12th November 2023: Following a period of restoration, Cambodian Officials and the Indian Ambassador inaugurated the Ramayana Mural at Wat Raja Bo Pagoda (Buddhist Temple) in the Cambodian Capital Siem Reap. The pagoda, one of the oldest in Siem Reap, depicts the Ramayana which has cultural significance across the many Dharmic communities in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. In Cambodia, the epic of Rama and Sita is known as Reamker. The Reamker, like other regional Ramayanas, re-casts Valmiki’s original Sanskrit classic with different plots and twists to reflect aspects of the local culture and geography.
Environmental factors and human activities had led to deterioration of the murals prompting the Governments of India and Cambodia to collaborate on conserving this priceless work of art. The Indian Ambassador to Cambodia, Dr. Devyani Khobragade, highlighted the conservation effort to celebrate the shared heritage of the Ramayana for both nations. Due to the deep historic and spiritual ties between India and Cambodia, the Archaeological Survey of India has since 2003 been working on several collaborative projects to restore ancient Cambodian Hindu and Buddhist temples.
Pictured: a similar mural in Royal Palace, Phnom Penh (Marcin Konsek via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons Share Alike 4.0