Man, man, Ram and Ravan

 It’s close to midnight on this balmy June evening, and I am experiencing my usual monthly internet downtime. I am therefore spending my time rummaging around  - one of my favorite activities – while Windows Media Player rummages through my music collection and plays (supposedly) random tracks. It doesn’t seem random right now – hence the supposedly. It just finished playing Pal pal hai bhaari from Swades and is now playing the theme song from the (Tamizh) Hey Ram. For those not in-the-know, both the songs have one common keyword: Ram. They both have an eerily similar connotation of the word. Despite one carrying the import in Hindi and the other in Tamizh, the force is similar. Ram is not mere mythology, not mere godhead personified, but is the very essence of that moral characteristic termed good. Without dwelling on the moral imperatives here, I draw attention to the excellence of the lyrics. In Hindi, on Ravan’s demanding of Sita where that blessed husband of hers may be, and why, if he is so good, has he not rescued her yet, she mystically responds with a description of the omnipresence of Ram. At this point, the fourth wall is broken by Shah Rukh’s character, and he presents us with a 21^st Century description of this self-same omnipresence. While he finds Ram in progress and compassion, he also urges thusly:

Man se Ravan jo nikale Ram uske man me hai! Man se Ravan jo nikale, Ram uske man me hai!

Observe! Observe the seemingly-irrelevant repetition! Observe now a tiny comma in the second version! That one iota of punctuation marks a quantum leap in meaning. The first rendition is simply the comment that much as Ravan may attempt to think otherwise, Ram still pervades his thoughts – his mind (Man). The second goes on to encompass the surrounding notion - That whosoever removes Ravan (evil thoughts) from his mind, in that mind good shall reside! Poetry alone ever achieved so much with so little! The singing is flawless too – with just the right pause to convey the comma. Thus indeed, what is one small step for Man, is a giant leap too for man.