I always had a curiosity to know how the world sees my country. When I was living outside the country and meeting people from Asia, Africa, and many other parts of the world, one question I often asked was:
“Have you heard about Sri Lanka? What do you know about us?”
The answers I received were sometimes interesting, and sometimes completely unexpected. That curiosity pushed me to find books connected to Sri Lanka.
One of those books was the Ram Chandra Series by Amish Tripathi. I decided to start from history because of the Indo–Sri Lankan mythical connection surrounding Lanka and Raavan.
The series consists of four novels:
1. Ram: Scion of Ikshvaku
2. Sita: Warrior of Mithila
3. Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta
4. War of Lanka
What I noticed is that Amish has tried to paint a modern colour onto the ancient epic of the Ramayana. Maybe by giving it the title “Ram Chandra Series,” he gives himself the freedom to move beyond the strict boundaries of the original epic. The first three books mainly focus on Rama, Sita, and Raavan as individuals. While reading, I kept thinking whether the author intentionally wanted to present these epic figures more as human beings rather than only divine figures placed on a pedestal.
At the same time, I can understand why many critics see this series as something challenging to the traditional version of Valmiki’s Ramayana. It reinterprets the mythology through a modern lens.
I’m still only in the first book, and I’m still deciding whether to continue the other three. 😌😌 Somewhere in my mind, I feel like reading the original Valmiki Ramayana might give a deeper understanding of the epic itself rather than reading a modern retelling first.
"History is written by the victor"
Tharushi
10.05.2026
No comments:
Post a Comment