Sita’s Ingenious Plan: A Skyward Escape | Story by Sarthak, 14, Noida

Sita’s Ingenious Plan: A Skyward Escape

As the sun set behind the hills and the fair moon, Sita could see the silhouette of the trees. Ram and Laxman were out looking for the deer she had been captivated by. It had been a long time, and Sita was concerned about her husband and brother-in-law. Even though Laxman had warned her not to, she quietly tiptoed out the door. But she disobeyed her brother-in-law and went looking for them.

She became disoriented in the dark and stumbled through the woods. On the way, she encountered a strange ten-headed man. She chose to ignore him. She went inside a small cave because it was getting colder by the minute. She was so tired that she didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep. When she woke up the next morning, she set out to find her way to the hut. She assumed the ten-headed man was a figment of her imagination. She heard footsteps from behind her. When she turned around, she saw the same man. “Small world, isn’t it?” Before she could react, he kidnapped her and led her to his chariot, which bore the words “Vayuyaan” in large letters.“Sorry for not introducing myself. I am Ravana, the great Ravana of Lanka. To tell you the truth, I am smitten by your beauty and want to take you to Lanka to be my queen”, said Ravana, miraculously rolling the rest of his head into the tenth one just over his neck. Sita was astounded. This was insane! Nonetheless, right now, she had no choice. But her mind was working furtively for a plan to get away from him before they sat in the chariot. As if in answer to her prayers, the chariot wouldn’t start. Mocking Ravana for his conceit, she chided, “Has the engine of the great Ravana’s chariot given up?”

Ravana was furious about Sita making fun of his precious chariot studded with jewels. He tried his best to make the vehicle move, but in vain. He cursed under his breath when suddenly there was a whirring sound somewhere nearby. Then a THUD….!

They proceeded with caution towards the source of the sound. A diverse group of foreigners were planning. Their plane had run out of fuel, fortunately or unfortunately. Moreover, their pilot had suddenly become ill. To make matters worse, they were all stranded in an unknown location. But for Sita, this was more like God directing her to safety. Sita’s sharp mind quickly devised a strategy. Thanks to her father making sure she had the best education, Sita was well versed in every field of life and knew how to fly an airplane. Ignoring Ravana, she came forward and asked whether the people needed any help. They all nodded vigorously and told Sita and Ravana about the problem with the plane.

“Listen woman, I do not need any trouble from you.” said Ravana in a hushed tone. Sita replied, “I will make a deal with you. They have run out of fuel and your engine is not working. You don’t know how to navigate a plane, but I do. Why don’t you give them fuel and I will fly us all to Lanka?”

Ravana thought for a while. As he had no choice, they told the passengers about their plan. At that moment, all that the passengers wanted was to get away from that place. So, it was agreed that Sits would fly them all to Lanka.

Once on board, they started chatting. The talk veered towards which was the best nation in the world. “You know Giovanni, Italy is only famous for its pizzas, but in Greece, we have the beautiful Athens and Pantheon. And what to say about our Greek Gods!” said Max. “Have you ever been to Spain?”, interrupted Juan. “Shut up, you Spanish omelet!”, chided Lucas, “we Germans are famous for their efficiency.”

Now Ravana could not contain himself and started speaking at length about Lanka, his palace, himself, his powers, his knowledge et al. He was so engrossed in praising himself that he did not realize where they were flying to. The terrain they now were in was unchartered by any of them.

Sita landed the aircraft in Janakpuri, her hometown, where she knew she would be rescued by her father. When they got down, the foreigners were enthralled by the beauty of the environment, except Ravana. He had been outwitted by a young woman. He yelled so loudly that the trees shook, but Sita remained unshaken.

Sita went to Ravana and said, “It was not me but your pride that has made you fall.” Then she folded her hands and addressed her guests, “Atithidevo bhava. For us, guests are like God. You are now our guests and you will be treated like God, no matter who you are or how you have treated us. You are welcome. You all will be seen off back to your home after food and ample rest.”

She turned back after taking one look at Ravana who was now unable to meet her gaze. His eyes remained firmly on the ground as he held his head down in shame.