You may be wondering why I included "The Beginning" in the title; well my knowledge of Indian history and culture is just that. I took this class, curious if I would be behind not knowing much of anything about India's culture, or what an epic even is. My initial thought was that it was somewhat of a tall-tale. I took this solely from my understanding of the word epic; greater than life.
I am not a fan of Game of Thrones, but that is because of the violence involved, as I do not know the story line. I took a mythology class about six years ago, and to be frank, I remember very little.
Sita Vanavasa: Sita in exile; Ravi Varma Press.
(L0021787 Credit: Wellcome Library, London)
I did not recognize any photos throughout the images available, so I selected the photo above because it stood out to me. It is the most realistic looking painting, and emits a raw emotion. The caption states (I assume she is Sita) "Sita in exile", and she looks lonely. Bored even. I am curious to find out her story, if that is an option.
I just found that picture of Sita recently; it really is striking, isn't it? You will indeed be learning Sita's story: it is at the heart of the Ramayana! And there are many different versions of the Ramayana, many different authors. One of the most famous authors is Valmiki, author of the Sanskrit version, but Kamban wrote a version in Tamil (that's the one Narayan's book is based on), the most widely read one in India today is by Tulsi Das who wrote in Hindi, and on and on. That's one of the reasons why I use this storytelling approach to the class: the Ramayana has had so many storytellers! And now you will be a Ramayana storyteller too. :-)
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