(UNI) Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat inaugurated the Kamba Ramayana Parayanam in the temple town Srirangam in Trichy district of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday evening.
The South Zone Cultural Centre, Thanjavur under the Union Ministry of Culture is coming forward with a support system for the sustenance and propagation of the Kamba Ramayana tradition of Tamil Nadu.
Kamba Ramayana is one of the most significant literary works in Tamil literature. This version of the Ramayana, composed in the 12th-13th century, stands as a unique and culturally rich adaptation of the Valmiki Ramayana.
Kambar Medu, located at Therazhunduri in Kuthalam block in Mayiladuthurai district of Tamil Nadu, is the birthplace of Kambar. Though once integral to Tamil cultural life, theoral tradition of reciting the Kamba Ramayana through local mandali (cultural troupes)has significantly declined.
Many younger generations in Tamil Nadu are now unfamiliar with Kambar’s epic, and the cultural practice is at risk of extinction.
The Union Minister inaugurated the event at Singar Kovil Auditorium at Srirangam.