India is hosting the Ramayana Festival of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The five-day long festival is being organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in the Kamani auditorium from 20th to 24th January 2018.
ANI news has reported that the festival will feature top performing groups from all the 10 ASEAN nations: Singapore, Indonesia, Philipines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar.
Dr Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Chairman of the ICCR has stated that the festival aims to bring together the ancient performing arts traditions of the ASEAN countries. ICCR hopes this festival will enrich the ancient civilisational ties the ASEAN countries share and will promote harmony.
Looking forward to a scintillating show by the troupes from ASEAN countries at the #RamayanaFestival @IndiainThailand @IndiainMyanmar @IndiainSingapor @vinay1011 @rivagdas pic.twitter.com/ltovd0TiAy
— ICCR (@ICCR_Delhi) January 20, 2018
Ramayana is widely popular in ASEAN countries and often performed as a traditional art form featuring music dance and several variations of the Epic. In Thailand, the reigning king is always named Rama.
Prime minister Narendra Modi will host the nation heads of all the 10 ASEAN nations in this year’s Republic day celebrations. While this will be a major event in the geopolitical climate of the Asia Pacific region, the Ramayana Festival is aimed to propagate deep-rooted cultural and traditional ties among the ASEAN nations and India. Prime Minister Modi took to Twitter to welcome the Ramayana Festival.
Delighted to know that the Ramayana Festival, with participation of all ten ASEAN countries, begins in Delhi today. This celebrates India’s deep civilizational and historical relations with the ASEAN region.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 20, 2018
