Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel will inaugurate the National Ramayana Festival on June 1
Hanuman Chalisa will be recited daily
Teams from Cambodia and Indonesia will perform, Maithili Thakur and Kumar Vishwas will also attend the closing ceremony
Raipur, 31 May 2023
Preparations are in the final stage for the three-day National Ramayana Festival to be held at the historic Ramlila Maidan in Raigad. Along with the administrative preparations going on a war footing, there is tremendous enthusiasm among the general public regarding the festival. The most special thing about the event is that its theme is based on the Aranya Kand of Ramayana. Because of this, the stage is also being decorated on the theme of Aranya Kand.
The three-day International Ramayana Festival will be inaugurated on June 1 at 3 pm under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel’s Distinguished Hospitality and Culture Minister Mr. Amarjit Bhagat. In this festival, organized on the initiative of Chief Minister Mr. Baghel, presentation of Ramkatha based on Aranya incident will be done by national and international parties. The Aranya Kand is a part of Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas and Valmiki Ramayana, which narrates the days of Lord Rama’s exile in which mother Sita and brother Lakshmana also accompanied him.
There are 9 holy places in Chhattisgarh which are included in the Ram-Van-Gaman circuit, the path through which Shri Ram passed. These incidents that happened in Dandak forest have been recorded in Valmiki Ramayana and Ramayana written in many languages after that. Along with this, it is also included in various art forms. The festival will also feature performances by Ramayana troupes from Indonesia and Cambodia. The Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia and the temples in Java, Indonesia have motifs from the Ramayana. Along with this, they were also presented in fine arts. During the Ramayana Festival, one will get a glimpse of the popular forms of Ramayana in these countries of South East Asia.
There will be competition between inter-state Ramayana troupes
Beautiful presentation of Ramkatha takes place in different art forms in different states of India. Some Ramayana troupes in different states have made their own place with their special presentation. His grand presentation on Aranya Kand will be the most special feature of the event. On the first day there will be competition in the states of Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh on Aranya Kand. On the second day there will be competition between the states of Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Goa and Chhattisgarh. The winning teams will be awarded at the closing ceremony.
The audience will get to see a wide spectrum of Ramkatha during the presentation festival by teams from Cambodia and Indonesia . Viewers will get a glimpse of the various forms of Ram Katha spread across the ocean to Indonesia and Cambodia. The artists of these countries have preserved their heritage by presenting Ramkatha in their special art forms. It will be a mesmerizing experience for the audience to see these art forms during the Ramayana Festival.
Collective Hanuman Chalisa will be recited
During the festival, collective Hanuman Chalisa will be recited on all three days. Kelo Mahaarti and lamp donation will also be organized on the day of the closing ceremony. After the formal start of the programme, there will be mass recitation of Hanuman Chalisa. Hanuman Chalisa will be recited by local artists and priests. A march past will also be performed by foreign and interstate artists on this occasion.
Veteran artists will participate
National level veteran artists will participate in the program. Nationally renowned Indian Idol artist Shanmukh Priya and Sare Gama artist Sharad Sharma will perform on the first day of the ceremony. On the second day of the program, Baba Hansraj Raghuvanshi and Lakhbir Singh Lakkha will present Bhajan Sandhya. Maithili Thakur will perform Bhajan Sandhya on the closing day. The final event will be Kumar Vishwas’ Apne Apne Ram Music Night.
