A digital LED screen also showcases the Ramayana connection of 22 countries, with narratives highlighting the historic, cultural, religious and artistic expressions of the epic locally.
Last Updated : January 10, 2025 08:02 IST
A life-size piñata of Ravan procured from Mexico; a Ravanhatta, the musical instrument said to be played by the mythological figure, brought from Sri Lanka; Ramayana puppets and paintings from Indonesia; and idols of Ram and Hanuman from Fiji.
An exhibition at the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention in Bhubaneswar attempts to showcase the Hindu epic Ramayana to the Indian diaspora to remind them of a shared cultural legacy.
The exhibition — Vishwaroop Ram: The Universal Legacy of Ramayana — portrays Ram as the Maryada Purushottam or the ‘ideal man’ who continues to represent the essence of true heroism while idols of Lord Ram, Laxman and Sita are on display.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited the exhibition that tells the story about the influence of the Ramayana on art, culture and spirituality across the world through a diverse collection of artefacts from countries inspired by the epic’s narrative, characters and events.
Nearly 150 exhibits, including 80 foreign artefacts such as paintings, puppets and masks from about 17 foreign countries, are on display at the exhibition, which is drawing significant attention.
There are displays of Ramayana texts in Persian, Arabic, Russian, Chinese and Mongolian, besides artefacts and literature from countries such as Cambodia, Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago, and Malaysia.
The exhibition highlights that the Ramayana is said to have been the source of strength for thousands of hapless Girmitiyas, the indentured labourers who left India in the middle and late 19th centuries, who overcame unimaginable adversities to emerge as today’s proud leaders of governments, captains of industry and change makers of society in various countries.
A digital LED screen also showcases the Ramayana connection of 22 countries, with narratives highlighting the historic, cultural, religious and artistic expressions of the epic locally.
Host state Odisha also presented its cultural legacy through a special exhibition.
While a visit to the Jagannath Temple in Puri is on top of the itinerary of many diaspora members, the visitors got a glimpse of the Jagannath culture from the exhibition that showcases idols of the sibling deities — Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra. It highlights the significance of annual Rath Yatra, when the deities go on a nine-day annual sojourn on large chariots made of wood to Gundicha temple — their birthplace.
