Dearest Lanka

Dear People of Lanka,

I want you to know that I had the best of intentions. I just got a little in over my head and I don't think I should be blamed for that. Okay, let me back up so you can see my side of the story and know that really I was the victim here.

It all started when Ravana’s guards tried to torture me. Can you imagine a sweet, innocent monkey like me being tortured? Someone should have definitely called PETA. Anyways, I am being tortured for telling secrets and being a spy. In my defense no one specifically told me that I wasn't allowed to be a spy so they should have been clearer. So they decided that regular old torture wasn't good enough for me and they LIT ME ON FIRE. Now of course, I was going to fight them off because obviously monkeys are the superior species and I have great strength, but there were too many of them and they were trying to burn me alive. Okay, well, not all of me, just my tail but it was still very traumatizing. Now I was burning to death, but I am very heroic so no one could tell that I was in excruciating pain, and then all of a sudden I felt nothing. I am pretty sure it is because I have a super high pain tolerance being a hero and all. At first, I thought they had put the fire out but when I turned around and saw it still aflame, I knew now was the time for action.

(Picture of me being strong while being tortured)

So I sprung into action, and started using my tail to light fires all around Lanka. It was a pretty genius strategy. This is where my memory gets a little fuzzy. I may have gone somewhat overboard and lit the entire town on fire in revenge, but can you blame me? I was still on fire, and the guards totally deserved it. When I realized that I had started so many fires and that the whole city was blazing, I ran to the ocean and put out my tail. I realize now that I could have just put out my tail in the beginning, but I was just defending myself.

I was a little worried after putting out the fire because I had forgotten that Sita was in town and that she was the reason for all of this to begin with. So I went to her and found her totally safe.

After going to Sita, she was totally ungrateful for all I had just endured so I went to Mahendra, where the citizens greeted me as the hero I am. I am a humble monkey, but it was great to get the recognition I truly deserve. So, yes, I am sorry to have burned all your houses down and like your entire city, but as you can now see, I had no other choice. Anyway, I hope you can rebuild fast.

Sincerely and humbly,

Hanuman

P.S. Just so you know Rama and his army might be on their way to start a war so if you were thinking about going on a holiday, now might be the time.

Author's Note: This is an adaptation from The Burning of Lanka from the Ramayana. It is told from the perspective of Hanuman and he is apologizing for burning down Lanka. In the original story, Hanuman was tortured and lit on fire which he lit the entire city on fire with, but after he put out his tail and then checked on Sita, he just ran off to party. This seemed like a poor deal for the citizens of the town, because they had their homes and buildings lit on fire for the wrongdoings of others, so I figured Hanuman owed them an apology.

I thought it would be fun to try this new type of storytelling instead of changing something that happened. I imagine that people in Lanka were upset that Hanuman set everything on fire, and if he were going to apologize to everyone it would be best done in a letter. I imagined Hanuman to be pretty self-centered and impulsive since in the original story he went to party after it was over, and he completely forgot about Sita while burning the town so I exaggerated that for the letter as well. I did want him to seem somewhat remorseful because in the original he was worried about what he had done when he realized how far it had gone.

Bibliography: The Burning of Lanka. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914). Source

Image Information: Hanuman, Wikimedia Commons, Source