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This article demonstrates how Covid-19 transformed the performance aesthetics of ancient theatre traditions in India. I draw primarily on the October 17, 2020 performance of the Ramlila, the folk staging of Ramayana, produced by the Shri Ram Dharmik Leela Committee, Tri Nagar, one of the most popular theatre troupes in North Delhi. In the first part of the article, I explore the metatheatricality of the production by analyzing its camera-centric aesthetic while demonstrating how the performance divested gods of their power. In the second part, I investigate how the performance's paratextual thematic bestowed power on humans. Broadly, I show that the Covid-era performance of Ramlila marks a break from some of the traditional conventions of performance aesthetics in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the holy Ramayana, a “magical herb” called “Sanjeevani Booti” or “Life-giving herb” which is found in Indian Himalayas has been mentioned. Sea buckthorn (Hippophae spp. L.) is popular as Sanjeevani of the Cold Desert of India. It is known for its magnificent effects from ancient times. It was believed that this magical herb has unique properties for all known and unknown ailments. Every part of the plant including fruit, flowers, leaf, twig, roots and thorns is traditionally used by the communities of the cold arid zone as medicine, nutritional supplement, fuel and fence. Therefore, it is important to explore more and more about this wonder herb mentioned in the Ramayana. In the present paper, an effort has been made to explore the sea buckthorn which is an ecologically and commercially significant actinorhizal plant. Its habitat, distribution, and economic benefits to society, as it contains a range of secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, flavonoids etc., have been discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Śrīvaiṣṇava Ācāryas (from the 12th century onwards), erudite scholars in Sanskrit and Tamil literatures inter alia , were prolific writers in both languages, as well as in Manipravalam, While they mostly wrote to explain and transmit their doctrinal views, they were also capable of enjoying the root texts with which they worked, and in the process, of infusing their own writings (such as commentaries) with rasa. One particular example of this is Periyavāccāṉ Piḷḷai's Rāmāyaṇa Taṉiślokam (13th century), a theological commentary in Manipravalam on a selection of verses from the Sanskrit epic. Based on a detailed study of Piḷḷai's commentary on verse 1.72.17, this article examines why Piḷḷai makes a theological commentary filled with rasa in the first place, as well as how he manages to do it (e.g. by means of the language that he uses, the knowledge, values, and worldviews, and so forth that he shares with his audience). We shall also explore the results of his undertaking. In the process, we shall also note how he differs from his more conventional counterparts, such as Govindarāja (16th century). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If today, Urdu literature’s engagement with the Ramayaṇa, one of the two classical Hindu mahākāvyas or epics, may seem counter-intuitive, then such perception is clearly a result of ideological shifts in recent history. This article traces manifold Urdu renditions of (parts of) the Rāmāʾin, as the Rāmāyaṇa is called in Urdu, and discusses various literary uses of Rāmāyaṇa plots, motifs and characters from the 19th century well into the present. A retrospective assessment of this engagement thus bears ample proof of the fact that before the 2th century, Urdu was not the language of the Indian Muslims as which it came to be regarded afterwards, but a malleable, urbane and transregional literary idiom that belonged to no particular religious community. As the article shows, recent and present-day Urdu literary production, too, often treats the epic as a part of South Asian heritage – irrespective of, or despite, or even because of its religious affiliation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses K.R.S. Iyengar's work 'Sitayana: Epic of the Earth-born,' which is a reimagining of the Ramayana. Iyengar, a distinguished professor of English, undertakes a direct transplant of scenes and incidents from Valmiki's Ramayana, focusing on Sita's character. The new saga reflects the modern Indian elite's psychological makeup and needs, but it is not a complete creative emanation like the original.

