Reading Notes: Narayan's Ramayana, Part B

Some of my favorite parts from part B:

• I loved the below lines because they're really unexpected. It's not something you see often in stories where there two people are respecting each other so well. Bharatha and Rama are arguing that the other should be king:

In a world where we are accustomed to rivalries over possession, authority, and borders, and people clashing over the issue, “Ours,” or “Mine, not yours,” it is rather strange to find two people debating whose the kingdom is not, and asserting: “Yours, not mine.”

• Time after time, Rama shows his good heart. Even after Kamavalli tries to seduce him over and over, he still says no. No matter what she offers him, he refuses. I love that his character is so golden and good, and that each tempting thing he encounters magnifies this. 
• Mareecha (Ravana's uncle) seems to be the wise Uncle Iroh (from A:TLA) kind of character. He has had to deal with Rama before and he knows that Rama can't be beat. So he tells Ravana to stay away from him, but Ravana refuses to accept this and convinces Mareecha to help him capture Rama (using the reasoning that Rama mutilated his sister so they should both want revenge). 
• Currently I'm thinking I could re-write one of these parts of the story. I'm really enjoying the story and characters, but the writing just feels dull. It could use some modernization and added color and creativity. 
• Mareecha lures Rama out of his cottage by taking the form of a golden deer that Sita wanted him to catch. When Sita is left alone, Ravana comes out to talk to her. 

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Bibliography: The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic. By Kamban and R. K. Narayan.

Image Information: Bharata and Rama, with Lakshmana, Sita, and Hanuman (print by Raja Ravi Varma)