PALAKKAD: Paula Richman, a 60-year-old professor of South Asian Religions at Oberlin College, Ohio, in the US, is always at home in India. Be it her passion for the epic Ramayana (on which she has been doing a research for the last two-and-a-half decade) or her fondness for Tholpavakoothu, she never let go any opportunity to savour the rich culture of India.
When 'Express' caught up with Paula at Koonathara near Shoranur in Palakkad, she was totally immersed in the nuances of Tholpaavakoothu, the artform based on Ramayana. In the evening, Paula found time to listen to the Bhagavad Gita rendition organised by the Palakkad chapter of the Chinmaya Mission.
Says Paula: "I was drawn into Tholpavakoothu after watching a documentary on the late Tholpavakoothu artist Krishnankutty a few years back." The verses in Tholpaavakoothu are in Tamil, based on the 'Kamba Ramayana', but their explanations are in lucid Malayalam.
Paula first heard of Ramayana during her college days. "In course of time, I stumbled upon its English version as told by R K Narayanan," said Paula.
Paula learnt Tamil from the University of Chicago. "As I began to delve deeper into the Ramayana, I understood that though Valmiki, and Thulasidas enriched Ramayana, there were some local variants.
"In Tamil there was the Kamban version, while in Malayalam, there was the Ezhuthachan Ramayana and Mappila Ramayana. Similarly, Kumaranasan had written the verses for poem 'Chinthavishtayaya Sita' which dealt with Sita's feelings when her children leave for Ayodhya.
"Though the storyline was the same, the storyteller has added some distinctive narratives. For example, in Kannada, Kuvempu says it was not only Sita who undergoes 'agnipariksha' but also Rama," says Paula.
Apart from research, Paula finds time to give lectures on Ramayana.
Paula Richman has also written a number of books on the epic namely - 'Many Ramayanas', which dealt with the authors who wrote Ramayana.
Her second book 'Questioning Ramayana' is about the doubts which arise in any readers mind - on Rama killing Bali and Rama demanding that Sita prove her chastity.
The third book 'Ramayana stories in modern South India', published by the Indiana University is an anthology translation and the book was translated into Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and Tamil.
Why only the Ramayana? "If I run out of Ramayana will I prefer Mahabharata", she said.
Paula has visited many places in India, including Mysore, Orissa and Hyderabad. Recounting her experience in visiting Sri Lanka, she says there is a cave where people believe Ravana had put Sita during the war.
Similarly, there was a temple dedicated to Vibhishana, she says.