Ram Leela
Many
thought that Ram Leelas played all over the country for centuries would bow out
after the advent of colour TVs and smartphones, streaming YouTube and TikTok
videos would. But such is the hold of the epic story that Ramayana is alive and
kicking and robustly present in the popular psyche. The epic has used TV as yet
another medium to reach a much larger audience. Ramayana TV serial, on its
first telecast in 1987 had 40 million viewership in India, bringing 23 crore
rupees of revenue for Doordarshan. The serial created a world record by
becoming the highest-watched TV show globally registering 77 million viewers
for one episode aired during the night slot on 16 April 2020 on DD National.
The deadly virus was lurking outside, the temples were closed, and everyone was
cloistered in their haven. A soothing show in those depressing times.
The
story of Ram is still enacted in countless villages, towns, and cities, by
local drama troupes. The popularity of Ramayana is not limited to India. Bali
stages Ram Leela for the tourists, who buy the expensive ticket to watch the
show; though Hanuman has transformed into a comic character in the process of
migration to a distant land and culture.
There
are 300 or more versions or interpretations of the Ramayana; several Sanskrit
versions – Valmiki Ramayana, Yoga Vasishtha Ramayana, Ananda Ramayana, Adbhuta
Ramayana; and vernacular versions in all major Indian languages of which Kamban
Ramayana in Tamil and Goswami Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas in Awadhi are the most well-known. Jagamohan Ramayana aka Dandi Ramayana by the 15th century poet Balarama Dasa is very popular in Odisha.
Ram Leela: 1960
In
Khuntpali, a small village in western Odisha, the village theater group staged
Ram Leela in winter, and Krishna Leela in summer. Both Leelas were equally
popular. The month-long Leela was carefully choreographed to present at least
one significant event, or an interesting episode each evening to hold
spectators’ interest. Everyone knew which episode would be played that evening,
and some even timed their arrival to sync with the climax.
This
evening, Lakshman would cut Surpanakha’s nose and ears. Surpanakha had to be
played by two actors. First, a slim, baby-faced actor had to appear as the
charming young lady to propose to Ram and Lakshman. After Lakshman cuts her
nose and ears, the rakshasi appears in her true shape, with a bleeding
nose and ears before Ravana demanding revenge. This latter role was played by a
fat, dark-complexioned, and far-from-good-looking person. To appear before
Ravana, she had to smear her face with red to signify bleeding wounds. The
theater group had no funds to buy props or materials, and it had been agreed
that each character would arrange the necessary stuff for his or her role.
Surpanakha requested his wife to lend her a little alta, the red liquid ladies
use to paint their hands and feet. She refused. Why do you have to show your
hideous face in Ram Leela? Now, everyone will taunt me as Surpanakha’s wife. If
not fit for any other role, why don’t you be at least Kumbhakarna, and fight a
heroic war? The husband pleaded more and she reluctantly agreed. She lent only
a little alta, much less than required, which Surpanakha had to dilute and
hastily smear on his nose and ears before appearing before Ravana. The alta had
been so much diluted that it didn’t at all look like blood. When she appeared
before Ravana, wailing loudly to report her insult and show her injury, the
spectators roared in laughter. Surpanakha had become a comic character.
Ram Leela at Behera
The
drama staged by the local club in Behera, a village not far from Khuntpali, had
nothing to do with Ram Leela except for the fact that the two lead characters
were named Ram and Lakshman.
The
story was of two brothers, Ram and Lakshman by name, devoted to each other like
the epic pair till their relationship soured after their marriage and the
arrival of their dear wives. The drama climaxed in a scene where Lakshman slapped
his once-revered elder brother. Upon being slapped, and slapped hard, by
Lakshman, Ram was stunned, as was the audience. Who’d have thought that the
playwright would so outrageously twist the epic story to get Ram slapped by the
most obedient Lakshman? Ram, slapped hard, lost his dialogue for a moment. He
stuttered when he spat out a freshly uprooted bleeding tooth onto his palm, and
said, ‘Look, dear brother! See what you’ve done.’
Now
it was Lakshman’s turn to be speechless. For he was sure the display of a
bleeding tooth, and Ram’s dialogue thereafter wasn’t part of the script, never
figured in the rehearsal, and certainly didn’t belong to the play. The velocity
of the slap had somewhat exceeded permissible theatrical limits and had done
some damage, though wholly unintended. The bleeding tooth brought in repentance
fast and quick even as the innocuous but dramatic slap was designed to do. The
wives were ‘treated’ suitably and swiftly; brotherly love and amity were
restored; and they lived happily ever after.
On
receiving the best actor award for ‘memorable’ acting, Lakshman hastily handed
over the trophy to Ram, modestly claiming that his ‘elder brother’ was the
rightful winner. The audience clapped in appreciation of this rare display of
brotherly love even after the ‘play’ was over. Who could have guessed that a
lost tooth was being compensated for with a modest trophy?