India is a spiritual heartland which has vast heritage for thousands of years. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are the two beacons of light epics and Lord Rama and Lord Krishna are epitomes who have been a role model for millions of souls. As a part of Mahabharata, Lord Krishna's divine discourse to Arjuna is known as "The Bhagavad Gita" in which Arjuna is the key character who represents the human race. The Gita and Arjuna are not just spiritual figures but are the models of today's management and it's important to understand the contemporary applications especially in the cat and mouse race of competition faced by students and executives of the field of Management. Arjuna's qualities of management shall give a divine insight and teach us greater leadership qualities and managerial abilities. This research paper is based on literature review and deep analyses of Arjuna's life journey not as just a commander, but an efficient leader and effective executive of his organization. The study & findings of this research derives that Arjuna is a role model of management and his qualities, if followed by today's managers, can prove vital for personal effectiveness and organizational success. Arjuna is the human capital, which was transformed by Lord Krishna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robert Antoni's Divina Trace has not yet found the wide readership that might be expected of the winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, perhaps because it does not conform to its readers' expectations of a Caribbean novel. And yet it is of particular relevance to the legacy of indentureship and the East Indian presence in Trinidad and to the relationships among the different ethnic groups on the island through its central concern with a black madonna on a fictional island unmistakeably resembling the Divina Siparia worshipped by Catholics or the Hindu Siparia Mai. This essay examines the author's postmodern techniques with particular reference to his treatment of sexuality, stereotypes, the grotesque and religious themes to discover what could be the significance of the idea of the Virgin and her representation in the black madonna. In doing so it engages with Deleuze's ideas on repetition to investigate the relationship between storytelling and reality, and the nature of the creative imagination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classical Sanskrit texts composed in early India are one of the most celebrated texts from South Asia. The Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata, and the Purāṇas are an integral part of socio-cultural, and now political life of contemporary India. Texts composed in classical Sanskrit are assumed to represent an unblemished civilization, with a righteous rule and unadulterated social harmony; this is especially true about their afterlives as depicted in popular culture, cinema, and art. Often, during arguments about the safety of women in India calls are made for "going back to the ethos of ancient India culture". This is done based on false beliefs about narratives presented in the classical Sanskrit text especially assumptions that women were "safer" in ancient India and that evils like rape, sexual assault and harassment of women did not exist. In contrast, this essay takes a closer look at the Sanskrit text, which not only narrates numerous stories of rape, but also considered rape a criminal offence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aimed to test the effectiveness of the animated film "Ramayana" in supporting sexual education to improve the personal safety skills of elementary school students. A quasi-experimental design was used. This research was conducted at Karanganyar elementary school and Yogyakarta Minggiran elementary school, which were chosen because they have many children with special needs who need extra support. The study was conducted with two classes, namely class V Karanganyar SDN with 22 students who watched the animated film, and grade V SDN Minggiran with 39 students who instead used the textbook that is normally used in the learning process. A personal safety questionnaire was used to collect the data, which were analyzed by an independent sample t-test. A significant different was found between the personal safety skills in the experimental group vs. in the control group. The level of personal safety skills of the students in the experimental class and in the control class were in the very good category. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a book review of Bashabi Fraser's book The Ramayana: A Stage Play and a Screen Play

Myths and mythological figures serve as cultural symbols that people live by and emulate. Śravaṇ Kumār is one such mythological figure. He carried his blind parents on his shoulders and, with great hardships, tried to fulfil their wish for a pilgrimage. However, before he could complete the journey, he met a tragic end at the hands of Prince Daśrath. Due to his devotion to his parents, he is revered as an ideal youth in the Indian Hindu context. One wonders what values are conveyed about a society that has, for centuries now, idealised the tragic mythical figure of Śravaṇ Kumār? What could be the underlying fascination with the tragic story of Śravaṇ Kumār, his parents, and the guilt-ridden prince responsible for their tragic deaths and the subsequent ordeal the prince’s son Rām had to endure in accordance with a curse? This paper reinterprets this myth and examines its relevance in contemporary times. The reinterpretation of the myth is further discussed in connection with the relevant psychoanalytic identity development theories, keeping in view the adolescents in the urban metropolitan context in India. The paper concludes by discussing the significance of having relevant mythical and cultural ideals for the identity development of youth.

