ashokbanker.com

So Many Ramayanas: Sepia Mutiny’s online discussion group

Another useful link from a fellow Epic Indian.

http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/002046.html

This one takes you to a discussion on different versions of the Ramayana.

Much of it is ‘know-that’, ‘heard-that’, or ‘read-that-one’ before stuff.

But it’s still interesting to know how little most people, even Indians, actually know about the Ramayana.

Right now, as a debate rages in New Delhi about the new education policy and the proposed measures to revamp it, some Left scholars are demanding that the focus should be on ‘de-Saffronizing’ textbooks.

They’re referring to the public and municipal school textbooks revised by the BJP Government to reflect a more ‘Hindu’ view of Indian history.

Now, in my opinion, the Ramayana is not a Hindu work at all.

It’s an Indian work.

Someone on the discussion board at Sepia Mutiny mentions an excellent book (they also mention my Ramayana series, but I’ll just let that pass, smiling :~) ) called So Many Ramayanas.

I’d recommend the book to anyone who wants to know just how many versions of the epic there are, and how different some of them are from your, or mine, or any one person’s notion of what the Ramayana “really” is.

Several others chip in with interesting observations, the most useful one being, in my opinion, that since the Ramayana is essentially an oral tradition, each one of us has the right to adapt, revise and even alter it as we like, within reason, of course.

…Head on over to Sepia Mutiny and join the discussion. Or just browse through it, if you like.

And of course, if you enjoy such discussions, you’re welcome to apply for membership to the Epic India group.

Although I can’t promise that you’ll be accepted: it’s a pretty exclusive club.

But if you’re interested in such things, it’s the place to be.

That’s why I’m there. :~)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 17th, 2005 at 11:17 pm. It is filed under Ashok. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.