Ram’s story has reached the masses not through erudite Sanskrit texts but through theatre, song and dance performed in local languages. All of these retellings of the Ramayana have their own twists and turns, their own symbolic outpouring, each one valid in their respective contexts.
The Book of Ram
‘Ram’s story as a metaphor for human strengths and weaknesses and as a window to inner divinity’. Ram is maryada purushottam, the supreme upholder of social values, scion of the Raghu clan, jewel of the solar dynasty, seventh avatar of Vishnu. Reviled by feminists, appropriated by politicians, he remains serene in his majesty, the only Hindu deity to be worshipped as a king.
Sita : An Illustrated Retelling of Ramayana
Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of Ramayana is an epic story based on the life of India’s most admired prince-Rama and his wife Sita. Since ages, the character that is most emphasized has been that of Rama, who has always been known to keep his word whatever be the circumstances. The role of Sita has been generally overlooked in the past. Sita too is a pivotal character being a single mother; she went through many ups and downs all alone. Still, she has often been portrayed as a frail and meek character.
My Hanuman Chalisa
Every time we experience negativity in the world and within ourselves, every time we encounter jealousy, rage and frustration, manifesting as violation and violence, we hear, or read, the Hanuman Chalisa. Composed over four hundred years ago by Tulsidas, its simple words in Awadhi, a dialect of Hindi and its simple metre, musically and very potently evoke the mythology, history and mystery of Hanuman, the much-loved Hindu deity, through whom Vedic wisdom reached the masses. As verse follows verse, our frightened, crumpled mind begins to expand with knowledge and insight and our faith in humanity, both within and without, is restored.
The Girl Who Chose: A New Way of Narrating the Ramayana
Two thousand years ago, the poet-sage Valmiki wrote the Ramayana. It is the tale of Ram, the sun-prince of Ayodhya, who is obliged to follow family rules and so makes no choices. And of Ravana, king of Lanka, who does not respect anybody’s rules or other people’s choices.
Over the centuries, hundreds have retold the tale in different languages, adding new twists and turns. But few have noticed that the tale always depends on the five choices made by Sita.
What were Sita’s five choices?
Ramayana Versus Mahabharata: My Playful Comparison
It is a popular belief that the Ramayana is idealistic, while the Mahabharata is realistic. Yet these two epics have identical building blocks, identical themes, and identical history. Whether it is the family structure, forest exile, or war, the comparison between the two epics proves a startling point—the Mahabharata is in fact a reaction to the events in the Ramayana.
Hanuman: Read and Colour
Hanuman, Anjani’s Mighty Son is perfect as a read-aloud to acquaint young readers with the qualities of valour, selflessness, loyalty and humility that Hanuman embodied.
Curated with fascinating bite-sized stories–from how young Hanuman almost ate the sun to how he helped Ram rescue Sita from Lanka–it features over forty playful artworks along with dedicated colouring pages.
