Ramayana

Once again I have two of Evie's friends in my care for three days a week. Last year we stumbled on Ancient Egypt as a topic of great interest. This year they requested an examination of India. These are kids who go to away school and have very different exploring styles than Evie. The older of the two has had the personally creativity and confidence sucked completely out of her by an institutional system that demands uniformity. . .that is a whole other post!

I decided to introduce Indian mythology as a way into Indian culture and an examination of what it is like in India today. The Ramayana is an ancient epic poem full of intrigue, suspense and fantasy that is perfect for sparking imagination and questions. I have now the read the story of Rama and Sita about 8 billion times and the girls are working on a great shadow puppet show of the story. This is only a three week stint with the girls, I am sure Evie and I will carry on with it. I probably won't delve into the historical perspective, Hindu canon etc. I just want them to get a taste of something new and enjoy it.

I am not sure where this will lead, maybe nowhere, that is okay too. They are captivated by the story and eagerly searched through postcards at a local shop yesterday looking for their favorite gods and goddesses--Hanuman is the big favorite.

Here are some of their puppets and a rehearsal: