Flex Mentallo

In his quest to rescue her Rama is aided by his friend Hanuman the monkey king and his army of monkeys.

Rama is the seventh incarnation of Vishnu, who marries Sita, the daughter of the Earth Goddess. Sita is abducted by Ravana the evil demon king of Sri Lanka.

Tulsidas wrote a populist version of the Ramlila in Hindi at about the time of Akbar the Great, around 1600 A.D.

The Ramayana, written in Sanskrit by Valmiki, is thought to be even older than the Mahabharata, meaning it may be as much as 3000 years old. Like the Mahabharata it is a sacred text.

Ramlila

I completely agree.

Retirement fund. <3

Yes, we know, we know! : Seriously though, great post, wonderful set, and IMHO could not be owned by a nicer guy.

26 is the toughest followed by 25 22 shouldn't be any tougher than 20-24 but it is so highly coveted it is likely the 3rd toughest to obtain I've owned 5 copies (4 at one time back in 2008/9), but the 2.5 was not one of them (2 were raw so one of them might be the 2.5 now) Expect to pay $1000+ a point these days to obtain a copy $6,000 for a 6.0 copy? if one existed...the mile high is the 9.0 I think... I own the 4.0 and the 3.5 is the cosmic aeroplane copy I sold to Win... the 2.5 is likely one of my raw copies... that's it, no more on the census...a 6.0 might not even exist It's just about top of my wants list and if a 6.0 turned up for $6000 I'd be delighted to have it. sacentaur told me the Larson copy was out there for a while but has since sold? That's a book I'd like to track down (for GAtor so he could sell me his undercopy!)

Classic case of denial.

There he is - I was beginning to wonder!

Payette is a good seller, that's a gorgeous copy. I'd like to second that sentiment. Jim's catalog was my lifeline for a decade. In particular his low to mid-grade books tend to be very tightly graded. He only tends to bring out his catalog once a year or so nowadays, but it is well worth ordering.

The goddess who is omnipresent as the personification of universal mother The goddess who is omnipresent as the embodiment of power The goddess who is omnipresent as the symbol of peace I bow to her, I bow to her, I bow to her

Symbolic of the departure to her home with her husband in the Himalayas the statues are taken through the streets to the Ganges and immersed in the flowing river.

At the end of the festival, Durga is reunited with her consort Shiva.

It is as if the entire city has taken to the streets with a sense of joy and celebration.

Traffic comes to a standstill, people abandon their vehicles.

I vividly recall the carnival atmosphere in South Calcutta as thousands of people go 'pandal-hopping' with their friends and family.

The city is adorned with lights.

In Calcutta alone more than two thousand pandals are set up.

Even Harry Potter, who is very popular in India. This is Hogwarts.

....and sometimes pure imagination.

The more elaborate may be inspired by themes that rely heavily on history, current affairs...

Some pandals are simple, others elaborate works of art.

Throughout the year, life sized clay statues of her slaying the buffalo demon are produced.