Tulsidas’ Ramayana: Ram Charit Manas

Tulsidas (1574) tells the story of Ram, the prince of Ayodhya, in Awadhi, a dialect of Hindi spoken in Awadh in Uttar Pradesh. The work consists of about a thousand stanzas, each about 12 to 18 lines, set in elegant rhyme. Every village and town in the Hindi heartland has a troupe that gives a theatrical performance, called Ramlila, based on Tulsidas’ work. Ramlila is enacted as part of the Vijaya Dashami celebrations. A Children’s Bookshelf Selection: Each month our editor’s pick the best books for children and young adults by age to be a part of the children’s bookshelf. These are editorial recommendations made by our team of experts. Our monthly reading list includes a mix of bestsellers and top new releases and evergreen books that will help enhance a child’s reading life.