Introduction

Ramlila is considered as a dance form having spiritual connectivity; thus a performance of Ramlila creates a festive atmosphere with peaceful waves. Ramlila is generally performed during the festival Dussehra in Uttar Pradesh.

Ramlila is celebrated for ten days that ends on Dussehra festival, which falls on the tenth day of the bright half of Ashvin month coming in September-October. This festival is celebrated for the victory of goodness represented by Lord Rama over Ravana representing evil forces. At the time of the performance of the Ramlila, the Ramayana is constantly recited with its verses accompanied by dance and pleasant music.

It is an amazing mixture of dance, music, mime, Abhinaya and poetry that is represented in front of enthusiastic and religious audiences. The original art form of Ramlila was unique but with the time, many local variations of Ramlila are added in different parts of the Indian state. These changes are seen primarily with changes in terms of dialogues and music of dance. This art form is performed almost in all villages during the Dussehra festival. Ramlila performance, apart from being rich in the dancing steps is also rich in its costumes, jewellery, masks, headgear, make-up and decoration.

History of Ramlila

History of Ramlila paints the origin of the dramatic folk art form of Ramlila in India, which dates back to the era when the `Ramacharitamanas` was composed, in 1625 A.D. According to the opinions of historians, the oldest Ramlila performances were organized by Megha Bhagat, a disciple of Tulsidas, author of Ramacharitamanas. However, Ramlila is believed to have been born in the country between 1200 and 1500 A.D. Akbar, a Mughal Emperor, is said to have been a spectator of a live Ramlila show during his rule. The Indian saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is believed to have been greatly influenced while he was enacting the role of the character of Hanuman at a certain Ramlila play in Puri. This statement has been put forward in the hagiography of Chaitanya, penned by Krishna Das Kaviraj.

Therefore, it is indicated that Ramlila had arrived in the nation much before Ramacharitamanas by created. Prior to the composition of Ramacharitamanas in the Avadhi language by Tulsidas, Ramlila would be enacted onstage only by means by the Sanskrit language, which was essentially a language used by the elite class of the society. During that time, Sanskrit was employed mainly by Brahmins and therefore the common masses were unable to enjoy Ramlila performances based in this language. Contrary to this, the Ramlila shows conducted in Avadhi language were quite popular amongst ordinary people.

Ramnagar in Varanasi was the place where one of the earliest performances of Ramlila was exhibited during 1830 ca. These plays were arranged by Maharaja Udit Narayan Singh, Kashi Naresh. Gradually, Ramlila started receiving admiration during the reign of Maharaj Isvari Prasad Singh and thrived under the continuous patronage of all the rulers of Royal House of Benares. A giant environment theater was established by the support of these kings, which were equipped with a capacity of holding 1, 00, 000 people. These performances were conducted for a period of 31 days in the region of Ramnagar.

As per the records of certain legendary tales, the village of Chota Mirzapur was the first village in Varanasi where Ramlila was displayed. The Ramlila at Ramnagar is held for a time span of 31 days as opposed to the normal duration of 10 days. The sets used are quite luxurious, armed with marvellous props, brilliant dialogues and a visual thrill. Some set structures are permanent, while several set structures are temporary, which facilitate the representation of various locations like Ashok Vatika, Janakpuri, Panchavati and Lanka. During the enactment of Ramlila performances, the place of the performance is thronged by numerous spectators. Open-air sets are constructed. The different characters of the Hindu epic of Ramayana are portrayed by the `Svarupas`, who are chosen from the local actors. Ramlila is displayed with great gaiety and several `Sadhus` or `Ramayanis` attend the event. When the enactment comes to a conclusion, the actors and the audience chant `Bolo, Raja Ramchandra ki Jai` or `Har Har Mahadev` in unison.

Styles of Ramlila

Currently, various styles of Ramlila have evolved and are practised in unique ways throughout Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Tebleaux pageants or `Jhankis` are also exhibited in some regions, which represent the pantomime style. A 2008 UNESCO report has declared that Ramlilas of the areas of Satna, Ramnagar, Vrindavan, Ayodhya, Almora and Madhubani are quite renowned. Uday Shankar had developed a musical rendition of the `katha` in the Almora or Kumaon style, which was developed further by Brijendra Lal Sah and Mohan Upreti. Certain couplets of Ramacharitamanas are sung in chorus, apart from reciting them aloud. This is known as the `opera style` of presenting Ramlila. Professional troupes known as `Mandalis` perform the acts of Ramlila.

Several Ramlila plays are staged in regional dialects or even in the `Khadi Boli` dialect. At times, the element of humour is also injected into these plays. Chitrakoot is the place which is quite reputable for its staging of Ramlila during the last week of February, particularly on the day of Shivaratri. Agra`s `Ram Barat` is yet another exciting representation of Ramlila. Ramlilas are also conducted in various regions of the city of Delhi, especially in the premises of the Ramlila Grounds, which is located near the Red Fort.

Format of Ramlila

Amateur actors enact the roles of Svarupas in Ramlila in open-air theatres during the night. A priest recites the verses from Ramayana during transformation of scenes, which adds to the dramatic thrill. Such narratives are based on Gosvami Tulsidas` version of the epic of Ramayana. Musicians and `Dhol` drummers also participate in this Ramlila.

