Ramayan in NorthEast, an Untold Story

Special Correspondent

Silchar: Many are not aware of the presence of Ramayan tradition in northeast India until Dr. Sujit Kumar Ghosh, former principal of Janata College, Cachar, and presently chairman, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies (MAKAIAS) edited the book ‘Ramayan in the North East India’. The book, the first of its kind, in the eastern region, is a collection of well documented papers presented at a national seminar. As Dr Ghosh said, “It is an exercise to examine and discuss various aspects of Ramkatha tradition in northeast region. Many scholars of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura have contributed towards the enrichment of the book”.

Caroline R Marak writes about the Ramayan and the legend Dikki, Ch. Manihar Singh touches on Ramayan literature in Manipur, Kanak Chandra Sarma deals with the study of Assamese Ramayan by Madbhav Kandali and so does Indira Goswami. J V Hluna speaks about pre Christian religion of the Mizos and delves into the influence of Ramayan on Mizo religion. Sitangshu Dey focuses on the tradition of Ramayan in Tripura, Sylvanus Lamare brings to the fore the lore of Ramayan in Khasi literature and Sangkima makes interesting study of the impact of Ramayan on the Mizos.

Besides, Dipankar Baneerjee’s Sabin Alun and the Karbi Ramayan, Ramcharan Thakuria’s Ramayan of Durgabara, first Assamese Ramayan by Bharati Barua, Tripura Ramayan by Jagdish Gan Choudhury, Ramayan in Manipuri literature and performing arts by Nilkanta Sinha, a Ramayanic episode in folk tradition of Barak Valley by Janmajit Roy, the Ramayan in northeast with reference to Indonesia by V S Yagnik and Ramayan, a cultural interpretation by K C Baral are quite thought provoking.

Dr Ghosh, a scholar of history, said, “There is a strong oral tradition about Ramkatha in northeast. Although it has been institutionalized as has been in other countries and many parts of India, nonetheless, it has been of great influence on the lives of the people of this region.” He quotes a Mizo folk song which describes Ram and Khena (Lakshman) as gods. He says there is a strong oral tradition of Ramkathas among the tribals of northeast.

Unfortunately, with the advent of Christianity, this tradition which was part and parcel of the socio-cultural ethos of indigenous people of the region, has been ignored or placed under deliberate amnesia. He adds to say there are significant translations of Ramayan in Khasi, Jaintia and Garo languages.

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