In the districts of Mandsaur and Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh , Ravana is revered. Mandsaur, for instance, is believed to be the home town of Mandodari, Ravana's wife. The Namdeo Vaishnav Samaj of Mandsaur believes that since Mandodari was a native of the town, Ravana is respected as the learned son-in-law.A 35-feet tall statue of Ravana is installed in the Khanpur area of Mandsaur. "We remember Ravana for his knowledge of all the Vedas and his devotion towards Shiva. Burning his effigy is seen as a sign of disrespect towards him and so, 'Ravana dahan' is never done in this town," said Ravi Ranka, a cloth merchant in Mandsaur.As per Hindu customs, women cover their heads in front of their in-laws. And interestingly, since the town treats Ravana as their son-in-law, women cover their heads while passing-by or praying at the Ravana temple.On the day of Dussehra , the locals in Mandsaur start praying to Ravana at 9:30 in the morning. The prayers end with chants of "Hail Dashanan, Hail Ravana". Dashrath Dubey, a local priest said, "We worship Ravana like all other gods and goddesses, as we believe in him and pray for prosperity, happiness and success. Though there may not be any archaeological evidence of Ravana and Mandodari's connection to Mandsaur, we just follow a tradition here because our ancestors named the town after Mandodari."Ravana was said to be a great scholar and a devotee of Lord Shiva. It is believed that Ravana belonged to the lineage of kanyakubj brahmins (brahmins of Kannauj region), who were mostly priests and gurus in ancient days.Near Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh, a small village is named Ravanagram, in memory of the Lankan King. The people of Ravanagram, majority Brahmins, worship Ravana in a temple. "It is common to see followers of Ravana in this area. He is prayed to during marriages and Dussehra," said Dr Yuktansh Pandey from Vidisha.Despite all the stereotypical beliefs and unflinching devotion towards Lord Rama in the country, it is fascinating to see that the people of Mandsaur and Vidisha choose to remember Ravana for the good in him.