week 6 story: you ... ARE THE FATHER!!!! *revised*
Bibliography: The Sons of Rama: Luv and Kush — The Invincible Twins, written by Anant Pai
Maury walks on stage gallantly with a smile beaming across his face.
Maury walks on stage gallantly with a smile beaming across his face.
[Maury]
Goooood evening folks! Welcome back to the Maury Show with your favorite host, me, Maury. Today we will be welcoming two amazing guests who are having a bit of a tiff right now. Let’s welcome them to the stage so we can hear more about why they're here. Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to Sita and Rama!
Crowd erupts in loud applause. Sita and Rama enter from opposite sides of the stage. Walk in smiling and waving to the crowd. Their eyes meet and a grim glare immediately settles onto their faces. Sita and Rama both sit down in chairs opposite from each other on stage while Maury sits down in a chair in between the two. Trying to ease the tension, Maury flashes a big smile at Sita.
[Maury]
Welcome to the Maury Show Sita! Thank you for coming out today, we're so glad that you're here. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and why you're here?
Shyly turning towards the audience, Sita tucks her hair behind her ear and begins to talk softly.
[Sita]
Hi everyone. I'm Sita, Rama's wife. I'm here today to prove that Rama is the father of my twin sons. No matter how much I plea with him, he won't accept them as his sons. I don't know what I have to do to prove that I'm not lying. I've always been loyal to him, I've even jumped in a fire to prove my purity!! So that's why I'm here today and I hope he'll finally recognize that I’ve been telling the truth all along.
Cheers whooped through the audience.
[Rama]
Hey now! Hold up!
Boos emerged throughout the crowd at Rama. Maury steps in.
Maury looks at Rama and nods at him to start talking.
[Maury]
All right everyone lets stay calm and hear what Rama has to say.
Maury looks at Rama and nods at him to start talking.
[Rama]
What’s up guys, I’m Rama and let me just start with I am NOT the father. There is literally no way that I’m the father … I sent that b*tch into exile after she tried to get with my younger brother.
[Sita]
THAT IS NOT TRUE!! I NEVER TRIED TO GET WITH LAKSHMANA!!
[Audience]
Ooooooh!!
[Rama]
Ugh, whatever. You’re a hoe and now I know.
Sita beings shedding tears.
[Sita]
How could you treat me this way!? What happened to the Rama who saved me when I was kidnapped!? I WANT HIM BACK!!!
Maury immediately stands up to try and get things back in order.
[Maury]
All right now. Why don’t we just cut to the chase and figure out if Rama is the father or not! How does that sound everyone!?
The audience begins to cheer. They are ready to know the final outcome.
Maury opens the envelope, his face blank and hard to read. He looks at Rama.
[Maury]
“Rama… you… ARE THE FATHER!!”
Everyone's expression once Maury reveals the results. Picture Source.
Author's Note:
While reading the original story, I thought it was very interesting how Rama was so highly praised all the time, yet he didn't even know he was a father to two sons. Therefore, I decided to rewrite the original story by incorporating the popular "you are not the father" meme. By doing so, I thought it would be funny to paint Rama in a bad light for once. Also, I thought it would make the story more light-hearted.
I decided to rewrite this story after getting a comment that it would be cool to see this written in a script format, which I thought would be fun to do! Although the changes are slight, I believe the story sounds a bit different all due to the writing style being changed!
Omg, I saw the thumbnail and I had to check out this story. I was not disappointed! This is such a great way to mix present day culture with the Ramayana. I love that you made Rama the ass of the show (let's be honest, he deserves some "Boos"). While reading, I kinda hated him. I thought it was interesting that you made Rama reluctant to be the father, when I think he was really excited to have kids in the original story. Anyway, your story made me laugh, so thank you!
ReplyDeleteI too was caught by the thumbnail. Everyone doing their takes on relationship shows and the characters we've read about it awesome. After the serious stories we've been reading, it's always nice to have some good old fashioned comedy thrown in the mix. Since you've done this with Rama and Sita, I can't wait to see what you or others do with the tension between families in the Mahabharata, or even Nalayni (Draupadi) and her FIVE husbands.
ReplyDeleteHi Audrey!
ReplyDeleteI am impressed how you tackled this unique format of storytelling. I have thought and attempted in doing these types of stories, but it seems like I always get intimidated when I actually try to begin writing. In Ramayana, we are exposed to the dynamic relationship between Rama and Sita over the whole course of all the episodes, so these were great characters to incorporate into this talk show, interview. Great work!
Hi Audrey!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to say, I loved this story! I liked how you brought attention to Rama's inconsistency of being a great hero and so in love with Sita, but not even knowing he had twins. Also, the fact that you tied it into a well-known TV show adds a lot of comic relief. There were a few grammatical mistakes like: "Sita beings shedding tears." instead of "Sita begins shedding tears." But overall, I had a lot of fun reading your story.
Hey Audrey!
ReplyDeleteThis story was great! I loved the take you put on the story. It fits so well and was so entertaining to read! You made my smile right as I read the first line, so great job! You did a good job with the dialogue and keeping everything fast paced. I was also impressed that you characterized Rama in a completely different way than the original story! Here, he is much more rash, over-confident, and kind of a jerk, so it was fun to see the main character of the Ramayana in this way. Good job!