Believed to have been written about the 4th century B.C., the "Ramayana" is one of the oldest epic poems in world literature. This exercise, which takes seven or eight days to complete, is intended to acquaint Westerners with the "Ramayana" in an informal format that may spark a desire to read further in the epic and to become familiar with other works of Indian literature. There are five sections to the lesson: (1) a preliminary vocabulary exercise; (2) a basic introduction to the life of Rama (the central figure in the poem); (3) five readings from the "Ramayana," written by R. K. Narayan; (4) an opportunity for students to express themselves as storytellers; and (5) suggested discussion questions. (DB)