Indian Literary tradition is rooted in Sanskrit and two finest manifestations comprising both are The Ramayana and The Mahabharata. The two texts stand at the helm of Sanskrit and Indian literature and have, since times immemorial, stood as its flag bearers. So much so that Jonathan Culler marks The Mahabharata as the Foundational Narrative in the Oriental World. The Sanskrit Drama, on the other hand marks its presence with the plays of Bhasa, albeit the oldest treatise on Sanskrit drama, Natyashastra, precedes Bhasa. In his plays can be found the first signs of what contemporaneity calls Alternative Literature, literature dealing with rerenderings of the erstwhile Foundational Epics. This research paper delves into the deviations that Bhasa incorporates in his plays that adapt The Mahabharata. An attempt has been made to assess how significant the deviations are in comparison to the primary text; and the implications thereof on the stature of the Indian Foundational Epic, as Culler calls The Mahabharata. The paper also strives to ascertain what the discovery of Bhasa’s plays means to the corpus of ‘unchallengeable’ Primary Indian Texts. Finally, the Paper elaborates on the contemporary relevance of these alternative renderings in literature and life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Re-vision - the act of looking back, of seeing with fresh eyes, of entering an old text from a new critical direction - is for us more than a chapter in cultural history: it is an act of survival", writes Adrienne Rich in her seminal essay, "When We Dead Awaken: Writing as Re-vision". Rich firmly advocates that women authors should create spaces for subversion of patriarchal values and ideals through their literary works. Revisionist mythmaking, from a feminist literary perspective, evolves through challenging a preceding text which predominantly manifests androcentric ideas. The present paper aims to examine a female reinterpretation of Ramayan, Sita's Ramayana by Samhita Arni, as a revisionist text. Sita's Ramayana is a graphic narrative in which Arni's retelling is complemented by patachitra or scroll painting by Moyna Chitrakar, a female patachitra artist from West Bengal, India. Sita's character is one of the major literary tools through which women writers often attempt to review the Ramayan and subvert the male-centric reading of the epic. This paper seeks to understand the elements of revisionism in Sita's Ramayana in the context of a sixteenth century retelling of Ramayan, Chandrabati's Ramayan, a verse narrative composed by Chandrabati, the first women poet of Bengal. Chandrabati's Ramayan, a fierce Sita tale, has been the primary influence on Arni in subverting the patriarchal, popular representation of Sita's character. This paper attempts to interpret how Arni has altered the patriarchal understanding of the epic by foregrounding the tale through Sita's viewpoint. It also aims to analyse how these female authors, Arni and Chandrabati have assigned Sita's character an agency to challenge the androcentric notions that dominate the interpretation of Ramayan. Further, the paper seeks to interpret how the folk-art form of patachitra contributes to the meaning-making of a contemporary subversive retelling of the grand epic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sita's Ramayana is a graphic retelling of the ancient Indian Ramayana epic. The self-explanatory title suggests the representation of the epic narrative from Sita's perspective, highlighting the gender aspect and the need for Sita-centric retelling. The ideological flipping is not a new one as this study will show and the graphic rendition modality is contributory to the genre. Through encoding androcentric and patriarchal cultural signs, the Ramayana's plot has usually been expressed from the point of view of men or 'society' – via the deployment of such terms as pativratas, Shakti and abla nari. It also gestures at the frequent stereotypical gendered approach to the entire subject. In this study, I explore the conceptual possibilities of how Arni and Chitrakar rearticulate and flip the representation of the Ramayana epic through a revisionist approach and a Sita-centric retelling. I also look at the theoretically contended genre that generates scope to render the plot both through the printed word and through deploying the Bengali Patua painting form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article looks at the transformation of comic book adaptations of the Indian epics from Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) to present-day representations. The overarching thrust of the article is to assess