The first group of Ramayan tourists, comprising about 150 people, arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) last morning (15). This group is considered the largest tour group in the new normal, and their aim is also to promote the Ramayana trail and other related sites among the public. Sri Lanka has more than 50 Ramayana sites, from the place of Seetha Devi’s captivity to the battlefields of war where Lord Rama slew Ravana the 10-headed demon-king. The Ramayana trail’s tour places include Munneswaram Kovil in Chilaw, Koneshwaram Kovil in Trincomalee, Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, Sita Kotuwa in Hasalaka, Sita Kovil, Ravana Falls, Bandarawela, Ella, Divurumpola Temple, and Kelaniya Temple. In the course of more than two millennia, many versions were written in regional Indian and foreign languages, and some of them became classics as in the case of Tulsidas’ Ramcharitamanas or Thailand’s Ramakien.

Source: The Nation December 16, 2021 01:02 UTC