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Nepal's legendary king comes to Thai king's aid (FEATURE)
By Sudeshna Sarkar, Indo-Asian News Service

Kathmandu, Jan 2 (IANS) A legendary Nepali king, who plays a prominent role in an Asian epic as well as Buddhist scriptures, is now set to play a key role in Thailand as well.
  

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The Ramayana mentions King Janak as the saintly farmer king of Janakpur, who while tilling the field came across a baby girl lying in the soil, brought her home and reared her as his own daughter.

The baby grew up to be the beautiful Sita, the heroine of the Ramayana, who was wedded to Ram, an incarnation of Vishnu, one of the Hindu trinity, and was then abducted by Ravan, the king of the rakshasas, triggering an epic war for her rescue.

While Sita is regarded by Hindus as the ideal woman, her father is regarded as an ideal king in Buddhist scriptures like the Tripitaka, the sacred texts of Theravada Buddhism.

The story of King Janak touched a chord in the heart of Thailand's venerated King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who is also known as Rama IX of the Chakri dynasty.

King Bhumibol wrote a book, "The Mahajanaka: The Story of King Janak of Ancient Mithila", that was translated into Nepali and English and distributed free in Nepal in 2003 to cement the ties between Nepal and Thailand.

And now, the book has inspired a documentary by students of the journalism department of Thammsat University in Bangkok.

The team travelled to Nepal in December to shoot a 90-minute documentary, "Journey to Janakpur," that is planned for release in all Thai theatres on Dec 5 this year when the king turns 79.

"King Bhumibol is revered and loved by his subjects, especially because of the development work he has undertaken for his people with his own money," says Luna Shrestha, Nepal coordinator for the project. 

"The money raised from the screenings will be offered to the king as a gift."

Janakpur in Nepal's southeastern Dhanusha district is regarded as the place King Janak built his kingdom with Mithila as its capital. Janakpur is famous for its Mithila painting, done by the women, resembling the Madhubani genre of neighbouring Bihar.

Besides Janakpur, the documentary was also shot in Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, Bhaktapur and Patan, famous for their architecture, Pokhara and capital city Kathmandu.

It captures traditional festivals like the wedding of Ram and Sita in Janakpur, traditional art forms like the Mithila paintings, and places of tourist interest, especially Buddhist shrines.

The Thai team also plans to show the documentary around the same time in Nepal. And the money raised from that screening would be spent on the development of Janakpur.