Winner takes $15,000 for Ram Leela theme song

As part of the 50th anniversary of Independence, a competition has been launched to create a theme song for the National Ram Leela Council of Trinidad and Tobago. The winner of the National Ram Leela Theme Song Competition will receive a cash prize of $15,000 and a trophy, said Indra Pooran, assistant treasurer of the Council. Entries close on July 31, 2012.

The theme song, Pooran said, must reflect the spirit of Ram Leela as theatre, and the melody must represent aspects of Ram Leela/Ramayana tradition. It must also must be written in Hindi script with translation and transliteration provided in both hard and soft copies.

According to Pooran, “The theme song is designed to educate, develop and promote the several aspects of our country’s rich and diverse culture.” She said the main objective of this initiative was to engender a sense of pride in Ram Leela, “while reinforcing the numerous lessons which society may learn from this deception in Ramayana, since Ram Leela is an integral part of the heritage of this country.”

Additionally, the Council has planned a series of activities to commemorate the milestone of T&T’s 50th anniversary of Independence. On June 19 and 20, the Ayodyha Research Institute (ARI) of Uttar Pradesh staged two masterpiece shows on Ram Lila and Krishna Lila at Divali Nagar.

The presence of the ARI’s Ram Lila in T&T was jointly sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, the Indian High Commission, and the National Council of Indian Culture (NCIC). Workshops and shows were held in several areas across the country.

About Ram Leela

Ram Leela is the mystery of God appearing in His own creation and performing effortlessly and without desire, which is fully described in the Holy Ramayan. Throughout the Holy Ramayan, Tulsi Das dwells continuously on the encompassing wonders of Lord Rama’s boundless grace and seeks to teach mankind the wonders of the universe.

The Ram Leela ends with the epic battle between Lord Rama and Ravan. This tradition originates from the Indian sub-continent where it is staged annually. And there are reports that the cast of the ARI has staged the show for nine consecutive years, each day. Ayodhya is the central point of Uttar Pradesh, from where the bulk of East Indians came to work on the sugar and cocoa plantations between 1845 and 1917.