the stature of comic books as cultural "products" and to examine the ways in which culture, religion, politics, and industry entwine. The essay also works to interpret the trends and reasons behind the iconographic transition of comic books, the publication politics which underlie their production and dissemination, and their status as cultural commodities. Subgenres of comics which could be variously categorized as cyberpunk, post-apocalyptic, or superhero styled comics, and evidently have a niche market or readership, are being held as blueprints for oversimplified transference of what has been widely accepted as the "core" story of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Therefore, I also argue that contemporary visual culture in the domain of comic books has seen a gradual shift from ACK 's knowledge-based conservative pedagogy to a more globalized entertainment-oriented, market-centred strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The great Indian epic, Rāmayāna, represents the contradiction between the Aryan civilization and the non-Aryan civilization through the struggle between Rama and Ravana. The Rakşasas led by Ravana are the representatives of the indigenous Indians conquered by the Aryans. The epic, Raaayaana, written by the conquering Aryans, sets the conquered up as the designated opponent and demonizes image of Rakshasa king Ravana. In the main part of the epic created by Valmiki, Ravana was treated with certain respect as a defeated hero. But in the First and Seventh Chapters that were supplemented subsequently, Ravana is presented as the evil King. The demonization of Ravana's image is not only the result of portraying an op- ponent, but also the need of ethical expression. As a representative of good, Rama needs Rav- ana, a representative of evil, for a contrast, which not only sets up a role model, but also issues a warning, thus establishing what the epic intends to advocate, namely, the ethical system with "Dharma" as its core. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking the current geological, environmental and religious controversy around the iconic Adam's Bridge or Ram Sethu (as it is referred to in Hindu sacred mythography) and the proposed Sethusamudram canal project - which has been delayed since the late-20 century over several administrative terms, due to litigious procedures and protests by religious groups - this article examines the Ram Sethu as an aquapelago. The Ram Sethu is an aquapelagic zone, not merely in geo-historical terms but also in psychological ways, that is largely experienced in the Indian consciousness through the evolution of ancient folkloric motifs in contemporary media-loric polemic. As an aquapelagic imaginary, or indeed a performed aquapelago, the Ram Sethu is sustained by accumulating epistemic plurality from multiple geological, secularist, sacred and environmentalist interpretations. This epistemological plurality or transcendence of (geo-)logocentric meanings is an inevitable function of aquapelagic imaginaries, even more so of the Ram Sethu, which is reproduced by multiple determinate negations of religion (negating ambitions of economic development), developmentalism (negating themes of environmental sustainability), and environmentalism (negating majoritarian discourses of what constitutes the sacred). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Victorian Bengal saw a number of young writers, working under the influence of Orientalist scholarship, Romantic literary theory, and English poets like John Milton and Lord Byron, attempt to translate the great Sanskrit epic Rāmāyana into a modern world epic. This paper juxtaposes two such attempts: Romesh Chunder Dutt's Rāmāyana (1898) and Michael Madhusudan Dutt's Meghnādbadh kābya ("The Slaying of Meghanada," 1861-2). Read together, I argue, these poems embody two very different ways of recasting a colonial text as worldly. Where Romesh repackages the Rāmāyana within a comparativist rubric that telegraphs its resemblances to Homer or Milton, Madhusudan projects a blasphemous worldliness that stresses his ability to break with the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses Vikram Balagopal's mythological Indian graphic narrative Simian (2014), which is a retelling of particular episodes from the Ramayana from Hanuman's point of view. The essay claims that Balagopal's portrayal of Hanuman as a gelada baboon strips him of devotional/religious signifiers and allows readers to see him as a secular figure. The graphic narrative portrays this popular Hindu god as a heavily psychologised figure grappling with the ramifications of his special