By Dr Indrani Ramprasad
The International Ramayana Festival hosted by INDIAN COUNCIL FOR CULTURAL RELATIONS saw several foreign countries performing Ram Katha in the Navratri season leading up to Divali. Trinidad and Tobago is a tiny nation in the West Indies with a large Indian origin population who practice their ancestral Indian culture
There is live music and singing of dohas, chaupaies, and traditional Indian folk songs. Narration is translated into English because they better understand this language and know little to no Hindi or Avadhi
The Ramcharitmanas dominates their culture. Ramlila is an important performing art amongst them. The LILA style enacts the story of Rama in lokadharmi style in commodity spaces. Bhaktiras is dominant. These are not artistes but bhaktas of the Ramayna traditions.
They have a 14 member team of young professionals and a world renowned surgeon in Professor Vijay Narayan Singh. Directors are Vahini Gita Ram Singh and Siromani Maharaj- Narayn Singh. They have performed in Delhi, Ayodhya, Bhopal and Gujarat.
