as ever, and many men fell in love with her, although she only ever had eyes for Gabriel.
The most intense of her pursuers was Indra. He was tall, dark, and handsome, used to getting what he wanted and commanding others. He was essentially royalty, with a lot of responsibilities across this and many kingdoms. However, none of the kingdoms he journeyed to had he ever found a woman as lovely as Ahalya, and his desire for her slowly turned into a brooding jealousy, coupled with the feeling that he deserved to have her.
Ahalya and Gabriel had fallen into a comfortable routine, with Gabriel rising early in the morning to further his studies, and Ahalya staying at the house, spending time in the garden or reading. Indra took careful notice of this, to see how he might exploit it.
Then one day, as soon as Gabriel left for the day, Indra disguised himself as Gabriel and approached the house, telling Ahalya,
"As I was leaving today, my dear, I thought of your beautiful face, and missed you so much that I thought I should come back and spend the day with you today instead." And as he said this, Indra embraced Ahalya and kissed her deeply.
At first, Ahalya thought nothing of it, for she loved her husband and was always happy to spend more time with him. However, as they returned to bed, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, but by the time she was certain of it, she was trapped in Indra's arms.
That was where Gabriel found her when he arrived back home. Instantly Indra leapt up and tried to sneak away as slyly as a cat, but Gabriel stopped him with a growl.
"How dare you take advantage of my wife like that! Everyone deserves to know how dirty your mind is, and how rude you are towards women." And with that, he grabbed the iron poker by the fireplace and burned a crude tattoo directly onto Indra's forehead.
He then turned his anger to Ahalya, who had been deeply shaken by Indra's abuse and was crying silently.
"How dare you betray me like that!" he roared. "Did you even try to fight back? With such a sin through your body, you don't even deserve to move!"
The fury in his eyes literally froze Ahalya, who stood so still she felt as if she had turned to stone, and wasn't sure she would ever move again.
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| Gabriel (Gautama) cursing Indra and Ahalya (Wikipedia) |
Eventually, Gabriel calmed down, and when his friend Rama came by, it was as if a spell had been broke, and Ahalya felt free to move again. Meanwhile, Indra's crude tattoo had ruined him. He was no longer respected anywhere he went, and felt confined to the shadows. Finally, as an attempt to fix things so he could go back to work, he got the branding on his forehead fixed by a tattoo artist, to make it look like a third eye instead.
Author's Note:
My story in this post is based on "Ahalya's Story", which is featured in Chapter 1 of Narayan's Ramayana. To tell the story, I modernized it as a soap opera-esque tale, and took the supernatural events out (such as Indra assuming Gabriel's form, turning into a cat, and getting covered in female organs, and Ahalya being turned to stone) and instead kept those elements, but in a more ordinary way. I also changed Gautama's name to Gabriel because I didn't right it down in my notes and didn't remember it.
I really like what you did in this story. I think it was really neat how you made it soap opera-esque, even making the beginning of it being about two bored friends just wanting a good story. I also liked how you simplified it to be a little easier to write about and understand. You did a really great job with this story and I can't wait to read more of them.
ReplyDeleteI liked your story as well! I would elaborate on "further his studies". As in "he would leave each morning to go to class" or something. Otherwise it seems like he could study at home, so it would just fill in the gap some. I love how you turned this into a modern day conversation about a TV show. I loved it.
ReplyDeleteI really like what you did with this story. I really like the modernization of stories from long, long ago because the modernization seems to help with the retention of the plot. Your story was very well written, and I struggle to find any criticism of your story. I look forward to reading more of your stories throughout this class!
ReplyDeleteHi Abby! I really like your adaptation of this story, having it be recounted in a melodramatic way (though the original was pretty dramatic, too). Going with this, I like the juxtaposition between the drama-free life of the friends and the drama which occurs in the story of Ahalya. I think that to end the story, if the friends from the beginning appeared again, that would be really good and you could play off the comparison of their life to Ahalya's story more.
ReplyDelete