abilities, and questioning his liminal identity in the face of derogatory classifications by human beings. This representation is in opposition to the co-optation of Hanuman as a hyper-masculine warrior by an aggressive, resurgent Hindu nationalist movement. Simian also uses a reflective Hanuman to critique Ramayana's anthropocentricism and gender and caste biases. It thus places itself into a long tradition of interrogative and subversive retellings of the Ramayana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rāvaa, the ten-headed Rākasa ('demon') king of the epic the Rāmāyaa, is the most fascinating of all the antagonists in films based on Hindu mythology, so powerful that even the Sun cannot rise without his orders, and celebrated as an unparalleled musician-scholar and great devotee of the god Śiva. His passion for the vīā, a string instrument with divine associations, is so great that this instrument adorns his royal flag as its emblem. His consciousness of his supreme powers and great knowledge soon gives way to ahakāra (hubris) and lust, which leads to his eventual downfall and death at the hands of Rāma, a human avatar of the god Viu. Perspectives on Rāvaa vary. My work brings out the contrast between his character in the epics and on screen, and the fundamental differences in how he is perceived in films in Hindi and in south Indian languages. I argue that film (cinema and TV) portrayals are more nuanced than his generally 'evil' image in ancient and medieval versions of the epic. I also argue that films from south India, especially Tamil ones, tone down the evil aspect more than those from the north, possibly owing to influences from Dravidian politics. Adherents of this stream of politics argue that the Rāmāyaa - including the 12th-century Tamil Rāmāyaa by Kampa - served to impose north Indian Brahminical Aryan culture onto the Dravidian people of southern India. Rāvaa is seen as a great Dravidian leader, who was killed by the Aryan Rāma. I find that this image of Rāvaa has a strong influence in Tamil films, and to some extent in Telugu films. Remarkably, Kampa's epic comes together with its opponent, Dravidian politics, to produce a glorious image of Rāvaa in film as a Tamil king who is a musician-scholar with mastery over the vīā. Though Telugu films usually do not mention Rāvaa's ethnicity, one film, where the superstar N. T. Rama Rao plays him, explicitly refers to him as a Dravidian. This article focuses more on the south Indian films, comparing and contrasting them with the north Indian (Hindi) ones. Of the latter, the Rāmāyaa television series (1987) by Ramanand Sagar, where he is the antagonist, and the series Raavan (2006-08) on Zee TV, where he is the protagonist, are of special interest. In the former, he is arrogant, stubborn and wicked, but his greatness as a scholar and warrior is still highlighted. There are also Tamil influences, including Rāvaa's celebrated vīā flag and a 'Tamilstyle' depiction of his court. Though Sagar's series has been termed a contributor to Hindu nationalism by many, it does not portray Rāvaa as a complete villain. The Zee series depicts Rāva in a manner highly unusual in the world of Indian mythological film - as a politico-cultural revolutionary. Rāvaa's vīā music, while depicted by Sagar, receives further emphasis in more recent Hindi series. Thus, in both the north and the south, Rāvaa is a larger-than-life figure, and a mix of good and evil and of learned and arrogant. However, the evil aspects tend to be emphasized to a greater extent in the north. In spite of this difference, he dies an exalted death in films across languages. One Tamil influence - the vīā-player image - is so powerful that it has reached all over India, the 'Aryan' north included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to classical Indian aesthetic theory, adbhuta, the ‘marvellous’, is one of the nine canonical rasas, ‘moods’, that can be aroused in the audience by a theatrical or literary work, and Sanskrit epics largely resonate with adbhuta features. An episode of the Rāmāyaṇa (Rāmāyaṇa [Critical Edition], IV 49-52) recounts how, during their search for Sītā, a handful of monkeys led by Hanumān find themselves entering and remaining for some time almost imprisoned in a cave created by Maya, the great architect of the Asuras. The description of this cave is steeped in the imagery that connotes, in the Sanskrit epics and Buddhist literature of the early centuries CE, paradises and remote, fabulous places. Recurring elements of these places include vegetation made of gold and jewels and the presence of birds, and brilliance is a constant attribute.

