[the_joker]

Originally Posted by whitewing

The Ramayana and Mahabharata have so many variations based on local influences and interpretations of the authors....

Originally Posted by Fuldagap

You are so right!
...
Nevertheless, there are numerous versions of both the epics in different cultures and languages. There is a huge variance in storytelling, the nature of characters and who was evil or who was not. Countries like Cambodia, China too have their own versions. ...

Recently, I came across a book that talks about the different variations. The book is called "Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia" edited by Paula Richman

I've not read it yet, it is on my to-read list. It deals with the different variations in different countries. I think it will be an interesting read.

[dailydriver]

Pardon me for going a bit off topic but since the talk is about Ramayana as a textual experience, it would be in the fitness of things to mention A K Ramanujan's Three Hundred Ramayanas - an epochal essay about this unique epic.

While one can easily find an e-copy of the essay online, allow me to present two odd pages of the same.





Please read this part carefully:

[warrioraks]

BORN TO RUN by Christopher McDougall - 5 out of 5
I was actually confused where to put this book review. This thread or the running thread. Eventually decided to put it here since this book is not only for runners.
Highly impressed with the writing style of the author. Hard to fathom the work that would have gone into taking a topic which appears boring on the face it (running), and stitching into a grippy tale.
The story is about how human bodies by default are running machines. The narration covers a lot of characters across Mexican tribes and ultra-marathoners of USA. But not for a single moment, it feels dull or confusing or out of depth. There is a tinge of investigative journalism here as well if that's your genre.

Few of the books I read recently are written by journalists (including this one) and all have turned out great. One extra filter to apply while choosing the next book

[N1Krider_R]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Pardon me for going a bit off topic but since the talk is about Ramayana as a textual experience, it would be in the fitness of things to mention A K Ramanujan's Three Hundred Ramayanas - an epochal essay about this unique epic.

While one can easily find an e-copy of the essay online, allow me to present two odd pages of the same.

Wow, this discussion deserves a separate thread of its own. I had recently heard this version from my brother, about the infinite loop. This begs the question, if it is really an infinite loop, where is everybody now? This infinite loop theory does not stand the original version and reality in general.

PS : Mods might consider creating a separate thread for this, and while they're at it, a dedicated "Patanaik bashing thread" could be the cherry on top of the internet sundae.

[ValarMorghulis]

Why Bharat Matters by S. Jaishankar
Rating: 2.5/5

As much as I adore and like Mr. Jaishankar for his diplomacy and oratory skills, I couldn't like this book. It starts of decently but then devolves in to a text book devoid of any reason to continue reading. At times, there are topics which are of interest, especially the ones describing historical blunders by India, but they aren't enough for me to recommend this book.

The best parts of the book were the diplomatic themes from Ramayana which Mr. Jaishankar wove effortlessly in the book.

[amitoj]

I heard about this book in the WSJ podcast where the 2 authors were interviewed and thought that it may make for an interesting read. And glad to say that I was not disappointed. This book reads like an expanded version of the Netflix's Drive to Survive series, except that the timeline is the entire Formula 1 instead of 1 season. So we get to read about how Bernie ran the sport, how individuals with different traits and eccentricities continuously re-shaped and re-defined the sport throughout the decades and finally how it has now become a sport where you need a PhD to just be a mechanic!

Last couple of chapters are devoted to Liberty Media and how the Netflix series has brought in a whole new set of fans who are happy to call themselves F1 fans and not watch a single race.

The book reviews may talk about how this is all about how F1 broke into the US market but it is actually a lot more than that.



I have been following Phil Gaimon's Youtube channel for a while. He is a funny guy, who used to be a pro cycling racer and has now retired but still goes on some crazy bike rides. Makes sense that his channel is called "Worst Retirement Ever"

The book came out many years ago, around when pro cycling was at its lowest thanks to the doping scandals. But Phil does a great job of not dwelling too much into that and focuses more on the struggles of someone who comes with no cycling background and no big sponsors. I dont think Phil hired any professionals from the publishing industry to advise him either as the book does not have that polished chapter-to-chapter type of flow which only adds to the charm of the book.