ABSTRACT
Goswami admits the bouts of depression she had suffered after the tragic losses in her life. Her doctoral research on the Ramayana resulted in Vrindavan becoming an integral part of her life and her fiction. The sights, people and folklore of Vrindavan become vibrant in this narration. She narrated how once in a Vrindavan gali she stumbled upon a large edition of the Ramcharitmanas edited and translated by late Hanuman Prasad Poddar published by Geeta Press in Gorakhpur. She bought it for 18 rupees. As the book is bulky, a radheshyami widow from Braj named Lalita Dashi carried the book for her on her head to where she lived. She was drawn to the translation of Ramcharitmanas by Hanuman Prasad Poddar; also Tulsidas’ allegories greatly interested her. Her teacher, late Upendra Chandra Lekharu as well as her mother wanted her to pursue research in the Ramayana. There was a well-known tradition in her family to study the Ramayana. Goswami said that her father wrote the Preface for Madhav Kandali’s Ramayana edited by late Kanak Chandra Sarma.