The establishment of the academic study of Indentureship is a relatively recent development that has been led by descendants of indentured labourers from across the diaspora. This article highlights key moments in both the history and historiography of Indentureship. Looking first at the system established by the British on plantations across their colonies, it goes on to consider the variety of labourers' backgrounds and the process of social equalisation that was fostered by both voyage and plantation. Considering the injustices of the system, the author emphasises the ways in which labourers were able to disrupt the power of the plantocracy and analyses the particular perils the system held for women. The religious life of the labourers as well as the maintenance of the Panchayat and the importance of the Ramayana are also weighed. The historiography section of this article traces the attention paid to the system of indenture and the diaspora it created; from the initial attentions of missionaries and 'benevolent' organisations in the nineteenth century to the creation of a global network of scholars of Indentureship with roots in South Africa, Fiji, Mauritius, Guyana and Trinidad. It further emphasises key moments and publications during this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retelling the great Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata is carried out over many generations. The contextual study of these great myths interprets distinct ideologies according to the creed of generation after generation. In the lineage of retelling the myths Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni attempts to portray the saga of Mahabharata from Draupadi's perspective in the genre of novel. The Palace of Illusions titled by Divakaruni which is meant to be her dramatic recreation is the central element for discussion in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata have been an integral part of the Indian cultural tradition. Since centuries, they have been told and reinterpreted several times and handed down from one generation to another. The Ramayana is based on the morals such as the triumph of goodness over evil, obedience, brotherhood, love, compassion, sacrifice - all looped into the thread of Indian cultural tradition with an emphasizes on the value of dharma. However, there are some female characters that have been left on the margin in this epic and have been portrayed as upholders of male honour. They are devoid of the proper attention for their roles and sacrifices they deserve. Kavita Kane in her novel, Sita's Sister has revisited the Ramayana from the daring and unwavering Urmila's (Laxmana's wife) perspective - a marginalized character who has never received the responsiveness she is worthy of. Kane has given voice to the muted character of Urmila. The present paper studies the contemporary relevance of Sita's Sister from feministrevisionist myth-making point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay argues that Daljit Nagra's idiosyncratic adaptation of the Ramayana , in which he fuses multiple versions of the ancient epic (from different parts of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia), is more than just a comic version of the Sanskrit classic but represents a serious attempt to ensure an old text's relevance to a new readership. One way that Nagra manages to reach a highly diverse and widely dispersed audience is through his extensive use of interlingual wordplay, a technique that stylistically echoes the earlier diasporic writer Salman Rushdie. Reading this transnational version of the Ramayana through the lens of Jahan Ramazani's concept of a macaronic poetics, the essay analyzes the lexicological, phonological, and typographic effects of Nagra's poem, which combine to produce a faithful retelling of the ancient Hindu epic in a language and style that is thoroughly of the twenty-first century and uses translingual puns to connect the Ramayana to a Western audience as well as the Indian diaspora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents discussion on the performing tradition of Mappila Ramayana which being prevalent in the Mappila Community of Malabar region in Kerala in a context of a cultural grafting. Topics include oral tradition of the region called as Muslim Ramayana or Islamic Ramayana predominantly popularized in the Vadakara region; and Muslim community having a very rich oral tradition with different variety of songs.

Foundation of human civilization and endorsement of its potency are the consequences of prolonged women endeavor, which through its history of superiority and confinement, convey the picturesque of civilization. Since ages, the Indian societal structure has played an active role in stimulating the trends of change in women’s status, which with time also proved to be hindrance to the progress of this country. In this context, the study has attempted to emphasize the women’s status in ancient Indian civilization based on the ancient scripts and texts. The ancient era has been categorized into four distinct periods viz. the Vedic period, the Epic period, the period of Jainism and Buddhism and the age of Dharmaśāstras, Mánusmṛiti onward. The study has portrayed the relegation of the women’s dignified role and position entirely to a subservient one from Vedic period to the period of Dharmaśāstras, Mánusmṛiti onward.

