English narrative translated into Hindi, Telugu
At a time when teenagers are busy aping the western culture and almost ignoring the Indian epics, two British-born Indian descent teenagers stand out for not just trying to propagate the values espoused by the Ramayana but also their work now licensed by the British Airways.
The London-based brothers, Shreyas Pulle and Ayur Pulle, have created a one-hour audiobook “Ramayana: An Ancient Indian Epic” that introduces the compelling epic to non-Indians and also gives the Indian listeners a refreshing perspective.
It all started when Ayur’s Jewish dominated school in London asked him to perform in an Indian play in which he played the character of Hanuman. Ramayana’s characters struck him and coming from a traditional Indian family the growing interest was natural, reveals Ayur’s mother Neelima Penumarthy.
Flawless narration
His elder brother Shreyas then teamed up to create a simplified version of the complex classic and decided to go the audio way to reach out to people. The simple language added with flawless narration and smooth adoption of the characters makes it further interesting, even for those newly introduced to Ramayana.
The audiobook gained popularity in British circles and was judged one of the best in its segment. To their delight, the British Airways has licensed it to place it on its in-flight entertainment until 2028.
The English narrative is now translated into Hindi with the help of Hindi teacher and students at the Kendriya Vidyalaya, Uppal and also to Telugu by the maternal grandmother of the brothers.
Ms. Neelima explains that the Hindi version of the audiobook has been recorded with six students from 10th and 12th class of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Uppal No 1 where she studied.
A socially conscious Neelima is now making an effort to rope in visually challenged students to bring out the Telugu audiobook involving three students from the Devnar School for the Blind, Begumpet. “Braile version of the book is given to them and the visually challenged students have done a wonderful work. It should be out in a few days,” she says.
The narration of the epic by the blind students is challenging as they have to visualise something they have not seen. “Some of them have such mellifluous voice and their narration has made a difference,” she said.
Neelima, who runs a company, ‘Puranas’, that connects culture through stories has also produced a 15-minute puppet show based on the audiobook. It was performed in several schools in London and last year it was performed at the Diwali celebrations sponsored by Mayor of London at Trafalgar Square. “We will be doing the same this year as well,” she adds.
