Living Ramayanas: Exploring the Plurality of the Epic in Wayanad and the World

Book excerpt: About the Book A FASCINATING BOOK ON THE MANY VERSIONS OF RAMAYANA AND THEIR ORIGIN The renowned scholar A.K. Ramanujan was of the view that there are thousands of Ramayanas. He maintained that they are not variant texts of the Valmiki Ramayana, but largely independent ‘tellings’. Even in our age, when printing has become wide-spread, Rama’s story lives on in the minds of the people through narration and performance. In Kerala itself, there are many unwritten Ramayanas. It is believed that the crucial events in the epic unfolded in Wayanad. The names of places and community consciousness corroborate this belief: the ashram at Ashramkolly near Pulpally is Valmiki’s ashram; Jadayattakavu is where Sita went down into the earth; locals recognise the scar left by the tail of Hanuman. But there are several Ramayanas in Wayanad, not just one. In their differences are reflected the social relations of each community. The Adiya Ramayana, Chetti Ramayana and Sitayana, collected and edited by Azeez Tharuvana are innovative tellings. In this fascinating book, Tharuvana talks about the many forms of the timeless epic that originated in Wayanad against the backdrop of the other Ramayanas popular in India and abroad. The stories, collected as part of this effort, provide insights into the traditional cultural consciousness and ideological world of communities in Wayanad. Brilliantly researched and simply written, The Wayanad Ramayanas presents a new perspective: this ode to Rama is a social text, not a religious one.