We are glad to announce the results of the contest Apoorva Parva- Unravelling the Ramayana Route. This contest was organized in partnership with Roobaroo Walks, an experiential travel enterprise. We thank Anchal Sachan and Aayush Raathi, co-founders at Roobaroo Walks for judging the competition.
The competition invited travel enthusiasts, storytellers and entrepreneurs to recreate the Ramayana trail, bringing together history and tourism and weaving them into a story. Besides that, the entries were judged on four parameters – description and importance of associated story; detailing current physical spaces and monuments; ideas for the development of the available space, and ideas for the promotion of the story/place to increase tourism.
The winner for this contest is Supreetha R from Chennai imagines Chitrakuta to be revived to its former glory and sacred significance. In her description of the Ramayana Trail, she writes
Citrakūṭa, the hill of many wonders is the chosen destination. This holy place was a residence to ŚrīRāmaḥ, ŚrīSītā and ŚrīLakṣmaṇaḥ for most years during the period of exile.
The auspicious Citrakūṭa was -
- frequented by rishis and long-lived ascetics who performed severe austerities
- filled with different kinds of trees, fruits, roots
- home to several species of animals and birds
- brimming with holy rivers, waterfalls, plateaus, caverns, mountain torrents
- safe from forest fires
There are plenty of Rāmāyana-centric places within Citrakūṭa! But, a special focus of Citrakūṭa and Mandākinī River; reasons why Citrakūṭa should develop further for tourists based on some select shlokas from Valmiki Rāmāyana are presented; along with, how Citrakūṭa could, with a renewed meaningful awareness, become a more brimming Ramayana-centric tourism destination!
It is the duty of every āstika of Bhārata to preserve the beauty of Citrakūṭa and strive to connect to such places better, keeping in mind the purity of the holy place, that was once a residence to the avatāra of ŚrīViṣnu, that is, ŚrīRāmaḥ; his loving wife ŚrīSītā, and his loving brother ŚrīLakṣmaṇaḥ; apart from many other ascetics and sages!
Feature Image: Tusk Traveler
