BOOK DISCUSSION

14 Thu 10.15 A.M

The Folly, Amethyst

Whites Road

Next to Corporation Bank

Royapettah, Chennai 600 014

Ramayanamam Ramavadharamum

The story of Rama has been told many times, in many languages, ever since Valmiki’s account of it shaped itself about two thousand years ago which soon became a model and an inspiration to many a poet, both within and outside of India. However, outside the Sanskrit heritage, Kamban happens to be the first poet to create an epic narrative called Ramavatharam on the story of Rama, in a modern Indian language. Kamban came nearly ten centuries after Valmiki: His language, Tamil, endowed him with an inheritance that was rich and felicitous, yet distinct from Sanskrit. However, Ramavatharam is different from the Sanskrit original in many aspects - both in spiritual concepts and in the specifics of the storyline.

Dr. Priya Ramachandran’s book is an analysis of the difference in characterization of the main protagonists in the Ramayana story by the Tamil poet Kamban and Valmaki. The author also helps us understand how it came about to be considered as a one of the greatest literary works in the Tamil Literature by both Tamil Scholars and the general public.

Come, lets meet with the author who dons various hats - 

Dr Priya Ramchandran, renowned Paediatric surgeon with 15 years of experience working with Kama Koti Child Trust Hospital, Chennai;Founder of Ray of Light Foundation – an organization set up to help provide treatment and care for children diagnosed with Cancer; a Tamil Scholar with the love for the language which eventually led her to publish her research work on the great epic.