The totem 9


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page 28  If we mean Opel visualizing a sort of statue as totem, not a monument, a building, or a rock, but simply an iconic statue, in the same way that a poem like "Ozymandias" does, * in this case it's interesting to know that there is a statue that fits with Opel quite well, at least probably better than any other statue of Sisyphus. In India there's a figure very similar to Sisyphus, and his well-known statue seems really to be made of "ebony sand". At least we may say that he is particularly dark-skinned. Moreover, several stories about him recall Syd... : A wise mad man (most of the mad men are wise) namely Naranathu Bhranthan was spending a night in a cemetry. At midnight Chudala Bhadrakali (an incarnation of Goddess Durga) with ten heads and twenty hands came to the cemetry for performing her nocturnal dance. She saw this man sitting there without any fear. She tried to frighten him away. He started laughing. The puzzled Goddess asked him why he was laughing. Then he said, “Last week I was having a bad cold and my nose was running. I was just thinking how you would manage a cold with these twenty noses?” This sense of humor is what makes religion acceptable. — JohnyML, "Giving Birth to Right" Naranath is known for his unconventional lifestyle and the philosophy surrounding it. Branthan means lunatic in Malayalam, but it's a case of a genius perceived as a madman. What makes him similar to Sisyphus is the stone behind him which he rolled up a hill every day; what recalls Syd is the cemetery where he used to make a fire, cook and sleep every night, and where he had the visions recounted in the stories: in fact, it's a well-known anecdote that Syd spent a night in a cemetery in Formentera. Indian culture was gaining interest even months before the Beatles' visit to India in February 1968. It could be more than just an Indian opinion that Sisyphus' stone to be carried as punishment is sillier than Naranath's stone, rolled as a joke. Naranath is an interesting and funny fellow.  He was a very intelligent person. However his ways were so peculiar that people considered him out of his mind. Those who studied his actions closely, it is said, could detect valuable messages in them.

He had a habit of rolling a large boulder up a hillock. He used to choose such large boulders that the task took a full day or more to take it to the top of the gradient. Once there, he used to push it down the slope. While the stone rolled down, picking up speed every second, he used to watch it with glee. He used to laugh aloud and clap his hands on these occasions. People who observed it naturally thought that he was nuts to do such an ungainly job again and again.

The message he wanted to give the world was that doing a job is hard and painstaking. It will take lot of time too. But undoing the same is instantaneous. Creating is very difficult. Destroying is easy.

There are numerous stories about Naranathu Bhranthan, in which he had fought with evil people and taught them better ways. It is very difficult to find out authentic stories from among them. — Balendu, "Magnificent Twelve"



* "Ozymandias" is one of most famous poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley, who, according to Jenny Spires, was one of Syd's favourites. Shelley's references could be found in Syd's songs "Astronomy Dominé" and "See Emily Play".  sources →  Naranathubranthan.com. http://www.naranathubranthan.com/gallery.php JohnyML. "Giving Birth to Right." Web. http://web.archive.org/web/20090316152326/http://artconcerns.net/2007MayBaroda/html/baroda_birthright.htm Balendu. "Magnificent Twelve." Web. https://sites.google.com/a/bhashanarayaneyam.com/balendu/home/english-childre/magnificent-twelve