from seven different countries of the world, that is, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), the U.S., Belgium and France. The conference also included scholars from seven different U.S. states including Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, California, New York and New Jersey.
The second part included a teachers' workshop, which was held on Saturday afternoon, and the presentations featured teaching Ramayana to students of different levels. The regions featured included India, Southeast
Asia and Mindanao Island in the Philippines.
The third part was the Ramayana Fair, which was held on Sunday, September 23. It included food, exhibitions and six hours of nonstop performances from India,
Indonesia, Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia. The Indian part included Kuchipudi, Bharat Natyam and Katthak Style dances.
The objectives of the conference, teachers' workshop and the Ramayana Fair was to
enable the interaction among scholars,students, attendees and faculty members, which may eventually result in joint research and student and scholar exchange, and to foster closer ties among the countries
and cultures participating in the conference.
Workshop
The teachers' workshop had three sessions on Saturday afternoon. Mrs. Rashmi Gandhi, a teacher at Hoover Elementary School in Schaumburg, Illinois and
Mrs. Poonam Singh, a teacher at Reskin Elementary School in Glendale Heights, Illinois gave a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation with Ramayana story visuals on how to teach students the Ramayana story.
Syracuse
University had a representative, Mr. Jishnu Shankar, who indicated that the university has special programs like puppet making, in association with a local puppet museum in Syracuse, New York, that are used to teach
students Ramayana.
Ms. Neha Trivedi, a graduate student from Northern Illinois University, presented the workshop with course material used by Syracuse University. Mr. Rey Ty, another NIU graduate student, presented
coursework using Mindanao Island's (Philippines) local Ramayana.
Conference
Dr. Robert Goldman of the University of California, Berkeley was one of the keynote speakers of the conference, and he covered
Valmiki's values in India and beyond. Dr. Goldman specifically covered the impact of the Ramayana in Southeast Asia. His keynote address included Sanskrit Sloka to back up his statements. Dr. Goldman has published two
of the five volumes of Valmiki Ramayana in English. He is considered one of the top Ramayana scholars who leads research at the University of California, Berkeley. One of his students, who obtained his master's in
sanskrit from the University of Chicago, is researching folklore related to Vishwamitra in Mahasrastra, India.
The second keynote speaker, Dr. Philip Lutgendorf from the Department of Asian Languages and
Literature at the University of Iowa, had a very interesting presentation on Hanuman. His presentation included several dozen slides from India that depicted how Hanuman is one of the most worshipped gods in India. His
visuals included different temples, sculptures, paintings and other forms of Indian artwork related to Hanuman.
Among the other U.S. speakers was Dr. Amita Sinha, associate professor, from the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign whose presentation included several visuals depicting the use of landscapes in the Ramayana paintings of India. Patricia Henry of Northern Illinois University covered Indonesian Ramayana.
Saw Tun from Northern Illinois University talked about the Burmese Ramayana. Dr. Phyllis Herman from California State University in Northridge presented a paper on Sita Rasoi shrines in modern India. Mark A. Oliver and
Ronit Ricci from the University of Michigan talked about the university's several years of research efforts on the Indonesian Ramayana. Dr. and Mrs. Rao from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh were learned
contributors to the entire conference. Their own presentation on Rama and Sita's return journey in the Indonesian Ramayana was well received. At every session that they attended they participated actively in the
discussions that followed the presentations.
Dr. V. Raja Bandaru, an independent scholar from New Jersey, gave a presentation on the Poetic Portrayal of Characters in Ramayana.
We had three scholars
from Indonesia, one from Bali and two from Jakarta. Dr. Budya Pradipta from the University of Indonesia, Jakarta presented a paper on Ramayana as a Vehicle for the Dissemination of Universal Humanitarian Values. Dr.
