The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today released the digital version of Ramcharitmanas, as a set of digital CDs produced by All India Radio.
Praising the efforts of the artistes who had contributed to this musical production, the Prime Minister said they had performed not just sangeet sadhna, but also sanskriti sadhna and sanskaar sadhna (devotion not just to music, but also to culture and tradition).
The Prime Minister described the Ramcharitmanas as a great epic which contained the "essence of India." He mentioned how the Indians who had travelled to various parts of the world, such as Mauritius, kept alive their link with India over successive generations, through the Ramcharitmanas.
The Prime Minister appreciated the role played by All India Radio – Akashvani – in uniting the people and spreading awareness and information in India. He said that he has been informed that All India Radio has approximately 9 lakh hours of audio recordings of various artistes from across the country. He said this was a priceless collection, which should be documented in detail for posterity.
The Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shri Arun Jaitley, and the Chairman Prasar Bharati Board Shri Suryaprakash were present on the occasion.