Week 4 Famous Last Words: Buck's Retelling

I have really been struck by the differences between Buck’s version of the Ramayana and Narayan’s version. Buck’s is much more true to what I think is the traditional epic script. Already in Buck’s version there have been countless descriptions that are absolutely beautiful, and yes, I do get bogged down by them sometimes. However, it is said that the original script written by Valmiki was over 25,000 verses long, and I think Buck has done an excellent job of transcribing that to a modern version. There was one passage describing Sita that I thoroughly enjoyed, “Her dark eyes were like the eyes of a doe, her lips were full, her long dark hair was falling down her back clear to her ankles… She wore crimson robes and silver veils light as air, belts of embroidery and fine charms swaying as she walked, jeweled diadems and bell anklets, new barley shoots behind her ear, bridal garlands of jasmine, and seven strands of pearls around her neck and falling over her full round breasts.” This is a beautiful retelling of Sita, and now I have a much better idea of what she really looks like. The way Buck describes nature also moves me thoroughly. When he describes the seasons and the mountains and the places that Rama, Sita, and Lakshama encounter in their exile, I feel like I am really there. I can smell the rain and hear the animals that they encounter. Narayan’s retelling was an excellent introduction to the Ramayana, and it gave me a simplistic, concise retelling of the plot that allowed me to understand the gist of the story without getting bogged down by too many names and too many descriptions and too much detail, but I am thoroughly enjoying getting to go back and see this familiar story fleshed out with gorgeous descriptions.

Sita, Rama, and Lakshama in the forest
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Bibliography: Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.