Ramacaritamanasa in South Africa

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Gosvami Tulasidasa, devotee and poet par excellence, imprinted onto his magnum opus the Ramacaritamanasa his absolute devotion to God in the form of Sri Rama, as well as his views on the ethical, moral, political, social and other aspects of life, gleaned from long and serious study of the scriptures. Ramacaritamanasa projected the message of Ramabhakti and ideals of Ramarajya to the world through the forceful medium of Awadhi. Three hundred years following its composition, the Ramacaritamanasa was carried to all parts of the world by indentured labourers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. From 1860 to 1911, many thousands of these labourers arrived in South Africa with their copies of the Ramacaritamanasa as their pillar of faith. His book details the role of the Ramacaritamanasa in the lives of the Hindi-speaking indentured labourers and their progeny in South Africa, and their perceptions of Sri Rama and the Ramacaritamanasa. It emerges that the Ramacaritamanasa continues to fulfill Tulasidasaâ€™s aim of inculcating selfless devotion to Sri Rama as the Supreme. The social and political message of Tulasidasa also has gained tremendous acclaim. The Hindi speaking South African Hindus cherish the Ramacaritamanasa as a great scripture, and delve deep into the lake of Sri Ramaâ€™s acts to gain solace and guidance.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Usha Devi Shukla

Usha Shukla was born and educated in Natal, South Africa. Her nurture in a culturally conscious family and environment led her to study Hindi as one of her major subjects at the University of Durban Westville, South Africa. She soon joined the former Department of Indian Languages as lecturer in Hindi; and obtained the M.A. and D. Lit. degrees in Hindi Literature. Shuklaâ€™s research into the Ramacaritamanasa in South Africa and the Hindi Diaspora opened many vistas of research and contact with Indians of indentured origin. This created greater enthusiasm for the propagation of Hindi; and in her academic and community-based work in this field, she has been hailed as one of the most successful teachers of Hindi in South Africa. Her inspiring lectures and public addresses have done much to create new interest in cultural sphere amongst Hindus in South Africa. She continues in her research and teaching programmes as Senior Lecturer in the School of Languages and Literature at the University of Durban Westville.