Bala Kand

by Harini Gopalswami Srinivasan, Zoheb Akbar (Illustrator), Reena Ittyerah Puri (Editor)

Bala Kand, the first book of the Ramayana, is about Rama’s boyhood. It begins by relating how Valmiki composed and launched his great poem. In this book, we meet King Dasharatha of Ayodhya and his queens, Kausalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. In time, four glorious sons are born to them – Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna. Devoted to each other, the four princes grow up happily in the palace. But the gods have destined Rama to be a hero. His thrilling adventures begin when Rishi Vishwamitra comes to Ayodhya to seek his help against the rakshasas who are harassing the rishis in the forest. Accompanied by Lakshmana, the young prince goes to the forest to fight the evil rakshasas. Under the tutelage of the great rishi, Rama and Lakshmana learn the duties of a Kshatriya, and the secret mantras of all kinds of weapons. As they travel with the rishis, they also hear many fascinating tales about the people and places they see. At last they come to the palace of Mithila to see the great bow of Shiva. Here they meet King Janaka, who has promised his daughter’s hand to the strongest prince in the land…

Genres: Comics, Mythology

132 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2013

About the author

I'm excited by geography, ancient history and mythology: in a nutshell, the romance of place! As a reader, I enjoy humour, action, nature, animals, and happy endings. Like most writers, I try to write the kind of book I like reading.

I'm also an aspiring permaculturist, and right now this takes up all my mind space. My heroes are natural farmers like Fukuoka and Bhaskar Save. Our farm is near the elephant corridor. This, along with our innocence in matters agricultural, makes for uncertain outcomes and a lot of adventures - in my head, at least. My farming blog is here: https://thelongview2016.wordpress.com/

Reviews

[Namratha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Valmiki’s RAMAYANA is an epic poem composed of 24,000 verses, segregated into 500 sargas (chapters) and further divided into 6 Kands (books).

The BALA KAND invites us into the story behind the miraculous birth of Lord Rama and his three brothers. It travels through his idyllic and much-loved childhood, his first big adventure with the illustrious Sage Vishwamitra and finally, his marriage to the gentle and equally divine Sita of Mithila.

As Lord Rama is a descendent of the Ikshvaku clan, the Bala Kand also explores the myths and legends surrounding the Gods and the kings of Ikshvaku.

Richly illustrated and interspersed with titbits of information on ancient India, this book is the perfect gateway into the world of Lord Rama.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first learnt Ramayana from ACK earlier edition of Ramayana. For a kid, that was a simple, clear account of the epic. What I read stayed with me. While buying the newly launched box set of the epic by ACK, I was expecting the same sort of experience for my child. However, I found this first book of this series overloaded and confusing. The author has tried to weave in too many stories through the main story and it could get confuse a young reader. I also did not find the illustrations as captivating as the earlier edition. I think I might just bring out my old edition from storage and give my child to read first. She can get into this edition later

[Vaishali Sekar Rama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic illustrations. Takes one to Tretayug. I could certainly witness the Bala Kanda of Ramayana through the beautiful pictures. I would certainly recommend this amazing book to every child. Kindly would certainly be fascinated by the marvellous book.

[Ram M Srinivas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good sketches but little dragged with too many branch stories. Not to mark of Mahabarat but a good start

[Hriday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delicious illustrations and perhaps the most entertaining way to read a mythological classic.

[Nevermind · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's like a children's book obv and I read it coz the illustrations were like so damn good. But I am someone who doesn't really know much about Ramayana or hindu mythology so I found it difficult to keep up with the names of the sages or devas and stuff. But the story is quite interesting. And it's easier to read because it's a graphic novel. It's actually a series and have 6 books more ig. Unfortunately I have no plan to continue because it's a kids book lol. And one other thing I hate is that different names were used in the book for the same person so as a beginner into hindu mythology I found it very difficult and had to turn pages back to make sure who is who. But other than that it's actually kinda good.

[Avinash Hindupur · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice take on Ramayana, simple, colorful, and complete with tidbits of related information. It took me back to my grandma's stories from childhood! Looking forward to read the remaining parts :)

[Saravanan Mani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a detailed account that goes through all the main episodes and doesn't ignore the episodic stories. Beautifully illustrated too

[H.G. Muralee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is from someone who is learning about the Ramayana and Mahabharata to better understand my husband’s culture. I know the basic storyline of Ramayana.

Just from reading the blurb on the back, I feel like this misrepresents a lot of the book’s contents. I would argue half of this book is about Rama and the other half are stories that aren’t relevant to his storyline. It was an information overload, and I didn’t understand much outside of the main storyline. I don’t know if the original Ramayana has those stories in it, but if they did, I guess it would make sense that they would be in this comic edition. It was just a lot to take in.

I do love the illustrations and the overall story. I just wish it had more about Rama and less sub-stories that didn’t involve him, and if these stories were still included, for it to be told in a way that wasn’t overwhelming.

**SPOILERS**

I also have questions. Rama is around 15 in parts 2-4. He and his brothers are married off to the princesses, making these marriages child marriages. That really rubs me the wrong way.

My last caveat: why did Sage Richika’s son offer himself up to be a human sacrifice?? I first thought “oh, I guess he’s okay with it” until the dude is panicking on the next page about being a human sacrifice, so why would he volunteer in the first place then???

[Amritesh Mukherjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first part of the epic Indian saga, Ramayana, written by the great sage, Valmiki, richly illustrated by Amar Chitra Katha.

I've been a fan of ACK since childhood, and this full box set is so gorgeous, and a treasure to have. .
Coming to the book, it is a graphic novel, and the writers have done a fabulous job in condensing the whole Valmiki Ramayana into these short books.

The first "Kand" (event) is the Bala Kand (childhood) depicting the birth of Rama and his three brothers.

This book is said to be not a part of the initial Ramayana writings found from excavations. Most of the tales and stories in this book are said to be incorporated later, and not found originally.

You'll read many tales throughout the book, which are a regular part of storytelling in Indian families.

Absolutely loved it, highly recommended!!

[Anoop · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor Illustration is my biggest beef with the book - Rama does not look the same across panels, 2 different people look the same etc. Also some places the details have been given incoherently while at some places it has been missed out. One of the pluses is also the details - though it has been missed out at places, there is a lot to read. Also the bind and paper quality is good