The Ramlila - literally Rama's play, as in 'game' not drama, is nevertheless India's most famous theatrical experience. Historically it would not seem to be over 500 years at the most, but like all things historical in India that is vague too.The only equivalent would be the famous passion play at Baeder-Meinhoff, with the difference that during the Ramilia period there are many thousands of these productions being staged all over India and all of them being ad majorem gloriam Dei. The Ramilia is also unique amongst India's many many festivals in that, the people are more spectators than participants in what they define as a spiritual experience above all.

The Ramlila also involves almost as many people in its ambit as the Big Two festivals so beloved of the photographic community - Holi and Diwali. It is of course predominantly a Hindi speaking audience that it appeals to, but that runs into many hundreds of millions in India and they have scattered all over the country making it a truly pan-Indian festival. The Ramlila is the run-up to the grand climax of a harvest festival called Dussera. Ostensibly to celebrate the return of the God-King Rama from exile, it is really an even older thanksgiving festival that includes Diwali, the festival of lamps as its culmination. The Ramlila ends on Vijaya Dashami - the day of victory when Rama defeats the Demon King Ravana.

Which is a good point to get into the story of the plays. The story of Rama is part of the cultural unconscious of India and there are at least 32 different versions of it extant. Nobody goes to a Ramlila to see a new play, the action proceeds on well-understood grooves of tradition. Rather people go to view the Ramlila in an act of sympathetic magic, by witnessing the trials and tribulations of the god-hero, they too emerge purged of the baser emotions and confident of rising above the trials of fate.

The core skeleton-story is simple. Rama is the avatar of Vishnu, born to King Dasaratha of Ayodhya. He proves his perfect nature at an early age and is a public favourite to succeed the king to the throne at an early age. By sixteen he has performed many supernatural acts of valour and he has also married the most beautiful woman in the world, Sita. When the time for his coronation is near, one of his father's other wives begins to get worried that he may prove less than filial to her son, a legitimate worry actually given the nature of the times. She invokes a long forgotten boon granted her by Dasaratha, and forces the old king to banish his eldest son to the forest for 14 years while the throne would go to her son, Bharata. Rama leaves cheerfully, he hated the joyless business of administration anyway, accompanied by his wife and half -brother, Lakshmana.

Back at Ayodhya, the father dies of a broken heart and Bharata refuses to accept a throne that was gained by deceiving an elder brother he worshipped as a god. Rama however refuses to come back, the word and decision of a king cannot be seen to be altered so lightly, it would cause a total lack of faith to percolate amongst the people. Bharata rules as regent for Rama, who lives the usual hero life in the forest, killing off demons and making friends with the forest dwellers. One of these exploits however turns nasty as his brother Lakshaman drives off a too-impetuous demoness who got the hots for Rama. (Sorry about the phrasing... but that is literally what was happening, as can be seen in both the Valmiki and Kamban versions). She carries her wounds and inflammatory tales to the demon king Ravana, her brother. Ravana is a superman of sorts, a supreme scholar and warrior, who has routed the very gods themselves and has no serious rival in all the planes of existence. It was to kill this magnificent personification of evil that Rama took his avatar. Ravana's fatal flaw comes to fore, he can never resist behaving like a bandit when he hears of a beautiful woman anywhere.

He kidnaps Sita when the men are away, and is amazed that this woman will not fall into his arms like all the others. He is completely fascinated by that and realizes that forcing her to his whim is a defeat. He gives her a time-limited choice - either she marries him or he eats her! Rama makes friends with the monkey-king Sugriva and gains as his personal assistant the most lovable character in all Hindu mythology, the great Hanuman. Immortal, strong as the wind, wiser than the wisest and yet always an impish monkey at heart, Hanuman leads a search for Sita and they come back with news of her location. Rama builds a bridge across the ocean to Ravana's island stronghold Lanka and attacks.Blinded by lust and secure in his apparent invulnerability Ravana sends his people out to die in lemming-like waves of futility. Finally he too is made to bite the dust, Rama having learnt the secret of his destruction from Ravana's brother, Vibhishana, who defected in a bid to save at least some members of the demon race from annihilation.

After crowning Vibhishana at Lanka, Rama returns to Ayodhya with his wife and brother in a flying chariot, just in time to take over as his exile period ends. It is worth noting that my mythological explorations led me to an Old Irish tale called The story of Maeve, and to my consternation, it was the same Ramayana story with minor variations of name and character. Archetypal stories are capable of turning up anywhere.

This is the core of the Ramlila story and endless variations thereof will be played out. The text of the play is usually the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas, a Hindi dialect version that is immensely popular all over the north of India. The plays go on for a week to ten days and they last the entire night. Many conventions have evolved as a consequence of this. The lead role of Rama is very often played by a pre-pubertal boy, as the culture considers an awareness of sexuality to be the beginning of the loss of original innocence. The main characters are deferred to by the public as though they are literally divine. Acting skill is not called for as they are enacting archetypes. In many cases that means the wearing of masks, rather like the ancient Greek theatre, which can weigh upto seven kilos. Glitter, overstatement, the shameless milking of every maudlin sentiment possible and melodrama of a variety that is never seen anywhere else characterise even the most basic of productions. All in all, it is a blast for the audience, but it is noteworthy that the productions never question any of the basic issues of being human, (unlike the better versions of the Ramayana) - it primarily reinforces the value systems and beliefs the audience holds. That is what they come for and that is what they get!

In Banaras city, also known as Kashi, there is an entire twenty square kilometre area called Ramnagar, the city of Rama, and the play is staged over its expanse. What makes this unique is that various sections of Ramnagar are named after the locations of the play itself, and the action takes place in that spot and nowhere else. A Lanka episode takes place in Lanka and if you have to then go to the monkey king's capital Kishkinda, for the next episode, why then you physically move players and audience and all. The entire mass of humanity will move barefoot to the next location and that very act of locomotion is counted as punya, the earning of merit. What you have here is the recreation of a sacred space within the parameters of an interactive theatre. To the best of my knowledge this is unique to the entire world.

The Ramlila may not appeal to sophisticates, and it may be very poor theatre, but it is a vital part of the festival calendar for millions of Hindus every year. It is regarded as a great privilege to be capable of seeing the Ramlila every year, the equivalent of a pilgrimage. It definitely fulfills some urgent spiritual need in a great mass of people and for that reason if nothing else it is secure as a living tradition.

- Rohit Arya

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