There has even been a controversy on the depiction of Durga’s bete noire in buffalo form as a famous Gujarati freedom fighter in a Kolkata pandal. But here’s the thing – whether it’s Ravan and his gang or Mahishasur, they play a sterling role in the depiction of good winning over evil by taking up the role of the bad guy. Would Sherlock Holmes have been the heroic sleuth without Professor James Moriarty egging him on? Would the Amitabhs be the angry young man without the Ranjeets, Prems and Prans?
Warrior asur or Lankan scholar demon-king, the bad guy is vital for Vijay Dashmi as the parajit, a role that someone of talent alone could play. Without these chaps, neither Devi Durga nor Lord Ram would have been able to reach their climactic heroic role. At the centre of celebrations at Ramlila grounds across the country is the lighting up in flames of Lanka’s finest. While the muscular asur puts up his show of aggression to the delight of pandal-hoppers. Being bad, in this Manichean context, requires as much professionalism – if not more than – as being good.