Menoctoberish - a month of festivals

Today we resume the (very brief) telling of the Ramayana, through a children's cartoon and my added extras. Wednesday is Spooky Day and you will recall that am going to bring together Vijayadashami and Dusshera. To do that, the episode of Rama and Lakshmana's meeting with Hanuman and the aid of the monkey armies of Sugriva will be skipped - if you really want to see it CLICK HERE. As said before, you are getting an absolute 'nutshell' representation of what is an immense story! To summarise that episode; the princes have interaction with Hanuman who introduces them to Sugriva. The monkey king is having trouble with his brother Valli, who is terrorising his lands and seeks the help of the noble warriors. Rama agrees to help and, having learned from Sugriva that Sita's jewels had been gathered by the monkeys, asks a favour in return to assist their search for his wife. It is the group led by Hanuman which locates her. She is being kept on the island of Lanka. Hanuman uses siddhi to became enormous and in one leap can cross to the island. There he brings to Sita a token from Rama so that she can keep her hope of rescue. In turn, she gives Hanuman a jewel to show Rama she awaits him...



NOTES;
The term 'demon' is used here for the Lankans; this is to be interpreted as 'enemy'. In modern terms, we tend to supplant the term 'terrorist'. It is very important to understand that Ravana was a highly intelligent man and the 'ten heads' is an analogy for his being a polymath. He was a dictator, with all the character traits implied by that.
The Bridge Building... are you thinking this is all a wonderful fairy tale? Oh no my dears. Remember, itihasa (Indian history telling) is largely allegorical to ensure it gets told and retold. All legend arises from fact in the way that smoke arises from fire, even when the flames have died. Check this out!
Observe the 'arms race', the naming of superior weapons of mass destruction... another reminder that nothing we are experiencing now is anything different from what we have experienced before.
What can also be found here is the building of alliances, forming bonds of mutual benefit with other 'nations'...