CULTURE

IT Is noT a sURpRIsE ThaT ThE RELIgIoUs CapITaL of IndIa, VaRanasI, hosTs onE of ThE fInEsT RamLEELas In ThE CoUnTRy. ThE CEnTURIEs oLd TRadITIon has

maInTaInEd ITs posITIon among pEopLE EVEn wITh modERn dIsTRaCTIons sUCh as TELEVIsIon and CInEma.

By Shweta Keshri

RamleelaPersonifying Divinities

61INDIA & YOU november-december

Ram Ram!” greet peopleamidst hymns, prayers and morning dips in the ganges. The priestsinstruct devotees on the ritualsto be performed under the shade of flat-topped leaf umbrellas. Visitors stroll along the ghats (series of steps leading down to a body of water) absorbed in the beauty of the events, occasionally capturing in their cameras, or

engage in negotiating with the boatmen over fair prices. The congested lanes serve the much known breakfast, kachauri-sabzi-jalebi, most often packed with the temple goers. such is a typical daybreak in Varanasi.

Located in the northern state of Uttar pradesh, Kashi, Varanasi or Banaras most recently also gained fame as modi’s Constituency when the current prime minister, narendra modi, contested the elections in 2014 from here. The city, however, needs no reference. mark Twain, the well-known Indophile, once said “Banaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together”. Referred to as one of the most ancient cities in the world, Varanasi is known for its ghats, paan (betel leaf), lanes, embroidered silk and the slow paced life of people.It also boasts of its continuing traditions. Customs define the everyday life of people in the city. among many of its traditions, the enactment of hindu mythological epic Ramayana, Ramleela, has incessantly enticed people for years.

Ramleela of Varanasi“I have never missed Ramleela at Ramnagar even once since

my childhood. Just yesterday I was there to see the ceremonial enthronement of Ram. It was a splendid sight. I even row visitors to watch it during this season”, says Chhedi Lal, a boatman, with pride. Ramleela celebration forms an integral part of the cultural life of the hindi-speaking belt of India. It is believed that the great saint and poet Tulsidas started the tradition of Ramleela, the enactment of the story of Lord Ram, in the 16th century. The oldest Ramleela in the world, more than 450-year-old Chitrakoot Ramleela, also stems from Banaras. Ramcharitmanas, written by Tulsidas on the ghats of Varanasi, forms the basis of Ramleela performances till today. The core of Ramcharitmanas is a poetic retelling of the events of the sanskrit epic Ramayana, centered around Lord Ram, in awadhi language. Ramleela is a month long event that falls in the months of september or october, depending on the hindu calendar.

The tradition of Ramleela in Ramnagar, a township under Varanasi district where the royal descendants of the narayan dynasty reside, began in 1830 with the initiative of the reigning king, maharaja Udit narayan singh. It rose in popularity during the reign of his successor maharajIsvari prasad singh, and received continued patronage from the subsequent kings of the Royal house of Benares to create a participatory environmental or site-specific theatre on a grand scale, where attendance ranges from few thousands to 100,000. Even

“ though the princely state of Banaras merged with the state of Uttar pradesh post-independence, the tradition of the Ramleela continues. The festival is sponsored by the royal lineage and partially runs on the grant provided by the government. Even today the royal descendant, Kunwar anant narayan singh, customarily attends the 31 day Ramleela seated on elephant. The people of Varanasi, who still revere the royal family, feel graced to be in his company during the festival. hundreds of sadhus (sages), called Ramayanis, come to Ramnagar to watch and recite the epic. permanent structures are built and spaces designated to represent the significant locales of the story, i.e., Ashok Vatika, Janakpuri, panchvati, Lanka etc. transforming the whole township into a vast Ramlila ground. The audience move along with the performers with every episode as they change their locations. The moving theatre even enters the city of Varanasi for the episodic Bharat milap, that depicts the reunion of the two brothers Ram and Bharat from Ramayana. The city gets overwhelmingly packed with people who leave their homes and works to get a glimpse of both, the enactment and the royal family. To maintain the austere character of the Ramleela, electric lights, mikes and loudspeakers are not used, though the average audience is rarely less than 10,000. In 2008, UnEsCo, realising its value and potential, brought it to world’s notice by recognising it as Intangible Cultural heritage of humanity. while the Ramleela of Ramnagar is highly valued, the management slowly appears to be succumbing to corruption, misunderstanding this years old heritage for a personal asset. There is a need to comprehend its value than instrumenting it to fulfil personal needs and desires. The tradition, however, essentially continues to enchant a passerby as well as devoted visitors every year because of its legacy.

