In the 60th edition of Sampoorna Ramlila, danseuse Shobha Deepak Singh is reinterpreting Ram as a wholesome human and reinventing his place in our lives. By Saritha Saraswathy Balan
Ram, Sita and Ravana are seen sauntering on a lawn surrounding a massive stage built on the ground behind Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra where the rehearsal for Ramlila is happening in full swing. Costumed artistes, immensely decorated stage and a cave built especially for the occasion create a festive mood. All at the Kala Kendra are geared up to celebrate the 60th edition of the annual Ram Navami festival from October 1- 28.
Ram was always depicted as a flawless, unassuming prince caught in the vagaries of life and unfortunate situations. Hence, interpretations of him were always more godly than human. However, director Shobha Deepak Singh has reinterpreted the epic hero and made him look like a human warrior for this year’s festival. “I have tried to reinterpret Ram as a normal ill-fated prince. Ahilya's penance is rewarded by Ram’s gentle touch. I believe that Ahilya, who was liberated by Ram was not a stone. But it was the accumulated emotions in her which flowed out when Ram touched her. I interpret him more as a human and his step by step relevance in our lives,” says Singh.
“At every step along our own route to exile, following the footsteps of Ram, we encounter helpers, messengers of the lord, who show us the way just as Ram did. During life’s travails, each of us comes face to face with the Ram within us. The essence of sentiments and intricacies of human dilemmas, reflections and responses portrayed in Ramayana remain evergreen and eternal, as they resonate in modern day social travails, tribulations and conflicts of mind and heart”, she says.
This year, the diamond jubilee edition of the Sampoorna Ramlila will present all the episodes in Ram’s life from birth to Ramabhishek. The pain of separation of mating birds, the life of two sons of Ram- luv and Kush ---Vishnu the universal sustainer, people of Ayodhya celebrating the birth of Ram and his brothers, everything will be presented with a contemporary touch.
Singh’s Sampoorna Ramlila is a perfect amalgamation of fantasy and reality. The epic lovers will get to see a brilliant display of periodic costumes, lighting, choreography and stage, Singh insists. “This year we are renovating everything from choreography to lighting to stage in order to celebrate the 60th anniversary. For a play to complete 60 years is in itself is rare and we wanted to make it special. Earlier all we did was to revise and improvise the same given format and this year its new, different,” Singh says.
The choreography is done by Raj Kumar Sharma who has been working with Singh for the past 20 years. Sharma also plays Ram in Ramlila. The choreography is a mix of Kalaripayattu, a martial art form, Bharatanatyam and Chhau. “The dancers at the court of Ravana would play Bharatanatyam and Chhau and Kalaripayattu is for the other dancers”, says the Padmashri awardee .
Also like last year, when Hanuman burns lanka or when he is flying, the audience can actually see the fire on the back screen. The Kendra is using, from the 59 th edition, animation to give the audience ‘a more realistic feel’. The costume has also evolved over the years. The panels of the stage have been reinvented by the Kendra this year. They have been inspired by the palaces of India. A makeshift cave has been built at the entrance to the stage which Singh says symbolises light. “Caves were the first source of light. Ram was in Kishkinta in the caves before he vanquished Ravan. A source of light came to him in the caves and we have created the cave here to resemble the Kishkinta episode”, adds Singh. Images of Vishnu and scribes from Ram’s life will be exhibited on both the sides of the Kendra so that the viewers feel like they are travelling back in time.
The Kendra is all in festive mood to welcome the Sampoorna Ramlila. The 72 year old Singh is monitoring all the arrangements and the artistes dressed up as epic characters for the rehearsal seek her blessings before entering the stage. So how many artistes are performing this yearIJ “Too many” is Singh’s reply. She doesn’t even remember how many hours they are working a day for training and says “once it starts, it goes on and on.”
Singh says that for every text in Ramayana there is a sub-text that would be shown through the projector on the top of the stage which is also the Kendra’s unique way of presenting Ram’s life in a contemporary context. For Singh, who reads two pages of Ramayana every day before going to sleep, finding the sub texts was not tough.Ravana is being played by Ghan Syam and Swapan Majumdar and Sita by Geeta Bhatt.rita