A Pocket-size Book [3.5" x 4"] on Balakanda - Ramayana - in Pictures by SK Lingannaiya:

Preface

To the numerous public who do not know me for my lonely habits, I beg to state hereby that this little book is the beginning of an attempt on my part to bring to the knowledge of the civilized world the whole subject matter of India's great Epic Ramayana of Valmiki, consisting of 6 parts or Kandas with 24000 stanzas or slokas on the aggregate. Abstracts of the contents of each of the 537 cantos or sargas have been prepared and published by me in my own vernacular of Kanarese for each part, and this has enabled the reader to grasp the whole subject matter within a proverbially short time of 2 hours, which otherwise would have required months. To make these abstracts still more impressive to my illiterate brothern and even to children and ladies, I took upon myself the huge task of preparing 624 expressive pictures for explaining them in full, and these have also been printed and published by me in the corresponding 6 parts of my Chitra Ramayana, with the abstracts printed underneath each picture in Kanarese. As such, the scope of the work is limited, and the benefit  is available only to a small portion of the Hindu population. The sublime nature of the work with its effects on the morals and religions of mankind in general, and Hindus in particular, induced me to publish my above work of Chitra Ramayana in some leading vernaculars of India, as Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Mahrati and Bengali also, as well as in the western languages of English, French and German, in which languages our Vedic and other works are being got translated by the Westerners themselves. This attempt of mine has as usual many to laugh at it, but I hope that the divine work undertaken by me will survive.

     "Good wine needs no bush" says an English proverb. But, as a great author has put in elsewhere, the vinter, ere, he is known, most state that he has wine to sell. Even so, with the wine of the spirit of this work. It justifies itself when tasted, but the first toasting must be offered. My humble office is simple to request all 'to taste'.

       The task of transforming into expressive pictures the subject matter of the whole Epic, of which this little book forms the first part, was never anticipated to be finished during my life time, as the drawing of 624 such pictures which had to evolve from my brain after a careful study of the subject at length by necessary meditation, would in the ordinary course of things be very difficult for a man to attempt even. This task was however complete even before my retirement from Government service two years back. Thanks to the noble gift of the late Dewan Sahib, late Sir M.Kantaraj Urs, but for whole benevolence, I would not have learnt Lithography, and the world would not have been enabled to witness all the incidents of Ramayana in pictures at this stage. The extension of the advantages of this work outside Karnataka has been retarded for want of capital, and I have now however ventured and taken up the task having full faith in the grace of Sri Rama himself  and his numerous devotees, who may contribute their mite for the completion of the work in any manner after the publication of this part.

      I deem it my bounden duty to express my heartfelt gratitude to the following devotees of Sri Rama.

       First to my saintly parents whose example and discipline served to make me what I am now.

      Secondly and doubly to my Guru and precepter, my own father, whose special training in my younger days contributed to the development of my spirit within, without being affected by the environment of my adult days.

       Thirdly to my gracious sovereign H.H. the Maharaja of Mysore, whose humble and loyal subject I have the privilege to be; and

       Lastly, to the future patrons and sympathisers whose support is absolutely necessary for the completion of the heavy task before me.

16-6-1936                                              S.K. Lingannaiya

Visveswarapuram,

Bangalore City.

       

One of the drawings in the book: