New Delhi, Oct 10 (PTI) The 'girmitiyas' -- indentured labourers who were taken to Mauritius and other foreign lands to work on plantations, took the Ramayana with them in their "hearts and memories" to stay connected to their roots, a few speakers at a global seminar said on Monday.

The seminar, titled 'The Influence of Ram Katha on the Masses', was held at the Vigyan Bhawan here.

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Mauritius-based Anju Ghurburrun in her address said, "Ram resided in 'kanth' (voice) of the girmitiyas, as carrying any book was not allowed on ships. They took Ramayana in spirit with them in their hearts and memories."

"When they reached Mauritius or other places, they would sit around trees and sing together, and thus passed on the epic of Ramayana orally to others," she said.

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Ghurburrun said she got married into a family whose ancestors had migrated to Mauritius in the 19th century.

Kalpana Laljee, a Mauritius-based poet, echoed Ghurburrun.

"People who were taken away as indentured labourers took 'Ram ka naam' with them," she said.

Laljee is also married into a family whose ancestors had migrated to Mauritius in the 19th century.

The event was hosted by Literary Cultural Research Institute, Mumbai, along with Shiv Shakti Yog Peeth, Naugachia, Bihar, under the guidance of Swami Agmanand ji Maharaj, the organisers said in a statement.

The second chapter of the 'Encyclopedia of the Ramayana' -- titled 'Bhajan Kirtan main Shri Ram' -- was released on the occasion, it said.

The 'Encyclopedia of the Ramayana' comprises 55 chapters and the first chapter was released on November 30 last year at the Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi, the statement said.

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