Molded

They say people are neither completely black nor white, rather they are grey. They say even the darkest and the evilest of people have a silver lining that shines out. It seems difficult to believe that even the worst of people, the most despised and hated of people can bear a white corner, a habit so good and endearing, that seems misplaced in them, a side of such men only open to a blessed few. In fact, we as audiences tamed into hating the villains, loose ourselves so much into the river of mis-affection against the “bad people” that we forget that they too might have emotions and reflections of normal people, they too might like joking around with their loved ones, laughing, giggling, crying -just normal talks. The culturation of the camera world have moulded us to think bad men to be bad only with only demonic habits resembling none like the normal good or even grey people. Though, thanks to the realism movement that has crept in the camera world that has forced it to turn the characters into real people and not mere heroes, villains, gods or demons.

I being a naïve spectator too have attached myself to such abhorrence to the negative characters, though I have been careless like many to create such judgements about many other historical and mythical characters as well, especially in the current times when there is a giant wave of misinterpretations and re-misinterpretations of so many things and people from history, mythology and even common people. One such abhorrence of mine was – or in fact it still is, though quite less now- for one of the most infamous villains of hindu mythology, loathing for whom has been passed on generations after generations as a festival, maybe as a remuneration for his bad karma, that even after thousands of years later when we don’t even remember his face or his looks, we still burn his effigies with faces concocted using our unknown animosities and hatred and fears- a face that bears the brunt of each of our desperations, evilness, lust, loathing and what not, but everything bad only. And then we burn those raavans, our raavans, consoling ourselves that we have burnt the evil and we- the good is safe now, relieving ourselves for sometime of our own darkness. Some people think raavan was great despite being bad, very knowledgeable but bad and evil, but he indeed was great because he bore the burden of not only his own bad karma but is still bearing the brunt of the bad karma of not just his own actions but also of millions of people and millions still to come.

I too have surrendered myself to many such fetishes often, especially for raavan, because after all he was the common villain. While reading Amish’s Raavan, I was taken aback many a times while reading a dialogue or two of raavan – humorous ones and others resembling normal human reactions, initially I found them to be a bit misplaced, a bit awkward, because for me a villain that too one like him cannot be so-… he ought to be always bad, strong, evil and he could never have light moments even with his loved ones, and loved ones why would he have any, he cannot cry, he cannot be weak, he cannot succumb, I could not believe raavan, not even in a novel to be portrayed as a normal human being with just more of tamas and less of sat gun and not a complete demon and disfigured person.

I never imagined in fact raavan could be portrayed as a common human with 2 hands, 2 legs, walking normally without horns and four eyes. But now as much as I ponder, I realise, through the depths of time by virtue of mythical stories and historical incidents nature has shown that it doesn’t create black or white it creates grey people, anyone however good might possess a bad virtue however insignificant and so would a bad person. In a matter of fact, nature always tries to balance opposite forces and hence everything and everyone has both a negative and a positive side, or if we analyse deeply, we’ll understand its not good or bad it’s always our perspectives moulded by the circumstances that create bad and good, evil and virtue. Truly beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder or as they say it in urdu –

 haya bhi nazar mein hai (goodness is in the perspective)

aur behayi bhi (and evil or shame also).