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Questioning Ramayanas
A wide-ranging examination of the many different versions of India's greatest epic, the Ramayana, focusing on versions that subvert the dominant readings of the work.
Many Ramayanas
Throughout Indian history, many authors and performers have produced, and many patrons have supported, diverse tellings of the story of the exiled prince Rama, who rescues his abducted wife by battling the demon king who has imprisoned her. The contributors to this volume focus on these "many" Ramayanas. While most scholars continue to rely on Valmiki's Sanskrit Ramayana as the authoritative version of the tale, the contributors to this volume do not. Their essays demonstrate the multivocal nature of the Ramayana by highlighting its variations according to historical period, political context, regional literary tradition, religious affiliation, intended audience, and genre. Socially marginal groups in Indian society—Telugu women, for example, or Untouchables from Madhya Pradesh—have recast the Rama story to reflect their own views of the world, while in other hands the epic has become the basis for teachings about spiritual liberation or the demand for political separatism. Historians of religion, scholars of South Asia, folklorists, cultural anthropologists—all will find here refreshing perspectives on this tale.
Ramayana Stories in Modern South India
Fresh perspectives on the classic Indiana epic.
Performing the Ramayana Tradition
The Ramayana, one of the two pre-eminent Hindu epics, has played a foundational role in many aspects of India's arts and social norms. For centuries, people learned this narrative by watching, listening, and participating in enactments of it. Although the Ramayana's first extant telling in Sanskrit dates back to ancient times, the story has continued to be retold and rethought through the centuries in many of India's regional languages, such as Hindi, Tamil, and Bengali. The narrative has provided the basis for enactments of its episodes in recitation, musical renditions, dance, and avant-garde performances. This volume introduces non-specialists to the Ramayana's major themes and complexiti...
Extraordinary Child
Adopting The Voice Of A Mother, Poets Lovingly Praise Gods And Men. For Hundreds Of Years Tamil Poets Have Been Composing Devotional Texts In Which They Adopt The Voice Of A Mother And Address Praises To An Extraordinary Child. The Poems, Called Pillaitamil (Literally Tamil For A Child ), Form A Major Genre Of Tamil Literature. Since The Twelfth Century, When The First Known Pillaitamil Was Written In Honour Of A Chola King, Many Of These Poems Have Been Composed In Praise Of The Quintessentially Tamil God Murugan And South Indian Goddesses, As Well As Saints And Venerated Monastic Abbots. In Recent Times Pillaitamils Have Been Dedicated To Prophet Muhammad, Virgin Mary And Baby Jesus, As Well As Notable Political Figures And Movie Stars. Extraordinary Child Provides A Sampler Of Translations From, And Analyses Of, Seven Pillaitamils Of Particular Religious, Aesthetic Or Political Significance. Paula Richman S Insightful And Comprehensive Introduction Initiates The Reader Into The Pillaitamil Tradition By Explaining What A Pillaitamil Does And How Contemporary Audiences Can Learn To Savour The Subtleties Of The Verses.
Many Ramayanas
Throughout Indian history, many authors and performers have produced, and many patrons have supported, diverse tellings of the story of the exiled prince Rama, who rescues his abducted wife by battling the demon king who has imprisoned her. The contributors to this volume focus on these "many" Ramayanas. While most scholars continue to rely on Valmiki's Sanskrit Ramayana as the authoritative version of the tale, the contributors to this volume do not. Their essays demonstrate the multivocal nature of the Ramayana by highlighting its variations according to historical period, political context, regional literary tradition, religious affiliation, intended audience, and genre. Socially marginal groups in Indian society—Telugu women, for example, or Untouchables from Madhya Pradesh—have recast the Rama story to reflect their own views of the world, while in other hands the epic has become the basis for teachings about spiritual liberation or the demand for political separatism. Historians of religion, scholars of South Asia, folklorists, cultural anthropologists—all will find here refreshing perspectives on this tale.
The Crisis of Secularism in India
In this timely, nuanced collection, twenty leading cultural theorists assess the contradictory ideals, policies, and practices of secularism in India.
Inside the Drama-House
Stuart Blackburn takes the reader inside a little-known form of shadow puppetry in this captivating work about performing the Tamil version of the Ramayana epic. Blackburn describes the skill and physical stamina of the puppeteers in Kerala state in South India as they perform all night for as many as ten weeks during the festival season. The fact that these performances often take place without an audience forms the starting point for Blackburn's discussion—one which explores not only this important epic tale and its performance, but also the broader theoretical issues of text, interpretation, and audience. Blackburn demonstrates how the performers adapt the narrative and add their own co...
The Ramayana Revisited
14 leading 'Ramayana' scholars examine the epic in its myriad contexts throughout South and Southeast Asia. They explore the role the narrative plays in societies as varied as India Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia. The essays also expand the understanding of the 'text' to include non-verbal renditions of the epic.
Gender and Religion
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