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More than any other sacred text, the Ramayana has been interpreted as a blueprint for right human action. Of the innumerable Ramayanas composed, the most prestigious is Valmiki`s text.
Across several cultures though, refashioning and retelling Valmiki`s influential and patriarchal epic has become a way of literary dissent in the grand tradition of Indian self-questioning.
Two such voices from Kerala, included here, showcase the sophisticated cultural diversity of the region. C N Sreekantan Nair`s play,Kanchana Sita (1961), is about the tragedy of power, and the sacrifices that adherence to dharma demands, including abandoning a chaste wife.
Sarah Joseph`s Ramayana Stories (1990s) are feminist critiques of traditional narratives of women humiliated and torn apart--both psychologically and physically--by ambitious men. Joseph`s style is layered and poetic, deep and intense. Both Nair and Joseph bring out the political aspects of these stories through the dialectic s be tween victor and vanquished, man and woman, tribal and city dweller, Aryan and Dravidian.
This volume looks at the exemplary ethical deity, Rama, from a woman`s point of view. Immensely readable, it will be of interest to students and general readers of South Asian literature, literature in translation, and gender studies.
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Pages : 208
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