08-16-2008, 01:05 PM
<!--emo&:cool--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/specool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='specool.gif' /><!--endemo--> The Ramayanas, in a volume
Scholars of ancient Indian history are of the opinion that there are over 300 different versions of the epic in existence. However, they are agreed on the main episodes: the birth and upbringing of Sri Rama and Lakshmana in Ayodhya, Sri Ramaâs marriage to Sita, their 14-year exile, abduction of Sita, her rescue and triumphal return to Ayodhya. This drama is enacted year after year as Dussehra in every village, town and city across our subcontinent. It is also usually the first story that mothers and grandmothers narrate to children. It is deeply embedded in the Indian psyche.
The version most widely accepted in northern India is the one narrated by Valmiki. In 1649, Rana Jagat Singh of Udaipur (Mewar) commissioned his court artists to paint a series of pictures depicting the entire story from beginning to end. The task took four years to be completed. It is our misfortune that the collection was sold to English connoisseurs and fragments are found in the British Library in London. It is also our good fortune that these fragments have been put together in collaboration with the British Library by Niyogi Books with a detailed introduction by the Indologist JP Lusty. So, we have a beautifully produced coffee-tabler: The Ramayana: Love & Valour in Indiaâs Great Epic (Niyogi Books). I canât think of a more suitable gift for growing children on their birthdays or on Diwali to make them aware of their heritage.
(contributed by Khushwant Singh)
Scholars of ancient Indian history are of the opinion that there are over 300 different versions of the epic in existence. However, they are agreed on the main episodes: the birth and upbringing of Sri Rama and Lakshmana in Ayodhya, Sri Ramaâs marriage to Sita, their 14-year exile, abduction of Sita, her rescue and triumphal return to Ayodhya. This drama is enacted year after year as Dussehra in every village, town and city across our subcontinent. It is also usually the first story that mothers and grandmothers narrate to children. It is deeply embedded in the Indian psyche.
The version most widely accepted in northern India is the one narrated by Valmiki. In 1649, Rana Jagat Singh of Udaipur (Mewar) commissioned his court artists to paint a series of pictures depicting the entire story from beginning to end. The task took four years to be completed. It is our misfortune that the collection was sold to English connoisseurs and fragments are found in the British Library in London. It is also our good fortune that these fragments have been put together in collaboration with the British Library by Niyogi Books with a detailed introduction by the Indologist JP Lusty. So, we have a beautifully produced coffee-tabler: The Ramayana: Love & Valour in Indiaâs Great Epic (Niyogi Books). I canât think of a more suitable gift for growing children on their birthdays or on Diwali to make them aware of their heritage.
(contributed by Khushwant Singh)