The Ramayana, believed to have been written by the great safe Valmiki, is one of the most revered Hindu epics. Narrating the tale of Lord Ram, one of the avatars of Lord Vishnu, the Ramayana has been an inspiration for art and culture over the 6000 years of its existence. One of the many artists who have been inspired by the Ramayana is a resident of Manuguru village of Manuguru mandal of Kothagudem district in Telangana. Bomma Ratala Elliah has been an ardent devotee of Lord Ram and he has achieved the remarkable feat of writing the entire epic on Talpatras. They are basically manuscripts created from dried palm leaves. Palm leaves were used as writing materials in the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia, dating back to the 5th century BCE.
Elliah is an ex-employee of Singareni Collieries, a public sector company, from where he retired 4 years back. After retiring, he decided to write the Ramayana on Talpatras. In an endeavour that took him 4 years, Elliah has successfully written down all the 7 chapters of ‘Kaands’ of the Ramayans on manuscripts made from palm leaves.
In this context, Local 18 contacted Ellaiah and had a candid conversation with him.
Talking to Local18, Elliah said, “I hail from Manuguru of Bhadradri Kothagudem district. I was a serviceman under Singareni Collieries Company for 30 years before retiring. It was during my tenure at the company that I had a wish to write the Ramayana on palm leaves but my long working hours and schedule made it unfeasible. I decided to pursue my passion after my retirement. Over the course of about four years, I transcribed Valmiki’s seven kandas of the Ramayana into a modern, comprehensible rendition that would be easily understood by today’s generation. Presently, I am considering presenting these Talapatras at the Bhadrachala Sri Sitaramachandra Swami’s Devasthanam during this year’s Sri Ramanavami celebrations.
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