"The current generation is moving away from Indian Ithihasas. They don't think much of it, but rather find the Greek and Roman mythological characters more alluring"
Is this question valid?
There are many reasons for the Indians moving away from our Vedas, Upanishads, Mahabharatham and Ramayanam.
The Indian (by which I mean 'Hindu', we are still a Hindu Majority country by a wide margin) society has changed over the last many decades. The Hindu joint family has broken up, leaving only nucleus units and the dwellings clustered (like agraharams) based on commonality in culture, which was essentially temple based is no longer to be seen.
The Joint Family and the Temple based Clusters went a long way in creating an interest, awareness and knowledge about our ithihasams to the next generation.
The ithihasams, though they are in written format, was handed down from generation to generation through 'vaa mozhi' (Orally). Stories that kindled the imagination of the younger lot was used to convey the underlying philosophy of good and evil, and the need for a disciplined life. The elders in the Joint Family played a big role in perpetuating this legacy. The Grand father or Grand mother, or elderly Aunts narrated wonderful stories in the night, when there was no TV or Radio. This was either as a narrative or through lovely songs. If a child is scared, he was asked to recite the ten names of Arjunan mentioned in Mahabharatha to ward of fear "Arjuna, Phaalgun, Paartha, Jishnu, Keeriti, Shwetavaahan, Vibhatsu, Vijayan, Savyashachee and Dhananjayan". And the story of the mighty Archer was told to the child, with an assurance that Arjunan will be always there in case of any danger. Is it any wonder the child then gets hooked to the epic?
Likewise the children are told that Anjaneyan can do the impossible and it pays to be like him. His stories are told in an awe inspiring manner, how he lifted the Sanjeevini Mountain, How he jumped 100 Yojanas to reach Lanka, his exploits in Lanka, his love and devotion towards Sreerama.
There is an extract from a poem in malayalam,
"Vaarana veeran thalayattu, villattu
Veeran Bhagadattan thante kazhuthattu
Nalamathanathan vaalumarinjittu
Kolahalathote poyithu banavum"
I read this first in a childrens magazine called 'Thalir'. This depicts how Arjunan's arrow first cuts the head of Bhagadattans massive elephant, then the Bow of Bhagadattan, then his head and finally the raised tail. The depiction of the arrow finally exiting as 'Kolahalathote poyithu banavum' meaning 'the arrow went with a bang (after creating chaos)' clearly makes you wonder about the skill of the archer, and the power of his skills.
The above are only by way of illustration. For conveying every single moral concept, we had an icon from our ithihasams - Sreerama the uttama purusha, who sacrificed everything to honour his fathers pledge, Bhishma who took a vow to remain a bachelor to please his father, Harischantran for honesty, Nalan for overcoming adversity, Bhiman for sheer power and valour, .... the list is endless.
As a child, I did not have the luxury of hearing stories being told by elders in the family, but I read and read. I was exposed to Mali Ramayanam and Mahabharatham when I was as young as 8-9. I was intrigued by Hanuman, Mareechan (Golden Deer), Sreeramans ability to covert grass into a powerful arrow, the various types of arrows with special powers, Arjunans exploits, Krishnans scheming, Yudhishtirans Rajadharmam, etc. Later on, though not in the same genre Kottarathil Sankunnis 'Aithihyamala' and 'Kathasarithsagaram' got me hooked to stories, and helped develop the story telling ability in me, one of my pride possession. These stories broadened by imagination, allowed by mind to wander and made me a better person. Fortunately for me, I had a father who had similar interests on whom I could bounce my ideas, though he couldn't tell a story for nuts.
Later on the story telling ability of mine, gave me a huge advantage while Teaching MBA Students and even while working, when I would more often than not use a story from Ithihasams to get a point across...................................to be continued
