Source: The Boston Globe

On April 8, 2000, The Boston Globe reported that Wednesday, April 12th is Rama Navami, a Hindu holiday honoring the birth of the Hindu deity Rama, who is revered as a "paragon of moral virtue." Arvind Sharma, professor of comparative religion at McGill University, stated: "Rama has become very important in the modern Hindu imagination...He is very upright and martial, and he symbolizes the persistence of the Hindu hope for some kind of restoration of his power." The central event of the celebration of Rama Navami is the recitation of the Ramayana, which is an epic narrative depicting the life of Rama.