It’s all about perceptions

The other day I finished my dinner and I sat on the couch wanting to read something. My wife was flicking channels in the television and she hit upon the famous epic Ramayan. 

So, I decided to a spare a few minutes to check out how they are narrating the good old Ramayan in today’s era. I wasn’t surprised to note that what they showed on the television was so different from what I had learnt about Ramayan as a kid. These guys showed new twists and turns, new stories added with more drama and pomp. We can’t question the authenticity of this version, as there have always been different versions of the epic from time immemorial through different authors, languages and narratives.

And soon, we got into a debate touching upon the different versions of Ramayan.

One of the concepts which had totally different connotations was on the topic of Kaikeyi.

And I decided to dig deeper. As we all know and have heard famously or infamously – Kaikeyi, poisoned in the mind by her accomplice Manthara - was instrumental in ousting the noble Ram to the forest and that she demanded the throne for her son Bharat. So, she became the initial villain in the story.

However, in every version of the epic, it was always mentioned that Kaikeyi was the most charming and intelligent of all the Queens of King Dasharat. She was known for her valor and had infact saved the King’s life too in a war. She was known to be adept in astrology as well. And she was the most fond of Ram and initially she was the most excited when it was announced that Ram would be the Crown Prince.

So what changed and how did it change?

I came across a very different and an interesting version of the epic and point of view. It goes like this.

Kaikeyi with her prowess in astrology was of the opinion that it was not the best time for Ram to be coronated and that whoever would be the king at that time could have a threat for his life. She felt Ram should be safe for the betterment of humanity for a long time. And therefore she was ready to sacrifice her own son Bharat and so she claimed that her son Bharat be named the crowned price. She also had the vision that Ram had more important tasks to be fulfilled through his sojourn in the jungles. She had apparently felt that if she had not enforced that veto power of hers through her boon, her pleas wouldn’t be heard by the King Dasharat. Rest is history.

Today, Kaikeyi is considered the epitome of selfishness and vile. To the extent that her own fond son disowned her!

The purpose of this note is not to narrate a different take of the story. Nor is it to defend Kaikeyi. From the above version, it appears that Kaikeyi’s intentions were noble and she had the best intentions for Ram and the Kingdom and for mankind.

Yet the world branded her in the totally opposite way.

Haven’t we all faced situations where in we have felt that we are being misunderstood for something we have not mentioned or intended. Haven’t we felt victimised in our own minds? If not us directly, we know of some people who have been targeted for no fault of theirs or have become a part of a larger collateral damage. And such situations are quite common in the corporate arena where one person gets earmarked or becomes a scapegoat.

Yeah, it’s all about perceptions. There might be Kaikeyis amongst us in many forms. Perhaps they are for the good.