The rich story has been told and retold through the ages by saints, poets, scholars and common folk. For generations after generations, the poignant story of Ramayana has appealed to the young and old of all communities and religions with its simple but powerful message to mankind of idealism and the triumph of good over evil. The story of Ramayana has transcended its geographical boundaries to become a part of cultures throughout Asia. This epic tale is popular to this day in India as well as among the Indian Diaspora abroad.

The exhibition is about the universal and timeless popularity of the Ramayana epic and its narration in visual, performing and literary arts of South and Southeast Asia. The exhibition explores the story of the Ramayana epic based on the theme of Ramcharitamanas, a 17th century text from India. The story of the Ramayana epic will be told through shadow puppets, paintings on paper and cloth, and photographs of ancient monuments representing the epic from South and Southeast Asia. About 100 original artefacts will be sourced from the Asian Civilisations Museum’s permanent collection. The selected artefacts will cover different historical and stylistic periods to show how they were depicted through the ages.  These objects will be drawn from different geographical locations to emphasize the universality of the epic.

The exhibition is divided into seven sections based on the seven chapters of the epic. The flow of the exhibition is as follows: Bala Kanda (Childhood Chapter), Ayodhya Kanda (Ayodhya Chapter), Aranya Kanda (Forest Chapter), Kishkindha Kanda (Meeting the Monkey Army Chapter), Sundara Kanda (Hanuman’s search for Sita Chapter), Lanka Kanda (Battle of Lanka Chapter) and Uttara Kanda (Epilogue). In each section, two or three events will be further identified for storytelling and a special focus on important character will be introduced in the relevant chapter.