Siva laughed. ‘Hanuman found Sita in the beautiful Ashoka Gardens of Lanka. She was crying. Hanuman approached her carefully so he didn’t scare her. The monkey warrior was very powerful and frightening to some. Hanuman presented Lord Rama’s ring and asked the beautiful queen to step onto his back so he could carry her to safety.’

‘I would love to ride on a monkey,’ said Rishi.

‘I would love to have a pet monkey. I love monkeys,’ said Ahalya. She loved all animals and was waging a determined campaign to get a puppy. Priya walked in with a plate of cut fruit for the children; red apples for Ahalya and green apples for Rishi. She had heard the story from the kitchen and continued it for Siva.

‘Sita refused to go with Hanuman. She gave Hanuman her jewelled hair comb as proof that Hanuman had seen her. Sita told Hanuman to tell her husband and lord that she would wait in Lanka. She didn’t want to be rescued by Hanuman. Instead, she wanted to remain a prisoner of Ravana, the Demon Lord of Lanka, until Lord Rama himself came for her.’

‘That’s a bit silly isn’t it, Ammamma?’ Ahalya asked. ‘She should have just gone with Hanuman. Imagine riding on a monkey. That would be wonderful. What happened next, Parta?’

‘Well then, children, Hanuman was about to leave Lanka and return to Lord Rama, who was waiting for him in India. Suddenly King Ravana’s soldiers arrived and captured him. They took him to Ravana, who looked at the monkey all tied up. He laughed at how easily Lord Rama’s warrior had been conquered.’ Siva did his best impersonation of Ravana’s evil laugh.

‘Poor Hanuman, is he going to die, Ammamma?’ Ahalya asked, worried.

‘No, not at all—Hanuman escaped but his tail caught on fire. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop, setting fire to the kingdom of Lanka, until he got to the coast. From there he could see Lord Rama and his army of monkey warriors waiting for him at the tip of India. So he jumped over the ocean and arrived at Rama’s feet. He gave him the message from Sita, and it was then that Lord Rama knew he would have to fight Ravana to reclaim Sita. He knew that war was coming.’

‘Is that the war that made you leave Sri Lanka, Ammamma?’ Ahalya asked.

‘No, that was a different war; a much sadder war,’ Priya replied.

‘All wars are sad, Ammamma,’ said Rishi.

‘Yes, darling, they are, they are.’ She was silent for a while as she thought about the last time Lanka had been set on fire.

‘Ammamma,’ Ahalya said, crawling into her lap with a cheeky smile. ‘Ammamma, what did the monkey’s bottom look like?’

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