New Delhi/IBNS: Ramayana is a common thread that binds India and South East Asian nations, such as Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam.
New Delhi based Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) is hosting a two day International Seminar on Ramayana in South East Asia on June 13 and 14 this year.
According to the organisers, the seminar will focus on how Ramayana has been understood, and interpreted by the South East Asian countries.
There are various versions of the epic; research has revealed how the legend travelled via maritime trade through the ages to seven different countries, thus facilitating a cultural bond between these countries.
The Ramayana continues to be told and retold in the form of dance, drama, music, puppet and shadow theatre and it has reflected the different natural environments, customs and culture of the countries in its unique way.
Academicians, scholars and professionals from Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia and India, will be exploring the grand epic as interpreted in their own countries.
To reinforce the social, cultural and multidimensional bridge between Indo-ASEAN nations, the seminar will also include series of lectures followed by cultural programmes on Ramayana (by Mudra Dance Group from Kolkata, India and by Prince Buppha Devi Dance Schoool, Cambodia) and an art exhibition (Ram Darbar by Virasat Art).
What: International Seminar on Ramayana in South East Asia
Where: Samvet Auditorium, IGNCA, Janpath, New Delhi
When: June 13 and 14, 2023; 11am onwards