Language Used in Ramlila

Language used in Ramlila of Bhimtal is typical and peculiar in its own way. Linguistic stratification is a phenomenon well known to audience of Sanskrit theatre; there is linguistic stratification in the Ramlila as well, but instead of interpreting this linguistic pluralism hierarchically, the author would prefer distinguishing between degrees of familiarity and strangeness, of closeness and distance to the respective linguistic environment, as they are manifested (1) in the text itself, (2) in its presentation by the actors, and (3) in its perception by the audience.

Having in mind the local linguistic situation and the fact that in a mountainous region like Kumaun Division the rate of illiteracy is bound to be higher than the average two thirds of the population, one cannot but wonder how, with the Ramcharitmanas serving as the textual basis, can function as a theatrical medium in a Ramlila presentation in a place like Bhimtal, i.e. more precisely, how it is rendered by local actors, communicated to and perceived by a local audience.

In order to comprehend the aesthetic functioning of the Ramlila, it is first of all important to realize that practically every Indian, whether Hindu or not, is familiar, from his very infancy, with the charit, the life and deeds of Lord Rama; he is fortunate enough to grow up and old with an operative mythology, i.e. a reservoir of mental images arranged in stories known throughout his society in which he, in his role as both producer and recipient of art, has the advantage over his Western counterpart. Thus as a rule, the aesthetic, and for that matter, religious pleasure (Ananda) the Indian spectator takes in a Ramlila performance is not evoked by unexpectedness and surprise, but on the contrary, the artistic fulfilment of his expectations by his on stage performance.

Since in the Ramlila, Tulsidas` Old Avadhi is used for telling a well-known tale once again, much of its informative function is temporarily suspended, and along with it its ordinary, everyday semantics. Instead, it is rendered and perceived as language beyond rational understanding, as zaum, a term introduced by early 20th century Russian criticism in order to designate language produced with a poetic purpose on the base of, and deviating from, ordinary Russian; in the present context, we propose to speak of zaum in the sense of language not, or no longer, understood rationally but accepted and appreciated for its very difference from everyday language, as art at a distance from non-art. Thus, Tulsi`s language serves as an artistic instrument in a Ramlila performance to build up an atmosphere of sacredness-an effect reinforced by an inclination still prevalent in India, perhaps more than anywhere else, to be impressed by the sacredness of shabda, authentic word-sound, as opposed to and sometimes even divorced from artha, word-sense.

It can be safely assumed that the Ramcharitmanas passages, many of them sung, are received as oral tradition by an audience composed of a majority of illiterates; what is more important here is that enunciating the words of Tulsidas, as well as listening to them, evokes a feeling of elevation among the participants, a conviction that every member of the Ramlila community at least once every year partakes in the dignity of tradition. At Bhimtal, like anywhere else in India, the Ramlila is exceptional in the sense that it constitutes a jointly organized attempt to break away from the dreariness of everyday routine; this exceptionality is reflected in the `otherness` of the language used on this occasion.

In Indian culture, the Nataka has traditionally been seen as much closer to music and dance than to verbal art. Quite naturally therefore, and in accordance with pure, ancient faith the pundit starts with a reference to the musical knowledge of the Aryan race, the crowning achievement of which is the classical Sanskrit drama.

Ramlila of Bhimtal

Ramlila of Bhimtal demonstrates the importance and significance of the folk theatre of north India. Ramila at Bhimtal, a village area around the Bhim Lake in the mountainous north of the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh, is a popular destination for the traditional folk theatre of India. Bhimtal is located in the Kumaun division, an administrative unit in which the linguistic situation, which is of particular interest in the present context, is characterized by widespread bilingual characteristics.

Ramlila at Bhimtal, and festivals organized at many other places as a joint community effort, owes most of its tremendous popularity throughout Northern India. Apart from the northern part of India the popularity reaches far beyond and is often exclusive, textual base like the Ramcharitmanas written by Tulsidas - an epic begun in the year 1574 and composed in Old Avadhi, the language once spoken around Ayodhya, the legendary birthplace of Lord Rama, in the former province of Awadh.

The Bhimtal Ramlila is a representative of the dramatized and sung variety, a theatrical form which is bound to remind the Western listener of European Nummernoper (such as The Magic Flute), with its rather indifferent prose dialogues meant to urge along the plot and making one feel the impatience of all the participants to hear it blossom out into the next aria. However, at fairly regular intervals the Bhimtal presentation of the Ramlila is articulated by a so-called Jhanki (tableau vivant) accompanied by community singing, obviously a traditional element, which, along with the occasional imposition of a Jaykar (cheer) for one of the heroes, serves the subsidiary purpose of disciplining the audience back to attention. Another traditional element is the Julus (procession), which around the Bhim Lake, quite naturally becomes an aqueous affair: a fleet of rowing boats is led from the upper to the lower end of the lake by the boat occupied by Lord Rama and his company, who on arriving at their destination, join in a perfect staging of their meeting with Bharata, one of the brothers of Lord Rama. In this manner, the natural environment helps to build up one of the climaxes of the play.

Watching the Ramlila is open to all; acting in it is reserved to members of the Brahman (priest) and Thakur (warrior) castes; being chosen for a swarup, i.e. an impersonation of Lord Rama and his three brothers or, of course, his wife Sita, is the prerogative of Brahman boys as yet unaffected by puberty, who are then considered more than mere actors on the stage: during the eleven days` performance, and most probably quite some time before and after it, they are supposed to live their parts twenty-four hours a day. Females, as a rule, are not allowed on the stage; however, in the 1979 production, quite sensationally, a solitary girl played the part of Sita`s sakhi (girl companion).