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KERALA, INDIA, July 16, 2004: Hindu homes and temples in Kerala resonated with the recital of the Ramayana, as Karkitakam, the lean month of the Malayalam calendar, began on July 16. Mornings and evenings, the faithful gather at temples to recite the Adhyatma Ramayanam Kilippattu of Thunchath Ezhuthachan, the father figure of Malayalam literature. The entire text is read in 32 days. Malayalis believe reading the epic gives them spiritual strength to tide over the hardships of the lean season, says this article. The term Ramayana maasam, or “month of the Ramayana” used to describe Karkitakam, began as an informal phrase but printed Hindu calendars have adopted it for generations. On the eve of the first day of the month, houses are swept clean, disinfected and sanitized. Organic rubbish is gathered into an earthen pot and discarded outside the precincts to the accompaniment of chanting, an act that symbolizes the banishment of ill fortune. Lamps are lit and Sree Bhagavati, the Goddess of good fortune, is worshipped. People gather in groups and read aloud cantos from the Ramayana. Rituals related to the Ramayana month, which had fallen into decline in the last few decades, are now experiencing a revival. In view of Karkitakam, the Travancore Devaswom Board has make arrangements for Ramayana recitals in major south Kerala temples.

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