Raavana- The Man of my Dreams

Raavana- The Man of my Dreams

Tall and handsome,the noble man with morale and ethics, one who would shower me with all love of the universe. One, who would make me feel butterflies every time I see him. One who would make me go head over heels, protect me and save me from every danger possible. One who would fight for me and stand by me no matter what. The one who would respect me and not let others disrespect me. The one who would trust me and have faith in me, listen to me and not care about what the world will say. The man of my dreams and the man of all other girls dreams.

Being a Hindu and being brought up here. Living in a culturally and traditionally rich society, we're often told stories about the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Bhagwat Geeta-- about how the people bless the newly wed couple and compliment them like they seem so much in love like "Radha-Krishna", may they be forever together in all good times and in bad like "Sita-Ram" did. We celebrate festivals like Teej where the unmarried girls fast the entire day to please Lord Shiva and believe that they will be blessed with the husband they wish for.

Unlike others, the man of my dreams is neither like Lord Rama and Lord Krishna nor like Lord Shiva.

"Purushottam Rama" as we call him, I feel there is not a single trait that makes him "Uttam". The Lord, many people idealize, neither did he respect his wife nor did he have trust and faith in her. The one who asked his wife to go through the "Agneepariksha" to prove her purity,but later abandoned her just because one of his fellow countryman said he couldn't accept his wife the way their king did after his wife spent a night in other man's house.

Lord Krishna- the cupid of love as we worship him, he is the one who never married the love of his life - Radha, but married three other women in his life. While we cite "may their love be like Radha-Krishna's, are we not disregarding his wives? Extra-marital affair as they say now, who would you rather be with? A man who loves you but marries three other women, would never accept you as his wife but assures you that you will always be the one he loved? Or the man who will love you and do every possible thing to make you his?

The Pandavas, who readily agreed to share their brother Arjun's wife while their mother asked to share whatever they brought! Could they have not asked Panchali once if she was okay? Would you agree to be wife to your husband's brothers? They who were always knows for their principles, honesty and ethics are the one who bet their wife and lost her in a gamble and did not utter a word while she was been ripped off her clothes by their cousins?

No, I do not idealize any of these men's quality in the man of my dreams. 

"Raavana" the evil in everyone's eyes. Here is how I see him. Raavana, a good ruler of the golden kingdom of Lanka, the most powerful man who could build stairways to heaven, a great scholar, a capable ruler and a maestro of the Veena . Raavana, as I see him as the man of family, man of principles and the man who was the utmost revered devotee of Lord Shiva. Raavana a noble man whose ten heads represents his knowledge of the six Shastras and the four Vedas. I see him as the man who couldn't take it when other men disrespected his sister. The one who "haran"ed  Sita, and could have easily forced himself upon her but rather he did not even touch her as Sita didn't give him the consent. During the period,  Ravana kept Sita under his watch, he never forced himself on her in spite of his liking for her. Being an illusionist, he could have easily made Sita fall for him, but his conscience and humanity kept him from doing so. He always maintained Sita's dignity never forced or rape her. Even he captured her in Ashok Vatika, the most beautiful garden of Lanka and not in his palace because he knew she was following banishment from city and cannot enter in the palace just like Lord Ram. He, the one who stood by his family and still respected his brother even after his brother joined his enemy and knew that his secret would be known by others. The man who valued his family, the one who respected the consent of his loved one, the one who never disowned his wife. Raavana,great personality in every aspect be it being a warrior or a hermit or a artist or anyone.

Raavana- the man of my dreams!

-Pragya Gyawali