Thai performers brought alive the Ramayana epic by bringing the traditional Ramakien performance for an Indian audience to celebrate 25 years of close cultural links between India and its Southeast Asian neighbors.

The performance on Saturday evening kicked off the five-day Ramayana Festival of ASEAN Countries at the Kamani Auditorium in New Delhi’s Chanakyapuri Diplomatic District. Organized by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), the festival was held in conjunction with the ASEAN-India Special Commemorative Summit on Jan. 25.

All 10 government and state leaders from ASEAN countries are to attend the summit and become guests of honor at India’s Republic Day parade on Jan. 26.

“The festival will have Ramayana performances from all 10 ASEAN countries,” ICCR director general Riva Ganguly Das said in her opening speech. “The performances are held not only in New Delhi, but also in other cities such as Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Lucknow.”

Meanwhile, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs’ Secretary East Preeti Saran said Ramayana, which ASEAN countries previously performed during the 50th anniversary summit in Manila, was proof that India has had long historic relations with ASEAN member states. Preeti said that.

Meanwhile, Thai Ambassador to India Chutintorn Gongsakdi agreed with Preeti that Ramayana was proof that India and ASEAN have had relations longer than the current diplomatic ties.

“Our linkages go beyond the 25 years of ASEAN-India or, for example, the 70 years of Thailand-India diplomatic ties,” he said.

The envoy, who is also chairman of the ASEAN-India Committee in New Delhi, said the Thai Ramayana performance usually took place at the royal court for high-ranking officials.

Almost all ASEAN member countries have their own versions of Ramayana, written by Valmiki, which tells the story of Prince Rama rescuing his beautiful wife Sita who was abducted by the giant king Rahwana. There are of course variations and adaptations to the tale. The Thai version, for example, takes the form of a masked dance drama, called khon. This version changes the names of several figures: Rahwana becomes Thoksakan and Sita becomes Nang Sida. The dancers were accompanied by four musicians of a traditional ensemble, who also acted as narrators.

Other ASEAN countries performed their own takes of the epic at the auditorium. On Sunday, Myanmar performed the royal Pontaw and Laos had the Phralak Phralam. On Monday, the Kshetra Academy performs the Malaysian version while Indonesia performs Legong Jobog, a Balinese take on one fragment of the epic.

Legong Jobog focuses on the fight between two feuding princes, Sugriwa, the lord of monkey hero Hanoman, and his brother Subali, the king of Kiskenda. With the help of Rama, Sugriwa defeats Subali. In return, Sugriwa and Hanoman assist Rama in his quest to rescue Sinta, the version of Rama’s wife’s name that is more popular in Indonesia.

On Tuesday, Apsaras Arts from Singapore, the Culture and Fine Arts Ministry of Cambodia and the Cham Traditional Art Group from Vietnam will perform their own versions. On the final day, Brunei Darussalam and the Philippines will have their chances to showcase the Ramayana epic.

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