Thiruvananthapuram, 17 July(HS) : Sree Rama!Rama!Rama! Sree Rama Chandra! Jaya

Sree Rama!Rama!Rama!Sree Rama! Bhadra! Jaya

SreeRama! Rama!Rama!Seethabhirama!Rama!

Sree Rama!Rama! Rama!Lokaabhirama! Jaya

Sree Rama!Rama! Rama!Raavanaanthaka! Rama!

Sree Rama!Mama HridiRamatham Rama Rama!

This is what makes Hindu homes different from other households in Kerala. The one month period from Thursday, 17th July to 16th August is being observed as Ramayana Month in the State. Not only in Kerala, but around the world wherever there are Malayali households they recite Ramayana daily for the next 30 days.

The Malayalam month of Karkkadakam (Asdi in Tamil) when the South West Monsoon peaks as heavy downpour lashes across the State of Kerala, the Ramayana poem reverberates from Hindu houses. The month of Karkkadaka is spread over the Hindu calendar Sravan and Ashadam. Mornings and evenings are reserved for reading Adhyaatma Ramayanam, the Malayalam version of the great epic. Thunchat ezhuthachan, who authored Aadhyatma Ramayanam and rated as the father of Malayalam language, portrays Lord Rama as a divine incarnation and what is unique about the composition is the Bhakthi Bhava. Ramayana, the original work authored by Sage Valmeeki tells us the chronicle of events that formed Lord Rama’s life. “Keralites prefer the Bhakthi Bhava of Ramayana and hence their preference for Aadhyatma Ramayana though it is an abridged version of Valmiki’s work”, says Prof Poojappura Krishnan Nair, a much sought after “Guru” for reciting Ramayana. Evenings featuring Prof Nair are a treat to the mind and heart as he recites the slokas and explain the meanings to the audience. Persons who could not attend the sessions in temples and Hindu halls, sit at home, light the oil lamp and read the work with dedication and devotion. It is not known whether Ramayana month is observed in other States.

Swamy Chidananda Puri, pontiff of Kulathoor Adwaithasramam says the heavy downpour of the month of Karkkadaka (it is known for non-stop raining) restricts the routine activities of the people. “No agricultural operations are possible and hence farmers are left with no work. There was a period when there was no industrial or organized business activities and hence people resorted to reading Ramayana. It soon caught up across the region,” said Swamy Chidananda Puti, who has been accorded the status the spiritual chief of Hindus in the State.

The social media is being used as a medium to spread the message of Ramayana. Dr Rekha Sreekanth, a US based health professional, observes Ramayana Month in the Lord Ayyappa Temple in her locality as Hindus in the region has made it mandatory to read the epic on a daily basis. The event is beamed live through the social media page so that close relations and friends back in India too could watch the same.

Rekha says that despite the mind boggling speed with which technology has progressed over the last two decades, people’s obsession with Ramayana and Maha Bharat continue to increase manifolds.

-Kumar Chellappan

Hindusthan Samachar / Manohar Yadavatti