Nov 2018 - 1st grade

Madhavam (Ramayana)

Dear Parents,

As most of you know, the Ramayana is one of the largest ancient epic stories told in World Literature. The story of the Ramayana, depicts the duties of relationships between characters and teaches us the fundamental ethical principles that one should live by to have a happy life.

Throughout the Bala Vihar school year, we will be focusing on the Ramayana story and all of the lessons and messages that can be learned from the character’s actions and decisions made throughout this wonderful ancient and epic story.

To Date, we have learned the following lessons/messages from the short story titles below in chronological order:

1. Ayodhya: Message: Ayodhya means where there is no fight. Ayodhya was a happy place where no-one fought. King Dashratha was a good king and made everyone in the city of Ayodhya happy.
2. Yagna: Message: When and why do we do fire rituals? King Dashratha performed a Yagna (based on Guru Vashistha’s suggestion) to grant him children.
3. Vishvamitra’s request: Message: To be a winner in life, we must listen to our teacher/guru. In this story, King Dashratha follows Guru Vashistha’s request to take Rama to protect a yagna in the forest from Raksasas.
4. Tataka: Message: Do not do wrong actions, even when we are angry. The beautiful maiden Tataka, during a fit of rage, assaults Sage Agastya and is cursed to lead the life of a demon. Her ultimate fate is to die at the hands of Lord Rama when she tries to attack him.
5. Vishvamitra’s Asrama: Message: Do not have pride, always stay humble. In this story Vamana was born to humble Mahabali.
6. Ahalya: Message: Even when we make a mistake in life, we can be purified by the touch of the Lord’s feet.
7. King Janaka: Message: Why should we pray to Bhumidevi? She is Mother Earth, and like a mother, she will support us and sustain us.
8. Rama weds Sita: Message: Why did Lord Rama look at Sage Visvamitra before lifting the bow? He looked to him as if to ask for permission/blessing from this great Sage.
9. The poisonous seed: Message: Why did Kaikeyi’s vision of Rama change? Her vision changed because Manthara planted a poisonous seed in her mind.
10. To the forest: Message: Why did Rama accept going to the forest? He accepted going to the forest because it was his foremost duty to obey his father.
11. Sravana: Message: What do we learn from the story of Sravana? We learn that Sravana is devoted to his parents.
12. Ayodhya Grief-stricken Message: What is truth? Truth is something that never changes and is harmless.
13. Bharata’s reaction: Message: Why was Bharata upset when he was given the Kingdom to rule for himself? Bharata knew it was truly wrong to rule Ayodhya when this position truly belonged to his older brother Rama.

What can I do as a parent to support/help my child and the Bala Vihar teachers?

If you can review these messages with your child and ask them about what they remember from these stories, it will help them retain the information while we continue to build on their knowledge and continue the story of the Ramayana.

Also, please encourage your child to be a good listener and participate in class every week.

Finally, please ensure your child's attendance so that they are not missing key lessons/messages that can be learned from each short story.

Hari Om!

With warm wishes,

Neeta Shah

Jaya Daswani