Jaipur: Fancy dress competitions with students dressed as ‘Ram Bhakts’, ‘Mata Sita’ and ‘Hanuman ji’ along with drawing and painting competitions on subjects such as Ram breaking a dhanush (bow) and Ram, Laxman and Sita touring the forest are some of the themes for the two-day long ‘Ram Antariksh Vedshala’ – an event being organised by the India Space Week – to be celebrated in schools and educational institutions of Rajasthan on February 9 and 10.
In a circular dated February 8, the Department of College Education, Rajasthan government has directed principals of all government colleges in the state to ensure the compliance of another letter written in January by the India Space Week to Rajasthan chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma about organising Ram Antariksh Vedshala. The letter mentions the aforementioned activities as part of the Vedshala.
According to its website, the India Space Week is an approved nodal institute, part of the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) – a unit of ISRO’s outreach network.
In a letter dated January 18, the India Space Week had written to Rajasthan chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, communicating its plans of organising various programmes as part of the Ram Antariksh Vedshala in schools, colleges, universities in the state.
According to the letter, which has been attached and cited in the February 8 circular of the Department of College Education, the students are expected to participate in fancy dress competitions themed on Ram.
The four themes for the fancy dress competition include dressing up as – ‘Ram Bhakts’ and enact the consecration ceremony; as Sita and enact planting trees at Ashok Vatika; as Hanuman and enact Hanuman carrying the Sanjeevani Parvat and dressing up as Ram, Laxman, Hanuman and Ravan with Ram honouring the best qualities of his enemies.
Similarly, the drawing and painting competition has five themes – the consecration ceremony, Sita watering trees, Ram breaking a bow, Ram, Laxman, Sita touring a forest and Hanuman and the Vanar Sena building the Ram Setu.
“After the Pran Pratishtha, India will enter a new era. One has to apply Shri Ram’s principles in life and make oneself Rammay and Prakriti may (favourable towards nature). Ram Rajya was a very rich and a golden age from the perspective of environment. Ram Rajya was filled with forest lands. All trees were green, and were full of flowers and fruits. This tradition tells us all that nature is the bedrock of Ram Rajya,” says the letter, written in Hindi, by the India Space Week to Sharma days before the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
The letter adds that thousands of years ago, Ram had stayed amidst nature and that people draw inspiration to save environment from his 14 years of ‘vanvas’.
In its circular, the Rajasthan Department of College Education has urged all government college principals to comply with the letter of the India Space Week.
