Prema Jayakumar

Onam and its febrile celebrations are just over and King Mahabali is presumed to have returned to his abode in Patalam. One could wonder about why the King of Asuras who held his famous yaga on the rivers of Narmada, whose kingdom had covered all the worlds, should want to visit just this small corner of it. Or, is it that of all his subjects only the people of this small corner of one continent care to remember him? That the Malayali has a soft corner for the defeated and a need to welcome them into the home? Whatever that is, the vision of a ruler who treated all his subjects fairly and a land that always had plenty for the people who lived there is a pleasant one and we can turn back on the past week and say Nandi Tiruvoname Nandi nee vannuvalle (Thank you Tiruvonam, you came), taking us back nostalgically to a past that may or may not have existed, reminding us of the possibility of living with each other peaceably, without having to grab or snatch, telling us that a ruler can be fair and caring to his subjects. I wonder what he thinks of the state of the land he left in such good order, what he makes of the long queues for the freebies, of the take-over of his festival by the market place.
But what happens to the protagonists of the stories/myths/legends after the heroics are over? The slightly adapted title I have picked is from Tennyson where he speaks of the legend of Troy. He says that Troy has been destroyed, Helen rescued, and they are back home. He asks what happens when Menelaus and Helen return to Greece and start living in their palace. What do they do? Homer does not really take us that far. Valmiki does better, letting us into the lives of his protagonists after war and victory.
But the narrator of the story of the just king has been remiss. I have wondered what happens to King Mahabali who returns to his homeland of Patala after his brief emergence to the surface of the earth. This man had conquered all the worlds and established a rule that was the envy of the gods by the time he was middle-aged, on, he might have, like Alexander in later times, mourned that there were no more worlds to conquer. But there were all the duties of a good ruler, to ensure that his subjects did not want for anything, that they lived comfortably and happily. A man in the prime of his life (Thank god, he is not always shown with a huge pot belly nowadays: did not anyone wonder earlier how a warrior king could have a pot belly. I suppose the visitor got overshadowed by the plenty of the Onasadya!).
Now, here he was, banished to a place that was pleasant enough since his conqueror was generous in victory. There is even talk of his becoming the ruler of the heavens in the next cycle of yugas. But for now, he had nothing to do, no wars to fight, no people to look after, no disputes to settle. What would he have done with himself? Okay, he is a devout person, would have prayed, done whatever rituals he was accustomed to doing, but such a ‘doer’ would not spend all day long in prayers and rituals. No one has ever said that Mahabali became a sage when he lost his kingdom. Perhaps he studies philosophy.
Did he perhaps accept embassies from the various parts of the earth and the other worlds when the rulers needed a piece of advice or a nudge in the right direction? But it is a wise ruler who realises that he or she needs good advice, not necessarily pleasant advice. Wouldn’t it be great if we could direct the rulers of various parts of our world to seek the wisdom of someone’s whose rule was fair, was seen to be fair, and brought plenty to the people?
Pipe dreams all, but at least once a year, in spite of all the concrete and bitumen all over, the small white flowers of the thumba and the yellow flowers of the mukkutti bravely raise their heads and remind us to stay grateful to the yearly appearance of a dream of goodness in our daily lives. Nandi Tiruvoname nandi.