'Anna', you should have been thankful to the monkey at least for the addition of one more Siva to your meaningless myths.
Coimbatore: Not just you, we all resemble the monkeys except for the hands that were once our forelegs. The forelegs became hands by evolution; we use them for all activities in life, such as eating, writing, typing, washing, and, in particular, carrying mics pointing at your mouth, which looks like a monkey's, reminding you of your origin. But, you will say that you and your family members did not evolve from the ape, but were born from the feet of Brahma and named Shudras and blessed to serve the three upper varnas for ages. But for us, being monkeys or human beings born from monkeys is not as shameful as being born from Brahma's feet.
Though you beckon us 'monkeys' and say that we monkey around you with our mics, we push aside your remarks and continue our mission as journos.
R.K. Narayan, in his short story Naga, portrayed how a snake charmer captures a baby monkey, and tames and trains it to play street tamashas. But the monkeys you caught in the bygone era were of a different kind. You caught them from the air, tamed and trained them well, and related them with your gods.
And you had one such monkey for naming Lord Siva 'Sukreeswarar' in Tirupur. The Sukreeswar temple at Sarkar Periyapalam in Tirupur district was praised as 'Kurakkuthali' in the Tamil divine classic Thevaram.The word ' Kurakku' sounds similar to 'Kurangu' but does not mean a'monkey'. Still, you made a 'Kurangu' out of 'Kurakku'. Then you renamed the 'Kurangu' into 'Sukreeswara' and related it to your supreme God Siva. Finally ' Sukreeswara' - a new avatar of Siva appeared to the devotees of Kongunadu.
Indeed, this was not just a monkey business you do every day before our mics, but a big religious deal - the art of making a god out of a monkey. Before comparing us to the monkeys that jump on branches of the tree, you should have been thankful to this monkey at least for its addition of one more Siva to your meaningless myths.
The other monkey you caught from the air and made the son of wind was the one that set Lanka ablaze when its king Ravana and his men set fire to its tail. Known for his adventurous deeds, he flew above the ocean looking for Sita and helped Rama rescue her. On another occasion when Rama's brother Lakshmana got fatally wounded in the battle, the monkey flew to the Himalayas to look for a herb to cure his wounds. Being unsure of the appropriate herb, the monkey ripped the mountain itself and flew, carrying it in his hands.
The monkey refused Rama's awarding of the boon of immortality and instead wished to be his permanent devotee. He tore open his heart and displayed the images of Rama and Sita as proof of his devotion.
A minute before beckoning us 'monkeys', Anna, you should have remembered that the loyal devotee of your God Rama was none but a mere monkey.