Ram Leela in fiction
This
Ram Leela happened in fiction, but it was probably a ‘drama in real life’ or
‘real life in a drama’ that the author had witnessed or heard of and had
incorporated into his novel. Kantakavi Laxmikanta Mohapatra’s famous ‘Kana
Mamu’ narrates about a hilarious Ram Leela.
In
a little village in Odisha, Ram Leela was being staged by the village theater
group. The Leela is held in summer evenings over a month or more, proceeding
from Ram’s exile to the forests, the dramatic episodes of a stone turning into
Ahalya, Sita’s abduction, Jatayu’s brave fight against Ravana, and ending with
Lava and Kusha singing Ramayana to who else but Ram himself, where the story
catches up with the lead character, no other than an incarnation of Vishnu?
In
this village, Ram Leela was proceeding as per schedule and was received well by
all and sundry. Unluckily, the boy playing Sita had a sudden bout of diarrhea
and was in no condition to appear on stage for a few evenings. Ram Leela
couldn’t be suspended just because one character was unwell. The Director asked
another baby-faced boy waiting in the wings to play Sita till the regular one
was cured of his present ailment.
This
new boy had never appeared on stage and therefore declined. Since there was no
other stand-by actor, the Director kind of coerced him to take up the role if
he were serious about any acting opportunity in the future. The boy agreed at
last, but on the condition that all ‘her’ dialogues would be prompted because
she could not be expected to memorize these at such short notice. The Director
assured him that he would himself do the prompting and coached Sita to stay
close to the backdrop screen behind which the Director would be seated on a
stool to read Sita’s dialogues. ‘Remember not to stray far into the front of
the stage. The hulla bulla from the audience will not enable you to hear
my prompt.’
Ram
Leela began as usual at the appointed hour. The audience broke into laughter to
see the new and nervous Sita with a rather hoarse voice, but everyone knew of
the regular Sita’s discomfiture, so they were indulgent with the new actor. It
is his first time, anyway, they condescendingly observed.
Ram
Leela was progressing well. Today, a reluctant Ram would go after the golden
deer at Sita’s insistence. Sita had spotted the golden deer, was besotted with
it, and so very wanted to keep it as a pet, to give her company when Ram and
Lakshman were out hunting during the day. She had already asked Ram to go after
the deer. Ram had looked here and there, had found no deer, golden or
otherwise, and had remarked that maybe Sita had seen an illusory deer.
Sita’s
next dialogue, to be prompted by the Director sitting behind the backdrop
screen, was, ‘Believe me, my Lord. I’ve seen a golden deer. Run and capture it
before it hides in the vastness of the forest.’ The Director had been prompting
Sita’s dialogues all evening, and his throat was parched. To an assistant
standing near him, he said, while still looking at the script to prompt Sita’s
next dialogue, ‘Hey, give me a bidi.’ On the stage, Sita promptly extended her
right palm before Ram and repeated the prompt, ‘Hey, give me a bidi.’ Ram was
flabbergasted, the audience roared into laughter, and the Director from behind
the screen rained a powerful blow on Sita’s torso upon which Sita roared,
‘Which s***a just hit me? Come onto the stage and wrestle with me, if you are
indeed your father’s son.’
Ram
Leela had to be suspended that evening and for a few more evenings till the
regular Sita returned to play her appointed role.
Ram Leela at home: 1992
The
festival season had commenced. Dussehra was here, but the festive spirit was a
little subdued owing to the recent communal riots in several parts of the
country including in Bhopal.
The
kids were small, the parks were closed, and it was the father’s job to mind the
kids while the mother cooked the evening meal.
Who
wants to listen to a story, asked the father. Both daughters, the elder one
five, and the younger one three, squealed in delight. They went to the drawing
room, taking with them the youngest one in his pram. He was one year old, but
he also seemed to enjoy a story.
He
told them about Hanumaan flying across the oceans to reach Lanka, and the big
war between Ram and Ravana. The daughters listened to the story with rapt
attention. The little one also clapped happily when Ram won the war and
everyone clapped.
Dinner
was not yet ready. Why don’t we play Ram Leela, he suggested? The girls had no
idea what Ram Leela was. He explained. It is like the Ramayan serial on TV.
Let’s do that here. We’ll play Sita’s abduction.
He
assigned the roles. The elder one will have a double role: first Ram, and then
Lakshman; the younger one will be Sita, and he Ravana. They will enact Ram
Leela for an audience of one, the little one in the pram. Mother was too busy
in the kitchen to join the frolic and fun in the drawing room.
He
gave details of the plot, and the little dialogues to be delivered by Ram, Lakshman,
and Sita. Sita had sighted a golden deer, and she begged Ram to run and capture
it for her to keep as a pet. Ram was hesitant but yielded to Sita’s persistent
pleas. He instructed Lakshman to keep guard and went away to capture the golden
deer. Soon, Sita and Lakshman could hear Ram’s distressed call for help. He was
in trouble and needed Lakshman to be by his side. Lakshman was reluctant to
leave Sita, but she insisted. He drew three lines in front of the hut and
strictly instructed Sita not to step out of these Lakshman Rekhas. Then, he
went away to help Ram.
