Ramayana absorbs all our questions

I've wanted to do a children's Ramayana for about five years now, mainly because I didn't like any of the ones that were available. I thought that they were more interested in teaching lessons rather than telling the story." Voiced by 56-year-old author, translator and academic Arshia Sattar, the words reveal her fascination for the great epic. Out with her interpretation of Ramayana for Children, a book that makes the epic an easy read for young readers, and which has illustrations by artist Sonal Zohra, Sattar in her version has foregr-ounded the story, which is exciting and full of magic and difficult situations "which I feel sure that children will be able to notice for themselves". Sitting in her artistically-decorated Pune apartment, Sattar talks about why is the epic so powerful and meaningful always.

Do you think the younger generation can relate to the ideals of Rama?

Anybody who takes the trouble to read the story for themselves, whether they live in Timbuktu or Iceland, will feel connected with Rama. Not because he is the 'ideal' man, but because he faces universal human problems; how do I do the right thing; what does it mean to be good; how do I respect my elders and be true to myself; what does love mean and what are its limits. I think our younger generation in India, who are experiencing social change at an accelerated pace, are grappling with these same questions. They need to encounter a Ramayana that is not teaching them, but one that is helping them to articulate the questions that they face.

Can Rama be the role model for today's generation who believes living life in the fast lane?

Photo courtesy: Jignesh Mistry

The most beautiful thing about the Valmiki Ramayana is that Rama can be who you want him to be. If you look for God, you will find him. Or her. If you look for a human being who is trying to do his best in the worst of all possible circumstances, you will find him and you will find her as well. Sita deals with as many difficult situations as Rama does, perhaps even more than he does. For me, in the Valmiki text, Rama and Sita are finely wrought characters in a magnificent story, a story that suggests to you how hard it is to be good. Rama acts, he thinks before he acts, he considers the consequences of his actions and takes respon-sibility for what he has done. That's a reasonable and admirable way to live your life; we can all learn from that. Whether we live in the 'fast lane' or not. Whether we are a younger or an older generation.

Is there a message you are trying to give out through Ramayana for Children?

The Ramayana that I wrote for children has no lessons or messages. What I have tried to do, in all honesty, is to present the story in such a way that younger readers will notice that there are problems and difficult moments. There are points in the story when children will be uncomfortable, they will ask, why did he do that, what does this mean. We have to be ready to enter the discussion with them-the onus is on us, as adults. To tell the truth as we see it, to negotiate the whirlpools of confusion and be ready to surrender to our own discomfort first and lack of certainty about how we understand the characters and the story.