Dear Mr. Debroy: Reading the Valmiki Ramayana at Hampi
A long-form letter to Bibek Debroy reflecting on reading his Valmiki Ramayana translation by the Tungabhadra river in May 2018.
Note This is the digital form of a letter I wrote to Bibek Debroy in 2018. May 6, 2018 - May 26, 2018 Dear Mr. Debroy, It has taken me over a month to get myself ready to write this letter. I began writing it before I’d returned from Kishkinda, but I couldn’t find the time to finish it. I began writing this letter in my Grandfather’s house in a village called Kamalapura, four kilometres from the ruins of Vijayanagara. I had not yet finished the Ramayana, but I wanted to compose this letter before beginning the Yuddha Kanda. I felt that way because oddly enough, my trip this time coincided with the annual marriage of Pampa and Virupaksha. Hampi was swamped with locals. It was scorching hot. ...