NEW DELHI: A festival on the epic saga Ramayana begins on Saturday with an aim to enhance the India-Asean ties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted that the festival is "an important part of a series of events to commemorate 25 years of India-ASEAN relations, the Festival is a fitting prelude to the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit on 25th January." 


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The historical saga is also a popular theme for theatre presentation in Asean countries.



The five-day "Ramayana Festival" is being organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). It will see the participation of 10 countries -- Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam -- which will stage various episodes of the Rama story, through a harvest of sights and sounds, nuanced interpretations and revelations.

Their performance will reveal the assimilation, indigenisation and re-interpretation the epic has undergone in the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) countries.




After their performances in Delhi, Ramayana groups from across the globe will also be performing in Uttar Pradesh`s Ayodhya and Lucknow, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Gujarat`s Ahmedabad.