- On Friday, the public will get a platform at Kavya-Manas, a golden opportunity to present hymns, songs, poems and compositions centered on Shri Ramchandra.
On the fourth day of the ‘International Shri Ramleela Festival’ organized by the Culture Department and Shri Ramchandra Path Gaman Trust at the Ravindra Bhavan campus, the audience got to see various episodes of Shri Ram Katha through the rich theatrical traditions of India and Thailand. On this occasion, Thailand’s ‘Shri Ramakien Dal’, included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, presented a live enactment of the Marich episode, Sita-haran and Ram-Ravan battle based on Ramakien with traditional masks and postures. A powerful presentation of ‘Jatayuvadham’, the fourth act of the Sanskrit play ‘Aascharyachoodamani’ composed by Shaktibhadra, was given in the ‘Kutiyattam’ style, a two thousand year old classical tradition of Kerala.
Artists from the Kutiyattam Centre (Kerala) and the Nepathya organisation enacted the poignant scene of the Ravana-Jatayu dialogue, the battle and Jatayu’s supreme sacrifice with traditional postures and expressive acting. On stage, Margi Madhu Chakyar played the role of Ravana, Rahul Chakyar played the role of Jatayu, and Aarti played the role of Sita, while the accompaniment of Mizhavu and Idakka instruments made the scene extremely impressive. Director (Culture) and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. N.P. Namdev, stated that the main objective of this festival is to promote Indian cultural heritage and values to the general public, especially the youth, through various art forms.
Under the festival, a three-day storytelling session on ‘Kaushalya’s forest-going story’ was also inaugurated. In the first session, Mr. Ankit Awasthi from Alwar, while sharing his views on ‘Shri Ramchandra forest-going path’, connected the young generation (Gen-Z) with the culture of Ramayana period and highlighted the sacrifice, dignity and family values of Chitrakoot. After this, Ms. Ami Ganatra from Mumbai, while giving a lecture on the topic ‘Valmiki’s Hanuman – Buddhimatam Varishtham’, clarified that in Valmiki Ramayana, Shri Hanuman has been presented not only as Bahubali, but also as a person with immense intellectual capacity, communication skills and knowledge of Veda-grammar.
On the fifth day of the festival, Friday, October 16, from 2 pm onwards, a ‘Kavya-Manas’ programme will be organised in the Anjani auditorium of Ravindra Bhavan. The public can participate in it free of cost by presenting bhajans, poems, songs and couplets centered on Shri Ram. Before this, there will be a ‘Ram-Lekhan Kala’ (typography) workshop at 11 am. There will be a lecture by Shri Sandeep Dwivedi and Acharya Devvrat Yathinath Ji Maharaj in the story-telling session at 5 pm. After this, from 7 pm onwards, a grand staging of the Ramayana will be done in the ‘Yakshagana’ dance style of Karnataka and ‘Odissi’ dance style of Odisha.