For the children, Ramayana is essentially a story to be told. They might ponder over it when they grow up and find newer meanings. They will read its newer versions, many of them, analyse them, and would form their own opinions. But to start with, Ramayana remains a story, which they would enjoy hearing.
There are many advantages if they hear it first in the story form. It will help their understanding and imagination better. It would give them a chance to create their own version of the story. They will eventually create their own Ramayana, with all of its characteristics. What an experience it would be!
It is not easy for a child to read and understand Ramayana on his own; but the book has infinite possibilities as a story to be told. The plot has so many interesting twists and turns which will keep a four or a five-year- old to stay glued to it: the king, the yaga, the princes, the forests, the animals, the animal-gods, the demons and the fights: it’s a treat for their imagination. Enough for one to create a world of one’s own imagination and celebrate it.
The epic has rooted itself on certain eternal values such as self-sacrifice, which would help form the character of a child. While finding an answer to the question what made Rama spend 14 years in forest would help him understand the value of selflessness and righteousness. There may not be another book that portrays such values so forcefully in children.
And it also offers the young readers and listeners a journey into the land of knowledge and enjoyment. The children who are brought upon such strong foundation will keep their own moral fabric intact throughout their life.
These days, the elderly find it tough to find time for story-telling, leaving the children to the interpretations television offers them. They are forced to see the epic characters on the faces of serial actors, robbing them a chance to create their own. It’s sad, indeed.
(The author is Director, Kerala State Institute of Children's Literature)
