The Mauritius Sanathan Dharma Temple Federation (MSDTF) has commended the government for allowing the opening of prayer places with a maximum of 50 people. However, it says its affiliates to strictly follow the health protocol put in place by the government. At a press conference yesterday at the MSDTF headquarters, the federation’s president, Ghoorbin Bushan, urged Hindu priests to get vaccinated quickly. He also spoke about the decision taken by the federation to set up a series of committees to help the needy. He also invited the population to donate Rs 100 per month per person to finance the treatment of patients who cannot undergo surgery in Mauritius.
On his part, the Secretary General of MSDTF, Seepoojuhn Lallbeeharry spoke about the activities that will be organized as part of the Ramayan week, Tulsidas Jayanti & Divali 2021. These activities will be organized in collaboration with the MBC, the Mauritius Film Development Company Ltd, the Ministry of Arts and Culture. Several competitions are scheduled as part of the Aradhna -Ramayan Competitions 2021. They as follow: Ram Bhajan/Kirtan competition, Elocution contest on Ramayan, Ramila folk/semi-classical dance-competition and Ramayan Chitraka (painting) competition. Entry forms for these competitions are available at the federation office in Ebony.
For the Ramayan Chanting competition, a prize of Rs 30,000 will be offered to the winner. He will receive a shield just like the other runners-up in the competition. This competition is open to all Mauritians as well as the Ram Bhajan/Kirtan Competition. For the latter competition, the language that will be used is Hindi, Bhojpuri, or Sanskrit. The participants will have to make a video of about four to six minutes in length. The star prize for this competition is Rs 20,000. A prize of Rs 5000 will be offered to the winner of the Ramayan Chitrakarita (painting) competition. This competition is reserved for youth in four categories (7 to 11 years), (12 to 15 years), (16 to 25 years) and (25 years and above). The Elocution contest competition is reserved for young people from 15 to 25 years old. The language that will be used is Hindi. The first prize is Rs 5000. The Ramila Folk/semi classical dance competition is open to participants between 12 and 30 years old. The aim is to create a choreography not exceeding 4 minutes. Participants will be asked to send a video to the MSDTF on August 13. The first prize for this competition is Rs 15 000.