The article explores the Indian mythologist and writer Amish's retelling of Sita myth from Ramayana, the primal epic from Hindu canon of scriptures. His interpretation of the text, "Sita: Warrior of Mithila from Ram Chandra Series" neither adopts a conservative view of sanctioning authority in religious readership nor an extreme liberal stand of challenging the very essence of transcendent myth. This middle path taken by the writer presents a new understanding of the Hindu goddess. Deconstruction of Ram-Sita binary is the basis of this new mythic interpretation. The study concludes that it is not necessary that the new conceptualization of myth requires a radical critique of the original myth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though translation activities are more than two millennia old, the most significant activities in this field took place in the 20th century. To be specific, contradictory theoretical positions were taken and entirely new kinds of questions were asked in the second half of this century. Scholars like Susan Bassnett (1998) even claimed that a translation should be treated as an independent and original text. But a number of writers, translators and scholars hold an opposite view. If we consider the translation activities of the ancient western civilizations of the world, we notice that those were mostly commissioned and literal in nature. Contrary to it, the situation in India was different. Though Valmiki and Vyasa composed the Ramayana and the Mahabharata respectively for the first time in Sanskrit, the Ramayanas and Mahabharatas written later in various vernacular languages of India are adaptations or transcreations. A careful analysis of the European, Arabic, and Chinese traditions show that those were literate in comparison with the vernacular Indian tradition that was predominantly oral. This orality gave a lot of freedom to the writers in the vernacular languages in ancient India to be creative and compose new texts. Therefore, orality was the driving force for this creativity and some western scholars' proposal that a translated text is an original text in not a new concept. The other point I would like to make is that contrary to the popular belief, a literal translation of a literary text is also appreciated more (Newmark 1988:70-71). This position is validated in two of our case studies, i.e. Mohanty et al. (2008) and Mohanty and Sarath Chandra (2014). Therefore, I want to argue that 'free' translation was the mainstream in the climate of orality and not in literacy. This free trend endorsed by those scholars who treat translations as original texts is peripheral in the contemporary literate societies in which translations are usually commissioned. I will also argue that the differences between the free and the literal trends in translation are primarily due to the oral and the literate traditions that prevailed in India and in the other parts of the world mentioned above in the olden days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Vedic literature constitutes the fulcrum of Sanskrit literature and is repositories of some fundamental concepts of human rights. This manuscript endeavors to decode the tenets of human rights concealed in the Vedic texts. It further endeavors to view a connection between archaic Vedic literature and human rights and approaches the subject of human rights from the perspectives of Vedic texts. As an articulated concept, human rights have distinct western inception though the elements that constitute the concept postulate different cultural forms and are found in sundry civilizations of which one is Vedic civilization. The Vedic rights are certainly not akin to modern-day human rights but then it would not be feasible to expect much from the texts that are approximately 3500 to 4000 years old. Though the Vedic literature vividly resonates with some rudimentary conceptions of human rights, the relationship between Vedic literature and human rights is not entirely smooth and tension free. This manuscript withal fixates on the incongruities subsisting between Vedic literature and human rights.

The Mckinsey 7s model refers to a tool that analyse a company “organizational design”. Mckinsey 7s model was developed in 1980’s by Mckinsey consultants Tom peter,Robert Waterman and Jullen Philips with a help from Richard Pascale and Anthony G Athos.Since the Introduction,the model has been widely used by academics and practioners and remaining one of the most popular strategic planning tools. It sought to present an emphasis on human resources (Soft S), rather than the traditional mass production tangible of capital, infrastructure and equipment as a key to higher organizational performance. Ramayana in current age is not only an epic where we study about the story of Ram and Ravan but it is a lesson for us where we find most of the managerial concept related from Ramayana. Mckinsey 7s model has also correlation with Ramayana. The model can be applied to many situation and is a valuable tool when organizational design is at question. The most common uses of the framework is 1. To facilitate organizational change 2. To help implement new strategy 3. To identify how each area may change in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]