Paula Richman and Rustom Bharucha are the perfect combination to explore the ideas that are brought together [in this book] -- Richman with her vast and varied knowledge of the many Ramayana stories that dot the sub-continent and beyond, and Bharucha, with his lifelong commitment to dramaturgy and the diverse performance traditions that animate some of our best known and most loved stories ... The book's greatest importance lies in the feeling of security it generates -- that the traditions of subversive and contentious narratives that we fear losing are, in fact, robust and strong.
Paula Richman is William H. Danforth Professor of South Asian Religions, Emerita, at Oberlin College, in Ohio. She has edited three volumes and published more than thirty articles on the diversity of the Indian Ramayana tradition.
Rustom Bharucha retired as Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Author of several books on performance, he has also worked as a dramaturg worldwide and was involved in the curation of three Ramayana Festivals at the Adishakti Theatre Laboratory in Puducherry, India.