First in a Series of Four Articles
Programme in aid of Temple at Dorothy Winstone Centre on Oct 26
108 tickets sold in three hours; Sponsorship sought
Venkat Raman
September 1, 2024
The life and times of Lord Rama (or Ram), the first ‘Sampoorna Avatar’ (Full, Comprehensive and Complete Incarnation) of Lord Vishnu will be told in the Indian Classical Dance format of Bharata Natyam at an exclusive event next month.
Produced, directed and choreographed by Anuradha Ramkumar (Anu) Director and Principal of Nrityabhinaya Anuradha’s School of Indian Dances, the event, titled, Ayodhya Rama, will be held at Dorothy Winstone Centre, Auckland Girls Grammar School, 16 Howe Street, Auckland CBD from 6 pm on Saturday, October 26, 2024.
Funds for Sri Venkateshwara Temple
Anu is presenting Ayodhya Rama to collect funds for the upcoming Sri Venkateshwara Devasthanam (Lord Venkateshwara Temple) in Ramarama, South Auckland. Primarily promoted by Link2 Group Directors Indra and Manasa Sirigiri (with a Board of Trustees) and other soon-to-be-formed members of Committees, the application process for Resource Consent with Auckland Council is in an advanced stage.
Tickets priced at $30 per person can be purchased from Anuradha Ramkumar (021-1550714), Shanti Ravi (021-2946394), Sridevi Pusarla (021-1824681) or Sonu Reddy (021-1106968).
Anu has also sought sponsorship amounts, which can be remitted to 12-3061-0230962-01.
Donors (individuals or companies) are requested to mention the purpose of the donation as Venue Hire, Photography, PowerPoint Presentation, Lights and Special Effects, Sound, Stage Props, Decoration, Music, Recording and Re-recording and Payment to Artists.
About the Programme
The programme, which will run for almost three hours, will commence with Saint Vishwamitra requisitioning King Dasaratha to send his eldest son Rama with him to the forest to protect sages against demons destroying their Yagna. The sage’s visit to Ayodhya, which occurs in Ayodhya Kanda, will take the dance drama through four other Kandas (Aranya, Kishkindha, Sundara and Yuddha), with every scene depicting the charismatic personality of Lord Rama.
Known as Maryada Purushottam (The Best Among Honourable Men), Rama set benchmarks for human dignity, behaviour, respect towards parents, elders and gurus, relationships, self-respect and honour and equally important, principles of good governance.
These qualities will be postulated with his innate professionalism by young Abhishek Ravi, under the guidance of Anu. After proving his prowess in Bharata Natyam, the young man, currently on his first professional contract as an Elite Dancer with Royal Caribbean Cruise will be flown to Auckland to perform as Lord Ram.
About Ayodhya Rama
Anu’s Ayodhya Rama will extol the qualities of Lord Rama as narrated by Sage Valmiki in his Valmiki Ramayanam. In its original version, Ramayanam comprises 24,000 Slokas or Verses divided into Seven Kandas (Cantos).
Known to occur under Raghuvamsa influenced by the Sun (and hence the Purity), Ramayanam comprises 480,002 words, less than 25% of the length of Mahabharatam, under Chandravamsa influenced by the Moon (and hence not so Pure).
It is wrong to assume that public interest in Lord Rama was ‘renewed’ with the opening of a new Temple built in Ayodhya and inaugurated by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22, 2024. The Hindu Deity has been worshipped for hundreds of years in India and discourses on various Kandas and Chapters of the Great Epic are held in various cities in India in different languages throughout the year. It is also common for Hindus to read the Ramayanam with the same interest and fervour as the Bhagavad Gita in their homes.
About Sri Venkateshwara Temple
As a diverse nation promoting diverse cultures and faiths, New Zealand society has conscientiously allowed, encouraged and promoted varied places of worship. Hence, it is common to see a Catholic Church, a Hindu Temple, a Muslim Mosque and a Sikh Gurdwara in the same vicinity in several parts of New Zealand.
Unlike other religious practitioners, Hindus worship hundreds of Deities and ascribe Gods and Goddesses to various attributes such as Power, Wealth, Knowledge, Health and so on. Although Hinduism is often considered polytheistic because of its many Deities, it can also be considered monotheistic because each of these various is regarded as manifestations of the Creator or the Brahman. Shivites worship Lord Shiva in different forms such as Mahadev, Maheswar, Dakshinamuthy, Nataraj, Bhairava, Sarbeswar, Bholenath and Ardhanarishvara.
Lord Vishnu is also worshipped in various forms throughout India, of which Rama, Krishna and Venkateshwara are among the most popular Deities.
Lord Venkateshwara, although not mentioned in the Ten Avatars of Lord Vishnu, is the most popular Deity of worship in modern times. Known as the Lord of the Seven Hills, the prime Temple of Lord in Tirupathi in Andhra Pradesh attracts more than 80,000 visitors every day and accounts for almost 30 million annually, with increasing gatherings on Hindu observances and festivals. Worshipped in several names including Aditya, Ananthan, Anirudh, Aparjeet, Balaji, Govinda, Srinivasan, Thirumalai and Thiruvengadam.
While a visit to Tirupathi is desirable and considered a great bliss, devotees of Lord Venkateshwara in Auckland have long cherished to desire to have a Temple in their midst. Such a desire has also been the dream of Indra and Manasa Sirigiri for more than 25 years.
The proposed Sri Venkateshwara Devasthanam in Auckland will herald a new chapter in the history of Hinduism and Worship in New Zealand.
(INL Photo)
The Compliance Process
They consider the opportunity to purchase 4.54 hectares (about 11.22 acres) of land in the South Auckland suburb of Ramarama in February 2021 as a Divine Order.
Since then Mr Sirigiri has been engaging with the officials of the Auckland Council, consultants, engineers, ecologists, geologists, sand and rock experts, surveyors, transport and traffic inspectors, landscapers, planners and many others to complete the initial processes to reach the Resource Consent stage. Thousands of hours and substantial costs have been incurred to comply with various issues raised in the process and Mr Sirigiri hopes that the Project will reach the construction phase soon.
Among the steps taken thus far include (1) Registration of Sri Venkateshwara Devasthanam New Zealand as a Charitable Trust (2) Establishment of a Board of Trustees (3) Opening of a Bank Account. Following these, the Trust is taking the next steps to connect with the community through regular prayer meetings and observances.
About Anuradha Ramkumar
Anu is known for innovation and as her ardent student, Abhishek is known for perfect execution; as such, the duo can be expected to provide several exciting moments in Ayodhya Rama. If you expect Lord Ram, as the Greatest Worshipper of Lord Shiva (almost rivalling Ravana of Sri Lanka) to perform the Rudra Thandavam, the Guru-Shishya will be ready.
Her passion for promoting Indian classical dances, Heritage, Culture and Values has earned her thousands of students subscribing to diverse ethnicities and faiths since she began her artistic journey almost 40 years ago in India, and thence continued in Dubai and for the past 26 years in New Zealand.
Anu has received several Honours and Awards in the past two years (beginning with the Indian Newslink Commemoration Award in 2022), leading to the appointment as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit by King Charles III in his New Year Honours List on January 1, 2024
The King’s Honour Citation said that she has been providing opportunities for future generations of New Zealand Indians to maintain links to their cultural heritage through dance.
“In the process, she has helped hundreds of youths and adults graduate every year through Arangetram (graduation) ceremonies. Her students feature in various community events across New Zealand and her annual dance productions. Through her dance school, she has worked to preserve two classical forms of dance, Bharata Natyam and Kuchipudi, and has been a Guru to more than 500 students across 26 years,” the Citation said.
