The Ramayan has been popular in South-East Asia for centuries; its spread and popularity highlight the enduring appeal of India’s soft power. Indian audiences unfamiliar with South-East Asian interpretations of the Ramayan may be in for some surprise, though. In the wayang kulit (shadow puppetry) version in Malay, Ravan is shown in a sympathetic light; Ram appears vain. In the Jain Ramayan, Ram and Ravan are Jains, and it is Lakshman who kills Ravan. As Martha Nussbaum astutely observed in The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence And India’s Future, “Hindu traditions emphasize tolerance and pluralism….

Source: Mint January 24, 2018 18:22 UTC