Step Up: Ravana's Time - Storytelling Wk. 7

Ravana stepped out onto the dance floor. He had millions of chains and bangles attached to each hand, elbow, and shoulder. Watching him sway to the beat of a distant drum was like peering out onto a vibrantly violent sea. The moon had perched itself on a nearby mountain for a better view of the strutting and spinning that was certain to occur.

From Flickr

Out of the edge of the clearing, Rama appeared. He wore what resembled a bright orange tracksuit, except this suit could never aid a runner; it included giant, billowing parachute pants. Rama's posse assisted him in putting on his dancing boots, which were sequined all the way to the top. The glimmer of these boots was so intense that it blinded Ravana as he swung, spun, and stepped rhythmically across the floor. He nearly crashed into a tree nearby before recovering into a full-on frolic of limbs in excitement.

He called out to Rama, "You silly people nearly ruined my groove!" Rama scoffed at this remark and replied, "Is that what you call a groove?" Ravana immediately stopped his dance, but that's not to say his jewelry and sweeping clothing did not continue his last few lines for him. Ravana then turned away and crossed his arms. Years passed before he shattered the silence, "I challenge you... TO A DANCE OFF!"

Rama looked down at his own feet purposefully and back up again,"Let's do it."

It was very obvious early on that Rama was outmatched by the incredible dancer that was Ravana. For every spin, flip, and bow that Ravana had to offer Rama, Rama managed to either trip himself or knock down a bystander at the floor's edge. The dance would have ended after only a few seconds if Rama hadn't lost his sparkling boots while attempting to click his heels together between his drunken stumbles. The boots were quite beautiful, but their maker had clearly mistaken Rama's feet for those of the great Vali because they merely dangled at the ends of his legs whenever he picked up his feet.

The music finally began to carry off, leaving Ravana to revel in the beauty of his victory. What Rama was doing could no longer be classified as dancing. He had fallen down so many times that every joint in his body began to ache, and so he had begun to resort to only bobbing his head up and down while appreciating Ravana's final jaunt across the floor. Rama then collapsed and was only able to escape the clearing once some of his crew carried him away in their arms. Just as Ravana thought he would never have to deal with the atrocious dancer ever again, he heard Rama yelp out in the distance, "I'm going to take you down with my own bow and arrow tomorrow!"

Ravana was taken aback by this comment. "Do people actually resort to violence to resolve their issues?" he asked himself. That thought lasted about as long as it took for the beat of the drum to make its way once again over the mountain, and Ravana's dazzling dance carried him off into the night.



Author's Note:
While Rama did not ever participate in a dance with Ravana, I thought it might be entertaining to let Ravana win something over him. I felt a bit of sympathy for him. While he was a very powerful king of the Rakshasas, he deserved to be really good at something he clearly enjoyed. I'm not sure if Buck ever alludes to Rama's dancing skill, but I'm going to have to give it up to Ravana on this one.

I quickly discovered while writing this that I had no clue how to describe dancing. I originally meant for this to be funny, and it was to some extent, but I ended up liking the Ravana vs. Rama reversal even more. The part at the end is supposed to be describing the lack of preparation of Ravana for the upcoming final battle.

Source:
Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.