Ravan
entered the scene in the guise of a sadhu and begged for alms. Sita, extended
her hand to give alms to the sadhu while staying behind the Lakshman Rekha. The
sadhu was greatly offended and threatened to curse Sita. ‘You must come out of
the hut and present the alms with due respect,’ he ordered. As soon as Sita
crossed the Lakshman Rekha, Ravana revealed his true form, grabbed Sita’s hand,
and broke into a hideous laugh.
The
little girl had played her role perfectly, as instructed, till this point. But
when Ravana grabbed her hand with some force, broke into a roaring laughter,
and said he would take her away to Lanka, she said tearfully, ‘Papa, I’m very
frightened.’
The
mother came to check why her little daughter was upset. Why are you terrorising her, she demanded to know. Ram Leela abruptly ended there before Ravana could
take Sita to Lanka!
***
Postscript
Comments on the Blog
N. Parthasarathi
I remember
an incident. Decades ago, an old Ramayan movie was screened in a Tent theatre
not far from Mysore.
The scene: Ram
has already left on his exile to the forest. Bharat, to be anointed as King of Koshala,
is summoned back from his maternal grandfather’s kingdom. The furious Bharat
curses Kaikeyi for her evil machinations and asks: Tell me where you have sent
my elder brother. I’ll go and bring him back.
Kaikeyi
remains silent.
Suddenly, an
upset spectator stands up among the audience and shouts at Kaikeyi,
"Arre,
bolre halka, Ram kidar gaya".
M.M. Upadhyay
भारतवर्ष में और दुनिया
में रामायण को अनेकों रूप में देखा ,समझा और पढ़ा जाता है। सभी कहानियां और
लेखो का सार तो एक ही है लेकिन अपने लिखने
के ढंग अलग-अलग हैं। रामायण उत्तर भारत में, दक्षिण भारत में ,बिहार राजस्थान और बैंकॉक, कंबोडिया ,मलाया, श्री लंका आदि आदि देश विदेश में अनेकों रूप में मंच पर प्रदर्शित की जाती
है।
जहां एक और साहित्यिक रूप
से व धार्मिक रूप से पूर्णतः परिष्कृत रामायण का मंचन होता है, वही शहरों और गांव की रामलीला में और मेलों में
गली-गली में रामलीला लोगों के आध्यात्मिक
ज्ञान के साथ-साथ मनोरंजन का भी बहुत बड़ा साधन बनती हैं। जिस तरह आपने उड़ीसा के
ग्रामीण परिवेश की रामलीलाओं का वर्णन किया है इस प्रकार की रामलीलाएं दिल्ली की
गलियों में और बस्तियों में रामनवमी दिवाली और उसके आसपास के धार्मिक त्योहारों के
मौसम में 1970 से पहले के दशकों
में व्यापक रूप से दिखलाई जाती थी। इनके कलाकार सब रामायण मंडली के सदस्य होते थे
जो टूरिंग थिएटर के रूप में एक जगह है दूसरी जगह जाते रहते थे। अलग-अलग मोहल्ले
वाले इनको आमंत्रित करते थे और यह रामायण के विभिन्न पात्रों पर आधारित संवादों से
लोगों का मनोरंजन तो करते ही थे साथ ही महत्वपूर्ण सांस्कृतिक संदेश भी देते रहते थे।
रामायण के इन मंचन में
अधिकांश हनुमान का पात्र विदूषक के रूप में समय-समय पर उछल कूद और कूदा फांनदी
करने के लिए प्रकट होते थे और अपने कुछ मनोरंजक स्वभाव से या डायलॉग से लोगों को
आनंदित करते थे। दिल्ली में गली-गली की रामलीला के अलावा बहुत व्यापक और बड़े पैमाने
पर रामलीला मैदान तथा दिल्ली क्लॉथ मिल की रामलीला होती थी। जिसके दर्शन लाखों में
होते थे । दिल्ली क्लॉथ मिल का ही नाम डी सी एम था और जो उत्तर भारत के बहुत बड़े
व्यापारी संगठन लाला भरत राम और लाला चरत राम के नाम से संचालित होते थे।
समय के साथ यह पारंपरिक
रामलीला विलुप्त हो गई है और अब नई रामलीला टेलीविजन पर अपने विभिन्न प्रकार के
रूपों को प्रदर्शित करती है। 70 से पहले के
दिल्ली के दशक में मनोरंजन के साधन सीमित थे और गली-गली कि रामायण लोगों के दिन भर
की भागम भाग के बाद फुर्सत के क्षण में कुछ आनंद और ज्ञानवर्धक बातें सामान्य रूप
में बता जाते थे।
रामायण मंडली उस दृष्टि
से भारतवर्ष में अपना एक विशिष्ट स्थान रखती है और अभी भी मध्य प्रदेश के ग्रामीण
अंचलों में बड़े पैमाने पर विद्यमान है।
यह भी एक विचित्र सहयोग
ही कहिए की डीसीएम की रामलीला के दोनों प्रमुख मलिक लाला भरत राम और लाला चरत राम
दोनों के नाम में राम समाहित है।
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