Venu Menon
Wellington, February 29,2024
Members of the diaspora gathered at the Indian High Commission auditorium in Wellington on February 28 to hear Dushyanth Sridhar deliver a discourse on Hanumad Vaibhavam or “The Glory of Hanuman.”
After a brief introduction by the High Commission’s Head of Chancery and Second Secretary (Consular), Mukesh Ghiya, Sridhar had the audience in titters as he unfolded the Ramayana epic in his inimitable narrative style laced with wit and humour.
“What is famous in Ramayanam is what is not there in Ramayanam,” he told the crowd, adding, “There is no Lakshmana Rekha.”
The discourse flowed from words to song, followed by shlokas and hand gestures, and then back to words, holding audience attention for close to two hours.
The corporate executive-turned-spiritual speaker deftly recreated Rama’s sense of desolation after Sita was abducted by Ravana, which set the stage for the entry of Hanuman.
The narration moved seamlessly back and forth between the dim past of antiquity to the contemporary present.
“As Rama and Lakshmana walk into Kishkindha [kingdom of the vanaras],” the narrator said, then abruptly shifting the context to the present, added: “Those of you who have had the opportunity to visit Incredible India, please visit Hampi. It is a UNESCO site.”
Some popular misconceptions were sorted along the way:
“As per Ramayanam, Rama was extremely dark [of complexion], while Lakshmana was extremely fair.” The brothers were like “a chess board.” The audience giggled.
There was the not-well-known description of Hanuman:
“Hanuman had a problem. He was an educated Vanara who spoke Sanskrit.”
This was followed by a catchy contemporary analogy:
“Imagine you are in a zoo or a national park, assuming these animals are of lesser calibre than us. Then suddenly, a gorilla comes and starts reciting Aditya Hridayam [Hindu devotional hymn]. We will be wondering whether we should be in the cage and the gorilla should be pondering.”
The audience roared with laughter.
This apparently irreverent approach, while handling the revered Hindu scripture, was nothing but an artful demystification of the subject matter, only to heighten its relevance and reverence.
As Sivalakshmi summed up in her vote of thanks, the discourse conveyed the elements of history, science and geography contained in the Ramayana, as well as the “deductive work” done by Hanuman in establishing Rama’s marital status, identifying Sita and discovering Rama’s proficiency as a dancer.
Dushyanth Sridhar is a noted public speaker in Sanatana Dharma who delivers discourses, both in English and Tamil, on the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata, Vishnu Purana, Bhagvad Gita, Vishnu Sahasra Nama and Divya Prabanda. In addition, he is an accomplished classical dancer and choreographer.
He graduated in Chemical Engineering and did his Masters in Chemistry from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (Pilani, India) and earned an Indian Academy of Sciences Fellowship.
He has worked in multinational corporations prior to foraying into spirituality.
The discourse was organised by the Sanatana Dharma Paripalana Seva Trust NZ and Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple, in collaboration with the High Commission of India in New Zealand.
Venu Menon is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Wellington
