Size Matters
‘How big were Hanuman’s muscles?’ asked my four year old stopping in the middle of the pedestrian path on his way to school. ‘This big? Or this big?’ he asked, increasing the distance between his palms from about 12 inches to 20 inches. ‘I don’t know, I haven’t seen him,’ I said. ‘But think. Try to guess.’ He insisted. On getting nothing more than hesitant ‘I really don’t knows’, He sighed, ‘Okay then, if you don’t know, can you find out please? Maybe ask Nana, Nani (his maternal grandparents) or find it on the internet?’
The characters of Ramayana and Mahabharata lead to the same excitement and questions (phew!) that the likes of Ben 10, Spiderman, Superman, Transformers do. One day the fad is Ben 10 the next it’s Hanuman. I have wondered umpteen times about what attracts him to the tales of Ramayana and Mahabharata so much that he often asks if Ram and Laxman ate a lot of green vegetables and ‘no junk food’ and that is why they had strength and patience!
Frankly, I was hesitant to tell him those stories. They have a lot of emotions that I thought I would not be able to explain; and a lot more violence than I wanted to talk about with a four year old. The colorfully illustrated book for children thus remained in his bookshelf. He would take it out a few times, look at the pictures, ask me some questions and then agree that since his grandparents know the story best, he would wait for their visit to Singapore. The tales of Ram and Ravan, Ramayana and Mahabharata have been a part of story time. Each character is a hero or heroine in their capacity and reflects unique characteristics. Their stories are used to reflect the good and the bad, and the wisdom to know the difference.
My son gives Hanuman a lot of brownie points because of his strength, clear cut solution finding (getting the mountain for Laxman’s treatment instead of just the herb) and ofcourse powers like flying, increasing or decreasing his own size or that of his tail. Ravan is not too far behind. He has ten heads, a big palace and a lot of strength. Oh! But his anger is what creates all the problem. Kumbhkaran (Ravan’s brother) is very strong but sleeps way too much for my son’s liking. There is also something very puzzling about Kumbhkaran as he pointed out the other day, ‘How did he get so much strength when he slept for six months in a year and did no exercise?’
There have been times when he has been so enamored by the characters that they have been incorporated in role play. One afternoon he said to me, ‘You are Sita and I’ll be Ravan. Sit on the bean bag and I’ll come to take you to my palace. Okay?’ ‘But why do you want to take me to your palace?’ I asked. ‘Because I like you,’ he replied. ‘Oh, but I love my husband and I want to live with him,’ I said. He clearly did not like this conversation but understood the dynamics of the situation. ‘Okay, I have an idea, you can bring him too.’
The next day things seemed a bit different. He insisted on taking me (I was in the role of Sita, remember?) to his palace and ‘fighting’ Ram. Trying to steer him away from violence and emphasizing the value of dialogue and discussion for crisis resolution, I said, ‘I think you and Ram should talk and find a solution. Would you like to meet him?’
He had worn today a cardboard crown and said curtly ‘Okay.’
“Why don’t you meet over dinner? I would like to invite you both. Where do you think we should go? What would you like to have for dinner?’ I asked. It didn’t take him too long to answer, ‘Let’s go to Botak Jones. You and Ram can have Fish and Chips and I will have fries!’