Wahyati Pradipta, a professor at the University of Indonesia, Jakarta presented a paper on Sita's attitude of Silent Rebellion. She compared Sita's situation to that of the current president of Indonesia. Her analysis
indicated that the president launched a silent rebellion against the ex-president to accomplish her objectives in providing Indonesia a healthy political administration.
Dr. Somvir, another scholar from Udayana
University in Bali, Indonesia talked about the Indonesian Ramayana. Dr. Somvir is a Sanskrit scholar and has worked extensively on Indonesian Ramayana.
Dr. U. Kyaw Zwa from the University of Culture in Myanmar
(Burma) presented a paper on the role of Ramayana in Myanmar. Burma has currently several versions of Ramayana, and Dr. Zwa is responsible for developing a standard Ramayana version, which may be used for developing
curricula in schools as well as a standard for the performing arts.
Thailand presenters included Dr. Sunthana, Mr. Phubest Suntharanund and Mrs. Jutarut Suntharanund, who are the Ramayana
Institute's local experts on Thailand Ramayana. Dr. Sunthana discussed Ramayana in Thailand, whereas Mr. Phubest Suntharanund and Mrs. Jutarut Suntharanund talked about the Thai mask play, "Khon."
Svetlana Radlovic-Dinges from France talked about different Ramayanas in France, and Eva De Clercq from the University of Ghent in Belgium provided an analysis of different Jain Ramayanas.
The scholars from
India mostly spoke about Ramayanas in Southeast Asia. Padma Shri Dr. Satya Vrat Shastri and Dr. Amarjiva Lochan talked about the popularity of Ramayana in Thailand. Dr. Dinesh Saklani from the HNB Garhwal University of
India provided an in-depth view into his research on the impact of Ramayana on the society and culture of central Himalaya.
Ms. Sangeeta Isvaran, who represented the Asia Fellows Program (India), provided and
an Analysis of the Portrayal of the Ideal Woman and the Evil Vamp in the classical dance forms of Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and India. Her interactive methods that involved the audience in her presentations, in the
conference as well as in the Sunday performance were highly appreciated.
Ramayana Fair
The Ramayana performance and workshop began at 11:30 a.m. and lasted until 6:30 p.m. There where dances from India,
Indonesia, and Thailand, and also a very well-received shadow play by India.
The Indian dances included three different styles, Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi and Kathak. Bharatnatyam was performed by Ami Goswami, a
DeKalb High School student. Tanvee Hathivala of Natya Dance Theatre presented a simplified version of Bharatnatyam depicting Rama's story. Kuchipudi was performed by Uma Vyjayanthimala Kallkuri of Nrityamala Dance
Institute, Bloomington, Illinois, who through her skills demonstrated the coronation of Rama. Kathak was performed by the Anila Sinha Foundation directed by Sandhya Desai. There was an additional Bharatnatyam
performance by a Northern Illinois University student.
Sangeeta Isvaran, a research scholar of the Asia Fellows Program gave a workshop involving over 30 audience members. Her workshop highlighted Ancient Ways
and Modern Directions. The children of the Hindu Satsang Organization did a Ramayana shadow play depicting Rama's "Boat Journey" with lights and shadows accompanied by background lyrics.
The
Indonesian performance was done by the community and the Consulate General of Indonesia in Chicago with about 20 performers, who were mostly students from Chicago-area schools and colleges. The styles depicted
were Balinese and Javanese. The Thailand dance was also very interesting. This was a presentation by the Thai Cultural and Fine Arts Institute in Chicago and was directed by Jutarut Suntharanund.
There was a
total of nine items in the entire performance, and each item was excellent in itself and was enjoyed immensely by the audience.
The Ramayana Fair also featured several exhibitions and foods from India,
Indonesia and Thailand.
Credits
The conference was co-sponsored by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University and the International Ramayana Institute of North America. The
program was made possible in part by (1) a grant from the Illinois Humanities Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Illinois General Assembly and (2) the Infinity Foundation.
Contact:
Newal Agnihotri
Fax: (630) 858-8787
E-mail:
