Sacred Stories, Sacred Lands: Ramayana Through the Eyes of Nature

Port Washington, NY — Stepping into the paadukas of Rama, right here—in our home of Long Island, we began our journey. Along a scenic route through Port Washington, we explored the native flora, while envisioning Rama on his journey to reunite with Sita. At each key point through the hike, we were blessed with knowledge from our very own Mr. Raju Rajan, founder of ReWild Long Island. He interwove the importance of native plants, land and people with the incredible story of the Ramayana.

On October 27, 2024, over 80 youth & adults joined us for our Ayodhya to Lanka Hike and identified plants using phone apps like iNaturalist or Google Lens. On our hike, we rekindled passion for ancient Indian epics like the Ramayana while educating people about the importance of preserving nature through sustainable and ecologically friendly practices. Our youth GVLP volunteers prompted participants to make simple commitments, an Eco-Pledge, to promote these practices. We urge you, the reader, to also make an Eco-Pledge. More information is available on this slideshow.

During key points of the hike, Mr. Raju Rajan, the founder of ReWild Long Island, shared his knowledge about native plants and the Ramayana. He captivated us with relevant ecological anecdotes from the ancient epic and how it relates to the ReWilding initiative. He connected the importance of native knowledge, people and ecosystems to living in the forests of the Ramayana. This enabled Rama to survive successfully in the dense forests. He explained that Hanuman, a native forest dweller of the Vanara race, played a key role in saving Lakshmana's life because of his knowledge about the forest and where to find the herb needed to cure him. His storytelling, profound rewilding knowledge and passion were imprinted on us all. We deeply appreciate him joining us!

Alongside educating people about the importance of preserving the natural ecosystem and the rich story of the Ramayana, our hike raised $650 for ReWild Long Island! This event was a massive success thanks to the amount of support that we got. I helped organize this hike with my mentors Ms. Rathi Raja and Ms. Madhu Allu from the Gita Vicara Leadership Program (GVLP) and the knowledge from Mr. Raju Rajan and ReWild Long Island.

Click here for more info about the hike

Testimonials from Participants

Dev Chugh: “We wanted to share our fantastic Saturday experience on the Ramayana-Rewild walk with the kids. It was wonderful spending quality time together, surrounded by nature's beauty! Lots of great memories made and great to meet everyone”

Vinitha Shetty: "What a holistic, fantastic experience for all the senses!!!!

Many thanks to Raju, Rathi, Madhu, Smitha, the kids and everyone in the Ramayana/LI Rewild team for making it happen! Looking forward to the Earth Day event🪴🌳🌱"

Sonia Mohan: "Thank you Re-wild community, Rathi, Madhu and Raju for this wonderful experience. We learned a lot about plants! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us 🙏🏼"

Chitra Venkatramani: "Thanks Adhvaith, Rathi, Raju and the whole crew for an enlightening walk this morning! A whole new perspective on Ramayana+ecology!"

Sujini Govindarajan: "Thank you@⁨Raju Rajan Rewild port Washington⁩ I learned a lot today about native plants , invasive plants and what to think about when we think ecology. It’s was nice to hang out to YICG community and thank you Rathi for your (re)wild idea and getting our youth leaders to take charge"

Kalpana Bhandarkar: "Loved the hike, the tie-ins with environmentalism, native communities, Seva and the Ramayana. Thanks all for organizing and bringing us together"

About the author: Adhvaith Sreenivas is a Junior at Locust Valley High School. He is passionate about languages, Tamil culture, and now about ReWilding!