The 4th International Ramayana Festival will be held in city on Friday. The festival is being organised by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) where in the artists of Thailand Ramayana Group will be performing at People’s University.
This performance is a blend of music and inscidents from the Ramayana. The Ramayana was believed to have travelled to Southeast Asia in the sixth century AD. According to Sanskrit accounts from the Chenla kingdom (the precursor of the Khmer empire) of King Bhavavarman I the Ramayana was one of the three scriptures that would be recited every day in the seventh century.
Many people in Thailand believe that part of the Ramayana took place in their country and that Hanuman carried sanjeevani booti (a magical herb that saved the life of Lakshman after he was injured in conflict) from Sapphaya hill in Chai Nat province to Lanka. They point to statues of Hanuman on Sapphaya and at Khao Samokorn in Lop Buri to prove their point.
Thai people believe Hanuman is still alive and visits a cave in Lop Buri once every three years to incapacitate a wounded demon there. In Thailand, the Ramayana forms the basis for performances of the Ramakien, with as many as six versions known to have existed, although only three survive today.
The group which will be performing the Ramayana at the International festival is a well known group and has performed across the globe. The objective of the festival is to explore cultural diplomacy through the Hindu epic, which is popular in several countries.