Early Times is the first chapter of Vasantha Yogananthan’s long-term project A Myth of Two Souls, which offers a contemporary retelling of The Ramayana. A seven-chapter tale first recorded by the Sanskrit poet Valmiki around 300 BC, The Ramayana is one of the founding epics of Hindu mythology. From 2013 to 2019, Yogananthan has been travelling from north to south India, retracing the itinerary of the epic’s heroes. Between fiction and reality, he deliberately blurs the lines through multiple aesthetic approaches: colour, hand-painted and illustrated photographs compose the layers of this timeless story. This first book addresses the beginnings: it tells of the youth and education of Rama, son of King Dasharatha, and of Sita, daughter of King Janaka, who do not yet know each other but are destined to meet and fall in love.

Early Times
First edition of 1.600 copies
Photographs: Vasantha Yogananthan
Text: Anjali Raghbeer
Illustrations: Mahalaxmi & Shantanu Das
Graphic design: Kummer & Herrman
Hardcover
24,5 x 30 cm
48 photographs
104 pages
French / English
Publication date: May 2016
ISBN: 978-2-9548777-3-0
Published by Chose Commune
Out of print