Russian fascination w/Ramayana

[Guest guest]

Title: Russia's fascination with 'Valmiki Ramayana' continues

Author: Arun Mohanty, Moscow

Publication: India Abroad

April 8, 2001

 

Russia is perhaps the only European country where the Valmiki

Ramayana, written by the Hindu sage Valmiki, has been

translated into the local language several times in tens of

thousands of copies.

 

So it is hardly surprising that more than a thousand people

offered prayers and tributes to the Hindu god Ram in the first

ever large-scale Ramnavami celebrations, at which Russian

artistes and writers who took Ram's story to the people were

felicitated.

 

The Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Center (JNCC) at Moscow, as a

part of its Ramnavami celebrations, organized a function to

honor those who are associated with translating and staging

the Ramayana as a play in Russia.

 

While eminent Indologist Alexander Baranikov first translated

the Ramayana into Russian in 1948, Natalia Guseva, another

prominent scholar on India, had written the script for a play

based on the Indian epic that was staged in Moscow Children's

Theatre in the erstwhile Soviet Union for the first time in

1957.

 

The Ramayana, popularly perceived as a tale of triumph of good

over evil, is used extensively for inculcating noble values in

Russian children, and has been staged in scores of cities many

times over during the past five decades.

 

Speaking at the function organized by the JNCC, Guseva

highlighted the role of the great Indian epic in bringing up

generations of Russian children. She praised the contribution

of the then Indian ambassador K.P.S. Menon and his wife in

making the first staging of the Ramayana at Moscow a big

success.

 

Gennady Pechnikov, a popular Russian actor who played the role

of Ram at Moscow's Children Theatre for several decades and

popularly known as the 'Russian Ram', recalled how Jawaharlal

Nehru during his visit to the Soviet Union in 1961 set aside

his official appointment to witness the Ramayana in the Moscow

theatre and was greatly impressed by the staging of the epic

by Russian artistes.

 

Pechnikov, talking about his numerous visits to India with his

troupe to stage the epic in different Indian cities, recalled

the warm reception Russian artistes received there.

 

The Indian Ambassador to Russia, Satinder Lamba, expressed his

gratitude to Russian scholars and artists for their

contribution in popularizing the epic in Russia.

 

At another function at the House of Culture of the Moscow Oil

and Gas Institute, a popular site for the celebration of many

Indian festivals, about 1,000 people gathered for Ramnavami

celebrations. One of the attractions was a drawing competition

on India's festivals and national days, in which more than 100

children in took part.

 

Much to the jury's delight, participants demonstrated a deep

knowledge of Indian festivals and national days in their

paintings. Some paintings on characters of the Ramayana and

its different episodes drew applause from both jury and the

crowd.

 

The function, held amid recitation of verses from the Ramayana

and a presentation of devotional songs, was one of several

organized by Moscow's Indian expatriate community.