The Princes of Ayodhya-The Ramayan Through Short Stories

Jaise Sooke.....Ped Ka Saaya

They, (just Jal, since everyone else was still in shock, and when Lakshman [ the only one not in shock other than her] tried to help, Jambavan had decided that they were running out of herbs and that there was only one golden-skinned redhead giant sized warrior prince who could do the trick). And so "they" pulled Angad towards the makeshift stone wall surrounding the tents, followed stumblingly by the rest of the generals of the monkey army which had shaken Ravan's to the core.

Well, they didn't seem in a 'world-shaking' mood anymore, especially since they too had been (literally and figuratively) shaken to their core, and the giant who had caused that shaking had also made off with their King, leader, general, and good pal Sugriv. Nal was the first to recover, and nudged Neel, who almost always had something good to say in a time of crisis. And so Neel did look up. "The Healing Tent is still up," he pronounced weakly. "Which means that the injured soldiers can still be cared for, once Lakshman bhaiyya returns, of course."

"And besides," Ram picked up. "-today we have shown to Lankesh that even after sending a giant, he cannot counter dharma. We must have lowered his ego. There is something else too! Because of Sugriv and Angad's legions, many monkey lives were saved! Our Healing Tent is holding up, and so even the injured can slowly recover from this battle." He looked around hopefully, and even as the monkey army shuffled in agreement, the mood did not seem to lighten or turn optimistic any.

Lakshman finally returned with the herbs and handed them to Jambavan, who gratefully took them and raced out of the awkward scene as soon as he could. Then, he glanced at Angad, who still swung his legs, occasionally was handed a cool glass of coconut water, from which he could forlornly sip. The war had paused for a moment, and Lakshman looked towards the other side, where the rakshasas were charging again. "He's not dead." Lakshman said out loud, not to anyone in particular. "The chokehold which Kumbhakaran used was not strong enough. Passed out? Maybe. Dead? No. Besides, Raja Sugriv likes to fly, right?"

-----O-----

It was a loud and angry voice that penetrated Sugriv's long sleep, and he drowsily blinked his eyes, expecting to see Angad's 'excited-for-war' face shaking him up, or at least Ruma's kind one. Instead, he saw the bright colors, well, mainly gold, that was Lanka. Wearily, he continued to blink his eyes rapidly, and allowed them to sink below himself, where he saw numerous men (?) cheering, either waving around signs or pumping their fists.

And what this thing he was slung not-so-comfortably upon? Sugriv felt the blood rush to his head, and discreetly pressed his temple with the hand near his head. No one noticed a thing, and the ones who did, did not speak. A dead man pressing his temple? Impossible! He curiously pressed the blubber (or whatever it was) underneath him, and saw the rather thick skin. Sugriv paused for a moment, and then realized he was being carried on Kumbhakaran's shoulder, and gagged, sticking his tongue out.

Quickly clambering up, he crawled into the hook of Kumbhakaran's crown, right above his ear, and Kumbhakaran, perhaps a thousand times larger than the king, did not notice a tiny speck moving around on his body (and if he did, he may not have been able to register it, because like dinosaurs, the biggest of them had the smallest of brains). Kumbhakaran came to halt in front of the balcony that was attached to Ravan's private quarters.

Kunbhakaran paused, clearing his throat as the path which had been cleared for him quickly disappeared as the crowd gathered around the base of his shoes, staring up at his enormity. "Bhrata!" Kumbhakaran boomed, his voice easily overtaking the cheers. "See what gift I have brought for you here! You asked for a mere hermit, and I got you a KING! See here, Sugriv, the king of Monkeys, on my shoulder!" Everything went silent, the cheers, the stomping of feet, even the gentle breezes caused by the waving of signs. If Lankesh was going to step out, the time was now.