In the neighbourhoodsIn contrast to the scale and glamour of Ramnagar, Ramleela

performed in over 150 neighbourhoods of Varanasi has withstood in its simplicity. “It is the devotion of people towards Lord Ram that brings people to the crammed spaces year after year. The emotion goes beyond the experience of watching a film or theatrical performance. It is not for sheer entertainment that it can be watched only once, it is more about religion and identity”, says Bachche Lal mishra who has been associated with this performing art for 55 years and has been a part of various other theatres at numerous places in India.while the enormity of space bars people from hearing the dialogues in Ramnagar, the small places chosen in the neighbourhoods allow the viewers to enjoy Ramleela more closely. The Ramleela here as well is not static and moves as per the change in place in the scripture. These places hold special value during the one month long festival. They are illustrious of the place in Ramayana itself and the children who play svarups (human representing divine figures) - Ram, Sita, Lakshman, Bharat and shatrughan - are treated as and believed to

Children at neighbourhoods come to see Ramleela every year

be literal embodiments of god during the performance.“Ramleela is different from theatre in terms of its dedication and characterisation of Ram. It is more to do with the respect and prayers and religion that is inherent to the people of Varanasi”, elaborates mishra. with the combination of the place and svarups, Ramleela becomes the ideal body of worship for people. for instance, during the enactment of the part where Ram, Lakshman and sita go on exile for 14 years, the path taken is considered as the forest and people touch feet of the svarups like they were real gods and offer prasad (an offering made to god, typically food that is later shared among devotees).

Ramleela at the neighbourhoods begins late at night and continues until the weehours of daybreak. Local committees, that have been existent for years, are responsible for organising it. as the tradition has been going on for years, the places of enactment for different plots have been fixed by different committees. people of the locality come to watch the performance in huge numbers or view it from the comforts of their windows, balconies or verandas all through the night. The Ramayanis, sit in a group opposite the stage to chant from Ramcharitmanas before the enactment of the same scene. Unlike Ramnagar, use of modern amenities such as microphones and loudspeakers are very frequent in the neighbourhoods. Vyas, whose role is similar to that of a director, opens the

act. Every group has its own Vyas who is also responsible to prompt the script to actors from behind.

The five main characters – Ram, Sita, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrugan – are always played by young Brahmin boys between the ages of eight and 14. “gods are best represented by children because their hearts are pure”, says mishra. as the performance goes on until late at night, the female parts are also played by boys.“as god’s doors are open for both good and the evil, it is hard to know or control the intention of people”, explains mishra about why girls don’t play any part in Ramleela. what deciphers the Ramleela at Varanasi from others is the distinct make-up of the characters. The faces of the principal actors are decorated with sequins, pasted with homemade glue. Bhawandas, the make-up artist, who has been transforming boys into divinities for 50 years now, states there has been no alteration in this regard. The use of thick kohl to highlight and elaborate eyes, red paint or lipstick on cheeks, the unreformed costumes and the headgear define the look of the actors. “with the crown on their heads, the actors transform from being boys to incarnation of gods themselves”, says mishra who likes playing the character of hanuman because of his wisdom and dedication towards Lord Ram. Ramleela, like other traditions, is not left unobstructed with the changing times. The introduction of modern tools such as bulbs, microphones and

loudspeakers has affected its austerity. more concerning is the weakening in the quality of actors. “over years it has changed in terms of acting and dedication. actors now are not chosen properly and do not understand a lot of scripture”, says mishra, disturbed about the deteriorated performance. he also blames the degeneration of language as a major cause for this. “however, Ramleela still remains to be the highlight of the month during the festival despite modern attractions such as television and films”, says Mishra with pride.

In spotlightshree Ramleela Committee Kashipura,

among over 150 committees, has continued to captivate people with the depiction of life of Lord Ram for years. The members of the committee, who are engaged with their respective works all year round, come together to organise Ramleela for their locality. They are responsible for the selection of actors who continue to be associated with them for years or change in case of requirement, Ramayanis, Vyas, logistics and funds collected from the community. The members of this committee predominantly come from the Kasera families, involved in utensil business. 19 year old Jeetu pandey who has played Ram for 5 years; 14 year old aditya pandey who has played the role of sita for two years now; and 19 year old saurabh pandey who has continued playing Lakshman for the last 6 years – were all trained by BachcheLal mishra who holds 55 years of experience and has played all roles in this span. while Jeetu, who played sita for 2 years before being chosen as Ram, has come out of the exhilaration of playing the central character, saurabh dreams of becoming an actor and moving to a big city. The group is set to revive the actors in the coming year who would be once again trained by the senior performers. n

62 november-december INDIA & YOU

With the crown on their heads, the actors transform from being boys to incarnation of Gods themselves