A long, meandering introductory talk which lays the carpet for the feast to begin before one can appreciate the story of the Ramakien, one has to understand the nature and the personality of each of the protagonists, and the different kinds of denizens, which are portrayed in the world of the Ramakien. It is also important to recount the events which precedes the story of the Ramayana, for it is important to understand the Vedic Hindu cosmology which underlies the whole cosmos, which is portrayed in the story of the Ramakien.