Ramayana in Dogri: A cultural first, a tribute to heroes
In a proud, historic moment for Dogra culture, the timeless epic of the Ramayana is being performed in Dogri for the first time by the Kargil Shaheedan Ramleela Club, Dhalot of Samba district in Jammu and Kashmir.
The local community founded the club in Dhalot in memory of three young soldiers from the area who were martyred on the same day during the Kargil War.
Bishen Singh Dardi, an award-winning Dogri writer from Samba, is behind the ambitious project.
Last year, he completed a comprehensive 400-page adaptation of the Ramayana in Dogri, written entirely in dialogue form specifically for theatrical staging.
This year, he has decided to stage the Ramleela in the Dogri language.
Dardi served as the director of this local Ramleela club for 14 years. During this time, they staged performances using Jaswant Singh’s traditional Ramayana script, which was heavily laden with complex Urdu and Persian vocabulary.
Recognising that the local audiences and actors struggled with these words, Dardi spent over three and a half years translating and crafting an authentic, poetic Ramleela script entirely in Dogri to preserve local culture and language accessibility.
Krishen Singh, a senior member of the Ramleela Club, said that presenting the Ramayana in the local Dogri idiom, with traditional Dogra artistic elements, will help connect younger generations with their roots while offering senior citizens and the wider community a meaningful cultural and spiritual experience.
Briefing media persons during rehearsals, Bishen Singh Dardi said he has invited all the Ramleela clubs in the area to adopt the Dogri version of Ramleela to reach a wider audience and promote the Dogri language.
In Jammu, a Senior Citizens Support Services Club, Chowadi, is also gearing up to organise a Ram Leela at Panch Mandir, Channi Himmat.
The event forms part of the Club’s ongoing efforts to promote Dogri language and preserve Dogra cultural heritage.
Kasturi Lal Gupta, Founder and Chairman of the Club and former Principal of Government Medical College Jammu, has been a key driving force behind initiatives aimed at reviving Dogri.
The Club has previously organised inter-school competitions, poetry sessions, song releases featuring noted artists, and interactive programmes focused on making Dogri a living language in homes, schools, and public life.
Staging the Ramayana in Dogri is seen as a natural extension of these efforts, blending religious storytelling with linguistic and cultural preservation.
Residents and devotees are expected to attend the performances in large numbers as the Club brings the saga of Lord Rama to life in the local language.
Dardi, a resident of Samba with a literary career spanning over four decades and multiple state and national awards, including recognition for his children’s literature, has long worked to bring the Ramayana closer to Dogri speakers. He hopes the performances will not only let audiences experience Lord Rama’s story in their own tongue but also help preserve and promote Dogri among the youth. Senior members of the club held a special screening to shortlist artists the know Dogri.
