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Ravana was not born as a villain, but society made him: Moily

     New Delhi: Administrative Reforms Commission and former Karnataka Chief Minister M. Veerappa Moily has accomplished something few politicians can ever dream of - writng an epic poem and then getting it translated in Hindi. Literary critics have described Moily's Sri Ramayana Mahanveshanam as the best Ramayana in Kannada after Kuvempu's. Moily shared his analysis and experiences with those present at the launch of the Hindi translation of the second volume of his 2,600-page book at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) here on Friday. Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur released the Hindi translation of the Sri Ramayana Mahanveshanam, and expressed his satisfaction for politicians' keeping some time for reading and writing during these busy days. "Ravana was not born as a villain, but the society made him a villain," Moily believes. According to Moily, who authored the massive, five-volume Sri Ramayana Mahanveshanam, Ravana, otherwise a learned scholar became a villain because of the societal circumstances. "For me Ramayana is an eternal search for such truths. This is the main message I wanted to communicate to the today's parents thru my epic," he says while assessing the eternal relevance of epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. Introducing Moily's book, American Institute of Indian Studies Director Purushothama Bilimale said: "This epic is an intense search for an equality in a democratic setup and has various dimensions such as search for social equality, economic equality, political equality and gender equality." "The author attempts to discuss this reconciliation process in India to provide social and legal equality to the citizens," he added. Speaking about the translated work, Delhi University Sanskrit Professor Dr. Deepti Tripathi said: "Moily is an author first and a politician later, his Lakshmana Centered Ramayana is a new addition to the existing Ramayana Traditions. Moily's ability to adopt a pluralistic approach and judicious treatment to the theme had elevated the text beyond religious considerations," she said. The Hindi version of Moily's book has been brought out by Rajkamal Prakashan Pvt Ltd, and is translated from Kannada by Pradhan Gurudatta.
-Jan 24, 2009