Kottakkal: The literary journey of Ramani Antharjanam of Uppilappatta Chennalleri Mana, which spanned nearly one and a half decades, has reached a fulfilling conclusion with the publication of her interpretation of the Mahabharata. It took her 15 years to shape the epic into book form.

Seventy year old Ramani Antharjanam, a homemaker, has authored Ramaneeyam, based on Vidwan K Prakasham’s Malayalam translation of the Mahabharata. She had long been narrating the essence of the epic to her grandchildren in simple and engaging language. Recognising her ability to convey the contexts and sub plots of the Mahabharata in a distinctive style, it was her husband,Narayanan Namboothiri of Chennalleri Mana , who encouraged her to write it down. “Ramani, why don’t you write that down?” he asked one day, setting her on the path to authorship.

Sadly, Narayanan Namboothiri passed away three years ago, before he could see the book in print. Though Ramaneeyam is her first published work, Ramani Antharjanam has been involved in creative writing for many years. Since her three daughters were in anganwadi, she had regularly written action songs, stories and scripts for kathaprasangam performances.

It was in the 1990s that she began reading Vidwan K Prakasham’s translation of the Mahabharata. By the time she completed all ten volumes, she had accepted the scholar as her mentor. Ramaneeyam, published in three volumes, was released Kottakkal-based by the Mukham collective at a function in Thirssur