Author: Bulbul Sharma
Painter/Illustrator/Animator: K P Sudesh / Ajanta Guhathakurta
Publisher: Penguin/Puffin
Year: 2007
Language: English
Pages: 137
ISBN/UPC (if available): 9780143330318
Description
The Ramayana is one of the best-known epics in the world, the tale of Rama, the prince of Ayodhya, who exiles himself to the forest for fourteen years to honour his father’s word. In the forest, Rama his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana meet new friends and strange foes, and each day brings new adventures. But their happy life is spoilt when Ravan of Lanka, the king of demons, abducts Sita. To rescue her Ram enlists the help of the monkey army. In that final battle, many heroes die and new ones are born.
In this vividly told, vibrant version for children, the ancient epic takes on a new life. The traditional ingredients are all there-adventure and excitement, love and war, and an infinite number of stories within stories; as are the traditional characters-monkeys who cross oceans and carry mountains, shape-changing demons and monsters. But it is rendered contemporary by the freshness and vitality of Bulbul Sharma’s retelling, and by the zany and exuberant illustrations by K P Sudesh, one of the most compelling young artists of today.
Contents
The Birth of Rama
Tataka
Mareecha and Subhahu
Sita
Ahalya
The Swayamvar
Dashrath’s Plan
The Plot
The Curse
The Banishment
In the Forest
Dashrath’s Death
Into the wild
Panchavati
Soorpanakha
Khara’s Revenge
In Ravana’s Court
Mareecha
The Golden Deer
The Abduction
The Search for Sita
Kabandha
The Monkey Clans
Kishkinda
The Search Begins
Hanuman in Lanka
Preparing for War
Crossing the Ocean
Before the Battle
The First Battle
Kumbhakaran
Indrajit
Ravana
Return to Ayodhya
The Second Banishment
At Valmiki’s Ashram
The Ashwamedha Horse
Back at the Ashram
Rama and his sons
Afterword