Reading Ramayana, Writing Tales: Bhakti Cult and the Songs of Rama

Résumé (en anglais)

Reading or listening to Ramayana is a usual practice in an ordinary Hindu household. Sometimes a narrator popularly called kathak or katha-vacak is called to narrate or read the epic story to the entire family, the clan, or the village. Inside the household, it is the women who particularly read the Ramayana during their normal ritual austerity. But the epic poetry is not restricted to this fixed environment; rather it has travelled into the lived experience of the people of the subcontinent. Originally written by Valmiki, the legend of Rama has been retold in more than 200 languages of South and South East Asia. What is interesting, though, is the manner in which the Ramayana is rewritten. In the article, I will analyse the act of reading the Ramayana and will explore the methods that are imparted to re-write the text.