tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post8391272867968313990..comments2024-03-29T12:59:00.612+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: Discarding a life, leaping into another one: on MG Vassanji’s NostalgiaJabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-69904085780725986942017-12-19T20:37:39.089+05:302017-12-19T20:37:39.089+05:30Hey ..I wish they were monkeys! But I don't th...Hey ..I wish they were monkeys! But I don't think they are. It is sanskrit 101.shrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-89269935388712537632017-12-19T18:07:54.358+05:302017-12-19T18:07:54.358+05:30I am just a stickler for accuracy.
I am even mor...<i>I am just a stickler for accuracy. </i><br /><br />I am even more of a stickler for accuracy, and I say they are monkeys. And superior in most ways to every human in the epic.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-34925589039555213422017-12-19T14:08:03.303+05:302017-12-19T14:08:03.303+05:30They are not.
I am not condescending to anyone. I...They are not.<br /><br />I am not condescending to anyone. I am just a stickler for accuracy. <br /><br />Vanara means forest men. Apes are not naras. <br /><br />The association of vanaras with monkeys is artistic license of a later age. Which is fine. I dont grudge artists their licenses. shrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-31222366724129783862017-12-19T14:06:39.160+05:302017-12-19T14:06:39.160+05:30They are not.
I am not condescending to anyone. I...They are not.<br /><br />I am not condescending to anyone. I am just a stickler for accuracy. <br /><br />Vanara means forest dweller.<br /><br />The association of vanaras with monkeys is artistic license of a later age. Which is fine. I dont grudge artists their licenses. shrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-16942084030670738772017-12-18T10:27:42.631+05:302017-12-18T10:27:42.631+05:30They are monkeys, Shrikanth. Find a way to deal wi...They are monkeys, Shrikanth. Find a way to deal with it. (And stop being so condescending towards non-humans.)Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-20992704481904646462017-12-17T10:36:53.890+05:302017-12-17T10:36:53.890+05:30"the juxtaposition of a monkey army (a refere..."the juxtaposition of a monkey army (a reference to the Ramayana) "<br /><br />This is a total aside. But this comes back to my point of how we Indians deliberately misinterpret our own texts out of ignorance.<br /><br />There is no reference to a monkey army in Ramayana. The term used for the accomplices of Rama in Kishkinda is "Vanara" - which in Sanskrit means "Nara who lives in a Vana (forest)". In other words "forest dwellers".<br /><br />The Ramayana very much describes these men as humans. Not as monkeys or even apes. Sure, there are references to their furs and tails, and their leapings. But at no point is it implied that these are monkeys.<br /><br />The association of "Vanara" with monkeys appears to be artistic license of a later age. Even the reference to "tail" is only among the male Vanaras. The female Vanaras don't have a tail (eg : Anjana or Tara). So it appears this tail is an ornament of these forest dwelling tribes rather than a natural one.shrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.com