|
Dr Lalita Ramakrishna is research director for Indian heritage at Tattvaloka, which is a publishing division of the Sringeri Math, based in Chennai. She has designed and brought out two games based on the Ramayana – a card game and a board game - both covering the legend completely. Listen to her motivation for creating these unique, colourful games.
“I find Valmiki’s Ramayana a moving and sensitive human legend that places great ideals within the rough and tumble of life. It has something for every age group. For the child there are demons, monkeys, and miracles; for the youth there is romance and pathos; for the old there are spiritual insights.
“I had seen a board game called Cinderella that my grandchildren enjoyed. This inspired me to make Free Willy (a story about a whale) and other such games for my grandchildren. I feel that games are a great introduction to valuable classics if they are presented in a contemporary mould.
“Tattvaloka is fully appreciative of all such projects that make us learn and appreciate the ancient treasures of our culture.”
Children can get an insight into the Ramayana through these games and puzzles.
1 Voyage Through Ramayana is a board game with the events of the Ramayana marked along a route that has 60 squares. The incidents of the Ramayana are dramatised on 60 colourful cards, corresponding to the 60 squares. Every card carries plus or minus points that are given as tokens from the Karma bank. You can answer challenge questions along the route to improve your score. The special yellow cards relate amazing miracles and carry maximum points. The cost of this game is Rs 250.
2 Ram Lila is a card game with 104 cards. They are presented in 10 sections that have distinctive colour borders and code words in Sanskrit such as Apharan and Vak palan. Players make sets to win. Each section has a beautiful painting by S Rajam, a narration of the episode and questions and answers. The game is priced at Rs 100.
3 The Charm of Ram is a puzzle-cum-storybook (48 pages). It is about a prince who gave up an empire and became a king of hearts. The book highlights the bond of affection between Ram and the forest folk. It traces the episodes in which monkeys, vultures, and deer helped him. The book is illustrated by a teenage artist. There is also a puzzle on the modern names of the ancient Ramayana sites to be marked on a map. In addition, the book explains the meaning of symbols, such as the serpent, the conch, the lotus, etc. The price of this book is Rs 65.
But there is a 15 per cent discount on the package price for all three games which comes to Rs 355.
The games are available at
Tattvaloka,
76, Eldams Road,
Teynampet,
Chennai 600 018,
Phone + 91 44 2432 8126
Omega Agencies:
Phone - + 91 44 4208 4499
e-mail: sales@omegaage.biz
“I think the games and puzzles are very timely and children can learn a lot about the significance of this great epic,” says veteran journalist and Chennaionline
columnist N Meera Raghavendra Rao, and adds, “High time they did.”
RC
|
