MYSORE, INDIA, September 9, 2011 (Times of India): There is a new craze among women to learn the Ramayana and Mahabharata and understand the relevance of the epics in today’s materialistic life. Women professionals, who are taking up courses or examinations on the epics, feel that the contents will be a guiding spirit in their stressed lifestyle.
Last year, 365 women, most of them doctors and lawyers, took up the examination conducted by Samarpana, an organization run by Sudha Paneesh, a social activist.
Many may be skeptical about Samarpana’s efforts because the Ramayana is considered a part of Hindu mythology but women who have passed the examination refuse to look at it from a religious angle. “For us morals of the epic are important,” claims Dr. Rajani, a medical officer from the city who passed the examination last year, describing Ramayana as a way of life. Dr Rajani says that when many aspire to lead a materialistic and highly commercialized life, the Ramayana comes as a great relief to their disturbed minds.
Paneesh, who runs the course in alliance with a trust in Bangalore, claims nobody will learn the Ramayana if it is told and retold. The examination format attract them more in addition to making them feel that they are involved in a competition. “Our aim is to deduce morals of Ramayana and make efforts to apply them to people’s lives,” she said. “We are targeting women because they are the teachers in their homes,” she said justifying her decision to have the course exclusively for women.