The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Rooted in past, looking at future

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 21, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Rooted in past, looking at future

T.A. Narasimhan

Vaishnavite scholar organises yatra to sites mentioned in the Ramayana

PEACE YATRA: Velukudi Krishnan seen with pilgrims at the anuyatra for integration.

Chennai : It was a yatra rooted in the past but looking into the future. The pilgrimage was, in a sense, a journey back in time but with a message for the future — integration and peace. The highlight of the pilgrimage was a reliving of the Ramayana, as 350 people, bound by a common belief in India's rich cultural heritage — from the United States, Dubai, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Madurai and Coimbatore — got together under the leadership of Vaishnavite scholar Velukkudi Krishnan to launch an `anuyatra' on August 20. The pilgrims consciously chose to give up their urban comforts to live close to nature for the duration of the yatra.

The yatris visited many of the sites that find mention in the epic such as Bithoor (where Ramayana was written by Valmiki), Ayodhya, Sitamarhi, Tatakavan, Chitrakoot and Janakpuri in Nepal.

"It is easy to organise a peace yatra but it is harder to see it through. When our yatra reached Nepal, violence erupted suddenly. Bridges were broken but our journey continued without any hindrance. Nearly 100 of the pilgrims were suffering from diabetes and blood pressure but there was no deterioration in their morale,'' says Mr. Krisnan.

The yatra covered 8,500 km in 19 days. The pilgrims were served typical fare from different States such as Bihar, Maharashtra, Bengal, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to give them a taste of integration.

Scholars gave lectures on topics relevant to the sites they visited. The yatra ended at Srirangam where Sriranga Narayana Jeeyar felicitated the participants.

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