Member of Parliament for the Oropuche East Constituency of Trinidad and Tobago and Deputy Political Leader of the Opposition United National Congress, Dr. Roodal Moonilal delivered the feature address at Palmiste National Park Ramleela Celebration in South Trinidad on Sunday 9th October, 2022. Present at the gathering were Pundit Surendra Maharaj and Pundit Atma Maharaj amongst many other revered pundits, community elders, parents, children, youths and visitors to Trinidad and Tobago.
Dr. Moonilal’s speech illustrated that Ramleela ( translated as “Lord Ram’s play”) is a significant celebration which indeed heralds the larger festival of Divali (symbolic of the victory of light over darkness).The annual Ramleela performances ended in Trinidad and Tobago on Monday, October 10 and Divali will be celebrated on Monday, October 24. Both festivals are conducted with devout Hindu belief in the ancient scriptures and cultural practice that inspire hope for betterment in Trinidad and Tobago and by extension the Caribbean and wider international community. Dr. Moonilal acknowledged many thousands of people on social media platforms who were viewing from England, United States of America and Canada despite the variations of day and night time across the globe.
A central theme of Dr. Moonilal’s speech was steadfast commitment to the battlefield for righteousness. He identified Rameela as the oldest street theater in the Caribbean depicting the epic struggle of Lord Rama against Ravana: the dramatisation of the story of Lord Ram, concentrating on his 14 years of exile from Ayodhya .The climax comes at the end with the defeat of Ravana and the burning of his effigy.That is a symbol of Lord Ram’s triumph over evil, with Dr. Moonilal’s message of righteousness overcoming unrighteousness. In precise chronology, Dr. Moonilal also emphasised the story of the Ramayana at the point where the village drama in Ramleela stops and there is the return of Lord Ram to his home following exile. Since Lord Ram returned on the darkest night of the year, the people lit rows of diyas to guide his way home while celebrating his victory and the conquest of righteousness overcoming unrighteousness.
Hindus are part of a great tradition of an ancient religion.This was Dr. Moonilal’s firm conviction.He congratulated Temples United and the Organizers of the Ramleela Celebration for engaging young children and youths in the transmission of a rich cultural heritage.Dr. Moonilal stated:“I want to congratulate the orgnanisers for mobilising in particular our young people.When you look at the performers, the players, 90 percent are young, they are also children; and it is great for this culture, this ancient and noble heritage,our legacy to be transmitted to the young children, to our youth so that they can continue our heritage and our tradition.” This citation reminds us that in Ramleela, the script conforms to the text Ramcharitamanasa by Goswami Tulsidas (1543-1623) which is his translation of the original Ramayana by Sage Valmiki.The script is either read or recited by a knowledgeable narrator while the story is acted out by the villagers with the inclusion of many children and youths.
Dr. Moonilal shared with his audience yet another proof from the far East of the great Hindu religion.In Indonesia, they have excavated and found temples that are dated 7,500 years old with murtis of Lord Ganesha and Lord Shiva. According to Dr. Moonilal, science is rapidly advancing and putting the timeline on, enabling us to understand that we are the children of a great heritage of the oldest religion that the world has known:a religion that has given the world peace, wisdom and knowledge. Dr. Moonilal reiterated:
“Tonight we celebrate that in our scriptures …this epic battle between lord Rama and his army. So tonight I ask you to be strong… You will see the end of Ravana very soon…. Lord Rama waited fourteen years in the forest before his victory. We will wait much less before our victory…We are moments away from our final victory and this is a victory that will be celebrated tonight. It is not only symbolic, it is real. It is the victory of righteousness over unrighteousness.”
From Dr. Moonilal’s perspective, Ravana and the Rakshas (devils) could be seen as the criminal elements in our society and perhaps inclusive of political elements as well, meaning all those who trespass against us and those who undermine our rights and freedom. Dr. Moonilal underscored the significance of the awakened inner consciousness to propel decisive action against evil forces:
In the days to come we must fight, we must mobilise and organise so that we will defeat the army of Ravana in whatever form they present themselves. So my final call to you tonight is that as a community, as a nation, we cannot afford to be like Kumbhakarna sleeping for six months and eating for six months. We must wake up from our kumbhkarmic sleep and take action in the battlefield of life for victory will be ours. (Kumbhakarna was the brother of Ravana in Ramayana who had an insatiable appetite and slept for great lengths of time).
On behalf of the Leader of the Opposition of the United National Congress and former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, the Honourable Kamla Persad Bissessar, Dr. Moonilal conveyed greetings, best wishes and congratulations to Temples United and the organising committee of the Ramleela celebration.Dr.Moonilal also acknowledged the esteemed presence of executive members of the Constituency of Oropuche East, Trinidad and Tobago.
Dr. Moonilal’s concluding remarks was focused on a symbolic victory for the people of Trinidad and Tobago on the eve of Divali as follows: I assure you that victory will be ours as victory belongs to Lord Rama and just as he will triumphantly in moments return to his great kingdom of Ayodhya, you will also return to your great kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago…May God bless all of you, your children,your parents, our community. May God bless this great nation of Trinidad and Tobago.
BIODATA
Vashti Singh was awarded a research scholarship by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Government of India and graduated with a Ph.D in Sociology of Education from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India in 2006. Vashti Singh currently serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Departments of Research and Graduate Studies and Curriculum and Instruction in the Faculty of Education and Humanities, University of Guyana. She has presented her research on the theme of comparative perspectives in education in several diasporic countries including Trinidad, Suriname, Mauritius, South Africa and India.