Traditions have the power to cast their spell over people, no matter how far and removed lives are from the old word orders. For ages, the arrival of the rain-drenched Karkkidakam has meant a month-long recital of the Ramayana to the believers in this part of the world. The fast-moving copies of Ramayana texts in the city’s book shops in the ‘Ramayana month’ proclaim the survival of the ritual through changing times.
DC Books has sold a sizeable number of Ramayana texts this season. Says sales assistant Sudeep, “This year, we have brought out an annotated prose version by Professor Vattaparambil Gopinatha Pillai, which is topping the sales chart. The first 5,000 copies have been sold out and a reprint is set to reach the stores. The hard-bound regular verse text is expected to do well like always; last year we sold around 20,000 copies.”
DC also stocks a verse text in old Malayalam font with bolder printing for senior citizens, so that failing eyesight should not hamper the observance of the ritual.
Full report here New Indian Express
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