Ramayana Stories in Modern South India: An Anthology, compiled and edited by Paula Richman, is a refreshing addition to the scholarly and literary works in Indic studies. It consists of an excellent collection of short stories, poems, songs, and theatrical and cinematic adaptations composed in the last hundred years by South Indian writers on the life of Lord Rama, one of the highly revered deities among the Hindus. In this anthology, Richman draws works from four major South Indian languages, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada, to illustrate the impact of the Indian epic Ramayana and the story of Rama (Ramkatha) as described in the epic and in the lore of the people in contemporary Indian life. The anthology points out the dynamic nature of Ramkatha and its potential to generate powerful, socially relevant discussions on myriad socio-economic, gender, and political issues. This book includes a broad spectrum of views on how the last few generations of men and women writers and film and drama experts have reflected upon the characters and values presented in Ramkatha in relation to the social issues of their times. Almost all of the works presented in this anthology challenge the actions of Ram and question the notion of his dharma (duty) for which he has been extolled and worshipped throughout the centuries.
The book consists of a preface, acknowledgements, followed by a note on the transliteration, translation, and pronunciation with an introduction which also includes a map of South India. The main text is divided into three parts, followed by an epilogue that serves as a conclusion, and a glossary. The anthology also contains biographical sketches of the authors and a synopsis of socio-religious and political circumstances of their times that might have influenced their story line.
The organization of the book successfully fulfills the needs of all who are interested in learning more about Indian society, its literature and culture, and about Ramayana. One does not need to be familiar with Ramayana or Ramkatha in order to appreciate this book. For those who are unfamiliar with the story of Ram, Richman provides a well thought-out introduction that summarizes the story of Ram as presented in Ramayana, including dominant regional versions of Ramkatha, and elaborates on the storytelling tradition of Ramayana. In her introduction, Richman provides an insightful account on how extensively the story of Rama pervades Indian society in the form of Sanskrit tellings, regional devotional tellings, and folk tellings.
The first part of the book, “Sita in Context,” consists of ten chapters that highlight, analyze, and interpret various aspects of Sita’s emotional life in a variety of ways. Sita, the wife of Rama, is the pivot of Ramayana. As the devoted wife of Rama, she followed her husband into exile during which she was kidnapped by Ravana, the king of Lanka. Upon her liberation and return from exile, when a washer-man questioned her chastity, Rama compelled his wife to prove her sexual purity by walking in the fire and coming out unharmed. Even though she passed the test of fire, still unconvinced, Rama then banished his pregnant wife into a second exile. The selections in “Sita in Context” present the emotional trials and tribulations of Sita as an ordinary woman, wife, mother, and daughter-in-law. A number of selections, such as “Sita Locked Out,” help readers to view and identify with Sita’s feelings and practical problems as a young bride in a large extended family in a middle class Indian household. Many of these issues are similar to those that young brides continue to encounter today. In contrast to the traditional versions in which Sita is presented as an obedient, unquestioning wife, selections such as “Sita Talks Back” and “Do You Accept my Truth, My Lord,” in Richman’s anthology depict Sita as an intelligent, questioning, feeling human being who confronts her husband for his actions and stands up for her rights.
Part Two of the book focuses on the two stigmatized characters of Ramayana and brings forth the Rama’s attitude towards caste and gender roles. One character is Shambuka, a Shudra, who belonged to the lowest caste. He deviated from the assigned norms of his caste and became a practicing ascetic. In Valmiki’s version of Ramayana, Rama killed Shambuka for violating the duty or the dharma of his caste but in the Kannada version called “Shudra Tapasvi” composed by Kannada writer Kuvempu, Rama favored Shambuka and took a stern step to punish the Brahmin who petitioned Rama to kill the ascetic. Kuvempu’s work presents Rama as a just king and echoes progressive attitudes that denounce the caste system and honor the pious deeds of human beings.
The second character featured in this part of the book is Ahalya, whose husband Gautam wrongly accuses her of adultery and transforms her into a stone—a curse that can only be lifted by Rama’s touch. The liberation of Ahalya at the hands of Rama illustrates his double standard—one set of rules for himself and another set for his subjects. Rama refused to accept Sita as his wife in spite of her virtue, but validated the purity of Ahalya in spite of her being seduced by Indra disguised as her husband, and compelled Gautam to accept her as his true and chaste wife. The stories and poems presented in this section focus on the circumstances surrounding Ahalya at a more realistic plane—including N. S. Madhavan’s story that presents a contemporary version of Ahalya set in contemporary times. One of the most powerful stories presented in this section is “Deliverance from the Curse,” by Pudumaippittan C. Virudhachalam that illustrates the psychological factors and challenges that Ahalya and Gautam face upon their reunion.
Part Three of the book, “So-called Demons,” primarily features the two main Rakshasa characters of Ramayana—Ravana and Shurpanakha. The new situations and story lines presented in the short stories, folk songs, plays, and poetry included in this section make the readers view Rakshasa or the demons in a different way. Rather than represented as creatures that do evil by killing and eating people, the presented in the South-Indian versions exhibit actions, viewpoints, and life approaches that are different from the conventional social norms. The situations presented in these versions, particularly with respect to the relationships between Ravana and Sita, Rama and Ravana, and Shurpanakha and Rama, enable readers to see that there is actually a fine line between who we call a hero and who we call a villain. The themes presented in this section deviate remarkably from the traditional version of Ramayana in which Rama is always featured as the best among men and Sita is always the chaste wife. This anthology consists of themes that depict the nature of love between Sita and Ravana: Ventatesh Murthy’s “Portrait of Sita”; Satchidanandan’s “Come Unto Me, Janaki”; and another short story masterpiece by C. Subramania Bharati in which Shurpanakha cuts off the ears and toes of Lakshman and promises Rama the protection of Ravana if he marries her.
Richman concludes her anthology with an epilogue that features a women’s folksong titled “Lakshman’s Laugh” in Telugu. The reason for Lakshman’s laugh is as innocent as a child’s, but his laugh is so powerful and uncontrollable that every person in the court feels as if Lakshman is making fun of them. Embarrassed, each person in the courtroom reflects upon a moment of their weakness, vulnerability, or wrong doing. This song appropriately provides a critical frame of reference (articulated throughout the book) to examine the life and viewpoints of the characters in novel contexts from the ancient epic which continues to breathe in Indian life today.
In conclusion, Richman’s work is an excellent study with a rich selection of writings and viewpoints on the ancient epic Ramayana. All of the works featured in the book are thought-provoking and reach out to readers and scholars in a variety of disciplines, including but not limited to the fields of folklore, anthropology, women’s studies, comparative literature, film, and theater.
--------
[Review length: 1328 words • Review posted on February 16, 2010]