Ramayana

An Ancient Indian Epic

By: Ayur Pulle, Shreyas Pulle

Narrated by: Ayur Pulle, Shreyas Pulle

Length: 1 hr and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

The great Indian epic - the Ramayana - has been told and retold over thousands of years by poets, performers, and writers. It is a tale of courage and fear, love and hate, devotion and betrayal. The epic spans the three worlds of gods, humans, and demons. Here, the forces of good and evil collide, locked in a battle for the ultimate supremacy. Rama, the crown prince of Kosala, descendent of the timeless Surya dynasty, must face unimaginable danger, but what lies in his destiny?

©2016 Puranas Ltd (P)2016 Puranas Ltd

Critic reviews

The Times, UK

"'Like Lion cubs, the little princes played...Ravana’s 10 heads swung towards his generals...Kumbhakarna stomped on to the battlefield, flinging a dead elephant as if it was a toy.' Laconic, colourful phrasings and crystal-clear enunciation make Ayur and Shreyas Pulle’s retelling of the epic story of how Lord Rama rescues his wife, Sita, from the demon king Ravana ring on in the mind. Good for adults and children." (Christina Hardyment, The Times, 24/11/2017)

Royal National Institute for Blind (RNIB)

“A great version of the Diwali story for young people.”

"The young authors have kindly given RNIB a copy of this wonderful version of the Diwali story to turn into Braille, Giant Print, and Daisy Audio so that the blind and the partially-sighted can enjoy it too. This is a great version of an epic story. It is aimed at children and perhaps because it was written by young people for young people it has a clarity of story without being patronizing. The writers do a lovely job of voicing the characters and I really think that young people will enjoy the story being told to them by their peers instead of an by an adult. I would recommend it to any young person studying Diwali for school or who loves reading great mythic stories." (Lynne Livingstone, RNIB library on 16/11/2016)

AudioFile Magazine (US)

"Inspired by a discussion with their family about reading the traditional Indian epic during the school term, brothers Shreyas and Ayur Pulle were inspired to write a simplified version and record it for young listeners. The audio result is a pleasant gloss of the complex classic, with the excision of its more violent scenes and salacious passages, and the addition of brief musical interludes to separate scenes. The brothers do an excellent job of performing their version together, smoothly adopting character roles from time to time and trading narrative passages. Their youth is apparent in the timbre of their voices, along with the abbreviated form they provide for the epic, makes this a treat for both children and families." (F.M.R.G. ©AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine {Published January 2018})

"A remarkable listening experience "

It was very refreshing to find such a well written and fine rendition of this classic.
By using well-crafted dialect , authentic sounding accents, Shreyas and Ayur believably dramatizes the wide range of characters in Ramayana.The narration captured the emotional heart of this audiobook.
The different character voices were quite distinct and it was easy to stay with the storyline.
I highly recommend this book on Audible.

The story is focused on main plot points

Ramayana: An Ancient Indian Epic is a shortened retelling of the ancient Hindu religious epic, The Ramayana by two brothers, Ayur and Shreyas Pulle. Their intent was to retell this epic in hopes of making a written adaptation that was more approachable for a younger audience. The Ramayana tells the story of Rama, a king of the Surya dynasty, who is an avatar of Vishnu, a form of God in the Hindu religion. The overarching story is that prior to his rule, Rama is exiled to the forest for 14 years. His wife Sita and brother Lakshmana choose to accompany him. During this exile, Sita is abducted by an evil demon, Ravana. Rama and Lakshmana, embark on a quest to find and save Rama’s wife, Sita, and to fight off the evil demon Ravana. During this quest, they meet many allies that help them in their fated fight of good against evil.

Ayur and Shreyas Pulle have done an admirable job condensing a lengthy and complex epic into a short story suited for children. The story is focused on main plot points of the epic, creating a comprehensive story from beginning to end that includes many details. Any violence that would be seen in a dramatization of the epic is glossed over making the story better for children. In addition to the main characters, a number of memorable characters appear in the story either to help Rama or to fight against him. While the retelling could have been improved by emphasizing the moral plot points even if it caused an increase in length, it is well organized for a children’s story.

The narration is done by the two authors of the adaptation, Ayur and Shreyas Pulle. They do a good job with the voices and speaking in unison when appropriate. The production quality is good and the musical interludes work well. I would recommend this story to children as an approachable introduction to the epic, Ramayana or to an older listener who wants to be reminded of the major plot points of this epic.

Audiobook was provided for review by the publisher.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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A Very Compressed Classic!

This book is a simplified, truncated version of one of the greatest stories ever told. A perfect introduction to this epic work for children.

For a complete version, I highly recommend BOTH the Linda Egenes/Kumuda Reddy version (eloquently narrated by Deepti Gupta) as well as the Krishna Dharma version.

Jai Shri Rama!

Proud of the idea and perfect narration!

Years of hard work, perseverance and shraddha has resulted in a lively, interesting retelling of the ancient epic. Kudos to the boys and their parents in bringing out a classic in a new format. The flute interlude is simple and just apt. Look forward to more such presentations. Anuradha , Gautama, Atreya

Vimanas and Bramastra

Glad to finally learn the story, but the dual-narration switching back and forth distracted a bit from the telling. Also quite short for a credit. Overall though, glad I learned from the work and appreciate the efforts of the production team.