Ayodhya's Ram Mandir As the Capital Of Ramayan’s Empire Of Music 

Ayodhya deserves to make its place as the city of India’s and the world’s finest offerings in music. It will define music for the world. Here are 11 reasons why: 

One: For Valmiki’s Mahakavya And Its Musicality 

Valmiki’s Ramayan — centered on “Raghuvanshvibhushan Ram” — is described as the treasure of jewels in aesthetic — such as gunn, alankar and dhwani. 

Brilliant mentions about the musicality in and the musical quality of the Ramayan can be found in the Bal Kaand. 

The first aspect mentioned is madhurya — the aesthetic roundedness and sweetness in the reading, as well as the recitation of the Ramayan. 

Next: intelligibly mentioned is the swara-bound approach to Ramayan. The number of swaras mentioned — seven. This distinctly opens the field of performance to a wide canvas. 

Jayanthi Kumaresh leading the ensemble of Bharat’s veenas — on her Saraswati Veena — under moonlight at the outer mandapa of the Ram Mandir is no distant imagination for this author. The Bal Kaand in Valmiki Ramayan reveals that with the inclusion (and accompaniment) on the veena, the Ramayan “becomes” worth a rendition in vocals (singing) — owing to the natural presence of the swaras, as well as “taal” (beat).

What's captivating about the Ramayan is that its instructive quality also includes the percussive element. 

In the presence of Ram, Luv and Kush are mentioned to have sung the Ramayan to the accompaniment of veena. The description of Ayodhya by Raja Dashrath himself mentions that the sound of veena, dundubhi, mridang, panav, defines the greatest nagri, Ayodhya. 

Three: Luv And Kush — The Great Musicians Who ‘Owned’ Retelling 

The sons of Ram — Kush and Luv, are described as the bearers of the Gandharva Vidya (Sangeet Shastra). They are mentioned to own deep insights on music and the knowledge of “sthhan” and “moorchhana” (practical concepts determining the placement and role of swaras). 

Four: The Message In The Gifts To Luv And Kush 

Luv and Kush's compelling and poignant rendition of the Ramayan would prompt their learned audience, the rishi-munis, to offer the simplest yet most heartfelt gifts.

Here are some of them: Kalash (auspicious pot), ‘valkal vastras’, ‘yagyopaveet’, deerskin, ‘kamandal’, ‘mekhala’ (a waist girdle) made of ‘munj’ (a coarse fibre); asanas (for sitting), gerua vastras, kuthar (axe), kaupin (loin cloth), strings of jute for tying the hair; yagya paatr; a seat made of ‘gular’ wood; strings that help in the tying of and fetching of ‘samidha’ (wood for yagya), among other gifts. 

The Bal Kaand mentions that the two “tapasvi” brothers walked through the lanes of Ayodhya while offering their performance. A pertinent aspect highlighted in the Ramayan is that their pronunciation was so perfect that the meaning of what they sang would be instantly understood.

With Ram’s inspiration and permission, Luv and Kush perform the singing of Ramayan in the “Margvidhan” — the marg(i) style — keeping Sanskrit at the core of their performance for a pan-nation approach. “Nation first”. 

Five: Maharishi Valmiki’s Rasa Approach 

Maharishi Valmiki ensured that his poem abounds in the rasas. This would enable its retelling and singing across yugas. He composed it as the abode of Sringar, Karuna, Hasya, Raudra, Bhayanaka and Veer rasas.

The mentioned rasas, with an exception to ‘Bhayanaka’ are grandly accommodated in devotional music dedicated to Ram. 

The long-standing tradition of performing the Ramayan in India and ASEAN countries is proof that Valmiki's vision extends beyond his time. The ASEAN nations should become India’s natural partners in making Ayodhya the greatest city of performances in music. 

Six: In Goswami Tulsidas Ji’s ‘Nij Vichar’ (Own View) 

‘In my own view, "naam" is even bigger than Ram himself,’ says Tulsidas in the Bal Kaand of the Ramcharitmanas.

Tulsidas ji was solely responsible for elevating India’s literary aesthetic and expression and re-establishing its centre in devotion. This great event, enclosed within the Bhakti movement, would be seeded in Ayodhya. 

Tulsidas ji mentions that "naam", has the strengths and capacity to overpower nirgun and sagun. He says that nirgun is like the invisible fires, and sagun, like the visible fires. He writes that while Ram could impact Tapasvi Ahilya alone, the "naam" itself would improve the "kumati" of crores. He also wrote: Ram himself broke the Shiv Dhanush, but the name destroys all worldly fears.

The Bal Kaand reveals Tulsidas ji’s own understanding that the "naam" itself would be the remedy to expunging the sins of Kaliyuga. Raghunandan himself slayed the (groups of) demons, but the "name" itself will uproot the sins of Kaliyuga. 

Kaliyuga is now. Ram Lalla's temple is secured in Ayodhya — during Kaliyuga. The celebration of Ram, the celebration of the name "bigger than Ram", the celebration of Ayodhya, has a common mode. The mode is the best musical performance dedicated to "naam" — Ram naam. 

While the Ramcharitmanas remains as one of the foremost sources of inspiration for Ramlilas, musical repertoires, and the greatest vocalists, a pan-India movement and meeting to celebrate it, is awaited.

The singing from the kaands of Ramcharitmanas itself would itself be an exercise in musical documentation of this great epic — eminent evidence being M S Subbulakshmi’s renditions and the musical repertoire of Pandit LK Pandit and Pandita Meeta Pandit. 

