Storytelling Ramayana through Philatelic Paintings

Briti Deb

Have you ever wondered about the ancient storytelling traditions of the world? One such tradition is storytelling the epic Ramayana, which has been popular in several countries in various art forms. The story of Ramayana has traveled from India to many other countries influencing their storytelling genres. Ramayana feature stories about peace and war, to show the importance of moral values, bravery, and sacrifice. Here we take a look at how the story of Ramayana is told through paintings in postage stamps, and show how they tellthe story of terrible demons and the heroic humans who battled them.

1970 India. Ramayana was written byValmiki in the ancient Indian language

Sanskrit . Having meditated for many years,ant-hills grew around his body, when a divinepower bestowed him with the name "Valmiki"

which in Sanskrit means ant-hill.

Rama was the king of the ancient Indian cityof Ayodhya, and Sita was his wife. Ravana

was the king of Lanka who wanted to destroyRama by capturing Sita. Ravana took the aidof demon Maricha who assumed the form of

a golden deer to attract Sita. Sita gotattracted and asked Rama to go behind it,paving the way for Ravana to abduct her.

This depects the moral of the futility ofgetting swayed by dubious attractions.

Garuda is a mythological figure with the headand wings of an eagle and body like that of aman. He was a friend of Dasharatha (Rama'sfather). Garuda is present in the coat of arms

of Indonesia, Thailand and Ulan Bator.Garuda's son Jatayu tried to rescue Sita

when Ravana was fleeing after kidnappingher. Ravana fights him and wounds him

fatally.

According to legend, Sigiriya was thekingdom of Ravana in Lanka. This stamp

shows an ancient rock painting in a palacebuilt on top of a giant rock in Sigiriya.

India 2000. In the battle that ensued due toSita's abduction by Ravana, several

monkeys (Hanuman) took the side of Rama.Bali and Sugriv are the two monkey

characters in Ramayana. This stamp showstheir duel through the ancient Madhubani-Mithila style of painting. Mithila was the

kingdom of King Janaka, the father of Sita.The origin of Madhubani-Mithila genre ofpainting goes back to the mythology that

Janaka commissioned painters to paint thecity for the wedding of Sita.

The character Hanuman has been used tonarrate many stories other than Ramayana.Pangpond, the five-year-old boy with largeround eyes and three strands of hair on hishead is a Thai cartoon character. Being anordinary boy, he has plenty of imagination

and a hyperactive personality. In this stamp,Pangpond is seen with his friend Hanuman in

front of the Bangkok Mega-Bridge.

India 2009. Rama with brother Lakshmanaand ally monkey army fight the ten-headeddemon king Ravana. It is believed that the

ten heads symbolize ten human egos -attachment, passion, pride, anger, greed,

infatuation, lust, hatred, jealousy, andselfishness. Vanquishing the ten heads of

Ravana signify vanquishing those ten egos.The design of this stamp is based on theancient Pattachitra style of painting.

A Rakshasa is a demonic being inRamayana. Ravana, the Rakshasa with tenheads and the King of the Rakshasas, was

an enemy of Rama. Some of the otherRakshasas that appear in the Ramayana

include Taraka, Surpanakha, Maricha, andIndrajit.

(Left) India 1932 postcard with Hanuman carrying Dronagiri mountain. (Middle and Right)After defeating Ravana, Rama returned to his kingdom Ayodhya. To celebrate Rama's

return, the residents of Ayodhya lighted the city with millions of earthen lamps called Deep.Since then, this day is celebrated as Deepawali or Diwali which translates into Row of

Lamps symbolizing triumph of knowledge (moral values of Rama) over ignorance (ego ofRavana).

(Left) A painting of a scene from Ramayana in the National Museum of Asian, African andAmerican Cultures in the Czech Republic. (Middle) Nepal 1967 Ram Navami stamp which

is a festival celebrating the birth of Rama to King Dasharatha and Queen Kausalya ofAyodhya. (Right) Canada issued Diwali stamps in 2017.

(Left) Lao 2004. Phra Lak Phra Lam is a Lao version of Ramayana, and the national epicof Lao. Its title comes from Lakshmana and Rama. (Right) Cambodia 1964 Tokyo SummerOlympics, depecting monkey king Hanuman. Cambodia is also famous for the Sbek ThomKhmer shadow theatre based on Reamker, the Khmer version of the Ramayana featuring

puppets, which is proclaimed as a masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage ofHumanity by UNESCO IN 2005.

(Left) China 2014 Thangka Tibetan Buddhism scroll painting. Rama and Buddha arebelieved to be avatars of Vishnu. (Right) Bhutan 1969. Thangka painting on silk withembroidery is used to depict Buddha, an avatar of Vishnu, serving as a teaching tool to

depict His life, and also providing a meditation tool to help bring one further down the pathto enlightenment. In 2003, UNESCO created a programme called 'Safeguarding of

Monastic Heritage in the Himalayan Region' to conserve thangkas.

India National Museum postcards on Persian Ramayana

(Left) Yemen 1967 (Catalogue Michel: 355A-364A) Mughal painting depicting Rama,Lakshmana, and Shiva. (Right) India Old Postcard Mattancheri Palace fresco depicting

Rama kills Ravana.

India Post released thses Ramayana stamps in 2017