United by spirit, distinct in style:The many faces of Ramleela in Lucknow
The Ramleela staged by Shri Public Bal Ramleela (SPBR) in Chowk has been framed out of five Ramayans – Shri Ramavtaram by Kamban, Ramacharitmanas by Tulsidas, Adhyatma Ramayan by Ved Vyas, Valmiki Ramayan and Radhey Shyam Ramayan. Another thing which makes it unique from other Ramleelas is that 80% of its cast includes children and teenagers.
Lucknow: All the Ramleelas in the city narrate the story of Maryada Purushottam (the supreme man) Lord Ram, but diversity can easily be spotted in the way they are staged . Even the Ramayan they have taken references from differs from one to the other.
The Ramleela staged by Shri Public Bal Ramleela (SPBR) in Chowk has been framed out of five Ramayans – Shri Ramavtaram by Kamban, Ramacharitmanas by Tulsidas, Adhyatma Ramayan by Ved Vyas, Valmiki Ramayan and Radhey Shyam Ramayan. Another thing which makes it unique from other Ramleelas is that 80% of its cast includes children and teenagers. The Bal Kand staged in SPBR stands out from other Ramleelas in the city.
“We stage the Ramleela in Parsi style of theatre in which the stage and the set are under focus. The Ramleela was started in 1937 and till date the weapons shown in the play are made of silver. Various technical things are done while staging the Ramleela which includes bringing the actor playing Lord Hanuman from the top of a building to the stage using ropes. Apart from this, our Ramleela includes a prayer to Maa Kali in Sanskrit directly adapted from Devi Shukt which is rendered before the Ravana Vadh. We begin the Ramleela from the day of Dusshera and it continues for 15 days,” said general secretary SPBR Rajkumar Verma.
Aishbagh Ramleela, claimed to be the oldest in the city, is based on Kamban Ramayan, Valmiki Ramayan and Ramcharitmanas. It uses technological advancements in support of the script.
The Ramleela staged by Railway Ramleela Committee (RRC) is taken from a play written by playwright Jaswant Singh in Hindostani (mixture of Hindi and Urdu) which was based on Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas. Natural looking props are used for setting the scenes during the Ramleela and all men are part of the Ramleela.
“If we are setting a scene depicting Ashok Vatika, we will use trees and during a scene including Ravan one can find all 10 faces of Ravan speaking at the same time without any special effects. The scenes involving conversation of Lord Hanuman and Ravan and Laxman and Parshuram are some of the most prominent in our Ramleela,” said director RRC Birendra Sharma.
At a Ramleela staged by Shishu Bal Ramleela, Chowk which is based on of Ramacharitmanas, the actor playing Lord Hanuman can be seen in the air when he descends from a building using a rope. Only men and boys are part of the Ramleela.
The Mausamganj Ramleela gets even better as people see different scenes set on two stages. “We have two stages and as soon as the scene changes the view of the Ramleela also changes. All our actors are men and among the famous scenes are – Dhanush Yagya and Kewat prasang,” said assistant director of the Ramleela Rajesh Tripathi.
While most of the Ramleelas are male dominated, the one organised by Mahanagar Ramleela Samiti (MRS) stands out as the roles of Ram and his brothers are played by girls and women.
“The Ramleela is based on Radhey Shyam Ramayan and most parts of the Ramleela are enacted with classical music renditions. The conversation between Parshuram and Laxman and Angad and Ravan are the most awaited performances,” said secretary of MRS.
A Ramleela staged in Bakshi ka Talab has a major participation from Muslims, depicting the composite culture of the city.
“Our Ramleela is staged on Dusshera day and two days after it. This was started in such a way so that other Ramleelas of the area did not get disturbed. The Kishkindha Kand and Sita Swayamvaar in our Ramleela are most popular among public,” said director of the Ramleela Shabir Ahmad.
At a Ramleela staged in Sadar, the weapons used by the artists are real. “Only Brahmins portray the main characters in our Ramleela and only men are part of the team. Our Ramleela is staged on the ground and not on stage. Instead of the actors delivering the dialogues, a Ramayani or narrator narrates entire Ramayan. We burn effigies of Kumbhakaran, Meghnaad and Ravan on the day of Ashtami, Navami and Dussehra respectively,” said member of the committee Anand Ankur Tiwari.