The Ramcharitmanas mentions musical instruments such as jaanjh, mridang, shankh, shahnai, bheri, nagada, dhol, celebrating Sita vivah. In Tulsidas ji’s great retelling, women, repeatedly, are mentioned as offering the mangal geet. What are we waiting for?  

Seven: Swami Thyagaraja, Telugu And Tamil 

The completion of the Pran Pratishtha of Ram Lalla's vigraha in Ayodhya left many devotees wondering how, in a matter of moments, the eyes and the face of the vigraha underwent a transformative journey. 

The first two words that spontaneously left the throat of this author were — Vandanamu Raghunandana! These two words of Swami Sri Thyagaraja’s kriti in Telugu, are the most appropriate salutation to Ram Lalla's vigraha in the first darshan. 

Ram — Raghunandana — the joy of the Raghu dynasty. Unable to behold the brilliance of his smiling face, many of us broke down, wondering if it was for this moment that Swami Sri Thyagaraja created “Nagumomu”.

Or was it for this moment that Swami Thyagaraja gave us the finest, most true, fitting title and adjective for Ram Lalla and his vigraha: “Bhaktachandana” — soothing like the chandan (sandal) to the devotees. 

Swaddled in their own emotion, many people expressed on social media that the “change” in the vigraha was “visible”. 

Ayodhya deserves every corner, every temple shikhara to be touched and rippled by the singing of “Jagadaanandakaraka” — the bestower of happiness to the jaga, the world. 

The Himalaya-like lofty heritage in music and sahitya dedicated to Ram from the land of Cauvery should find its dais at Saryu ji. The invocational magnitudes in the words “Rama Rama Rajeshwara” arising in “Raghuvamsa Sudhambudhi Chandra Sri,” and the musical expression in singing of the hundreds of other compositions born between the 17th and 20th century — Telugu and Tamil — should become the common language of Ram Bhakti converging in Ayodhya. 

Eight: Voice Of Children For Ram’s Balroop 

The Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is the abode of Ram’s balroop. Any offering in music to Ramlalla’s balroop would be second to musical offerings made by the Sanatani children of Bharat — in purity, in voice, in bhava and exuberance.

Ayodhya, as the fountain bed of devotional music in the voice of children living and learning Vedic rituals, mantras and mantrochcharan at gurukuls across Bharat, followed by children learning music in Hindustani and Carnatic padditti under the guru-shishya parampara is the need of the hour. 

The presence of children offering music resonates with the visiting devotees. When children play with the swaras in offerings to Ram, they make offerings to not just Ram, but also Raja Dashrath and Kaushalya. The unified voice of children in devotional music will pull other children to the Ram Mandir, Ram aastha, teertha and Sanatan.

The kritis sung by children-artistes will ignite other children’s interest in the purest of renditions from the great composers. Eventually, children will reshape their own heritage and become music-nourished protectors of that heritage. 

Nine: Music As Territory Marker

When Thakur Gurudutt Singh — Independent India’s first karsevak — ensured that keertan at Ramjanmabhumi remained unhindered and undisturbed, he virtually laid the foundation of the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir. 

In the greatest battles fought for dharma and righteousness, weaponry and soldiers were propelled by musical instruments. The auspicious shankha, the battle-ready dundubhi, the victory marker tutari have given their own tributes to warriors.

However, these musical instruments had the advantage of a defined and demarcated battlefield — unlike the cultural conflicts of today — where the battlefield is severely undefined. 

For centuries, elements of aggression, neither related to the deity not relatable with the teertha kshetra nor culturally analogous to temple life, are found morphed or forced on Hindu tangible and intangible assets.

Music is that unseen but effectively audible weapon that can fight bloodless battles, demarcate boundaries clearly, and protect the tangible and intangible of temple life by repelling those who are repelled by the celebration of Ram.

Ten: ‘Not A Gharana’ — So What? 

The most convenient defence in disassociating Ayodhya with music has been: Varanasi, Awadh, Gwalior, and Maihar etc., have been traditional bastions of (Hindustani) music and musical excellence, Ayodhya has “nothing to do with” classical music, or musical excellence in general.

Those who deny Ayodhya her place in music-driven prosperity, are the same people who believed that Ramlalla needed no temple and who have not bothered to explore the Ramayan. 

With Ram Lalla constricted to a tent for decades, there was no way that any attempt at preserving sohar, khayal, dhrupad, dhamar, thumri, at the teerth kshetra, in the form of musical seva, could have emerged or offered during darshan. 

Gharana is a school of thought in music. Establishing Ayodhya as the 21st century dharmic hub of the finest music from India and the globe, is the only way to intensify a musical query into a new “school” of thought in music. 

Eleven: Relationships As Resource 

A lustrous thread of relationships that the bhaktas share with Ram run through the Maharishi Valmiki’s verses. Raja Dasrath, the bond between Ram and Lakshman, Bharat, Shatrughan. Ram’s love for Sita. Ram and Jatayu. Ram and aranya. Ram-bhakt Hanuman. Ram bhakt Sugriva. The vanara sena. Ram and Kevat. Ram and Shabari. Ram and Ayodhyawasi.

Unless all expressions of music devoted to these relationships find a dais in Ayodhya, their distinct language of emotion, love and ties will remain scattered and remote to the bhakta. 

The sohar, chaiti, Ma Sita vivah geet, hori, jhoola, and other forms of deshi sangeet in the languages of the states and regions they come from, would celebrate these relationships as well as prakriti. 

Ramlalla seeks a pan-Bharat offering and honours the finest, greatest, and the common devotees' musical tributes.. The music seva ought to go beyond the ragas.