The Ramlila Times: An epic retold, a tradition renewed

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Ramlilas are being staged across Tricity after putting in lot of hard work and dedication devoted to this original form of live entertainment

Chandigarh: That time of the year, when the voices from the Ramlila, being enacted around the corner of our houses, crawl into bed with us, slicing through the silence of the night.  Nondescript tents and stages mushroom up in different parts of the city. Glittering strings of light mark the entrance to the Ramlila being staged every night, narrating and recreating the Ramayan over a period of 10 days. Ramlila artists, most of them veterans in the field by now can be seen slipping into their bright and shiny costumes sporting larger than life blingy tiaras, vests and dhoti’s.

Their faces caked up with layers of greasepaint, turning them into various characters from the Ramayan. Rehearsals for the night show start in the afternoon itself and the acts get perfected over endless cups of milky, cardamom-flavoured tea and crisp samosas. The good old Ramlila is a traditional form of live theatre and is an  intrinsic part of our socio-cultural fabric. The Ramlila’s too have come a long way from being staged on rickety stages to now being presented on a much-grander scale, progressing to high-tech sound and light show Ramlila’s in vogue now. Of course, with changing times Ramlila’s had to evolve themselves to attract in the present day generation . 

Crowds start trickling in and swell up eventually as the night progresses, and it is a houseful especially when it is a holiday the next day, when it becomes difficult to find a seat to sit and watch the Ramlila. Outside the Ramlila venues, warm peanuts being roasted over simmering coal and ice-cream sellers on the last leg of their lots for the season, throng the venue  along with the humble toy sellers who sell wooden and plastic toys wrapped in glossy paper in a bid to attract children into buying a talwar, gada or a teer-kaman (traditional curved sword, mace, arrow and bow) inspired from the characters of the Ramayan. 

The earliest known and oldest tradition of Ramlila is traced back to Chitrakoot (Varanasi region), where it is believed to have been started approximately 470-477 years ago by the 16th-century poet Tulsidas and his student Megha Bhagat. The Ramlila was also proclaimed a masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2005.

But this vintage form of entertainment which is highly educational as well, needs our patronage to thrive in the present times when the expenses of organising Ramlila’s are much more than what these Ramlila’s earn back via donations or mere appreciation. For me visiting the Ramlila has been a must for the last 25 years and now my two sons also accompany me to watch this visual spectacle. Please go and watch the humble Ramlila, which is being staged round  the bend of your house, to encourage the humble artists who work very hard and rehearse for long hours, after their day’s work is over in their respective offices, to enact their parts and if possible contribute your bit to the Ramlila committee because they need funds to continue entertaining us all, with this beautiful and enriching form of live entertainment, before this art form eventually fizzles out for lack of patronage.

A proud legacy of our country and culture. Let us offer patronage to this golden art form of original live entertainment and cheer up loud for these Ramlila actors from the city. It means the world to them. Treasure these gems which dot the landscape of our city for a good 10 days. Six more days to go before this year’s Ramlila’s come to an end with the Dussehra on October 20. Go watch the Ramlila being staged near you and do contribute your bit to these committees, to keep the fervour and the enthusiasm of the Ramlila artistes up and about.