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Kumaoni Ramlila: A Rich Tradition of Uttarakhand

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By Chandrashekhar Tewari

In the context of cultural tradition, Uttarakhand is very rich. From time to time, many festivals and celebrations are held here. Kumaoni Ramlila is special in this context. The historical background of Kumaoni Ramlila is more than 160 years old. Kumaoni Ramlila is mainly based on Dohas and Chaupais of Ramcharit Manas and is staged in the Geet-Nataya Shailee tradition.

Seven-eight decades ago, there were no facilities of transport, communication and electricity in the mountains. At that time, Ramlila was staged in the light of torches, lanterns and petromaxes. According to people, the first Ramlila in Kumaon was performed in 1860. The late Devidatt Joshi staged the first Ramlila in Badreshwar Temple of Almora city. Later, from Almora, this Ramlila gradually reached other cities and towns of Kumaon. Ramlila was staged in Nainital, Bageshwar and Pithoragarh in 1880, 1890 and 1902, respectively. In the early years of the twentieth century, apart from Kumaon, Ramlila was also staged in some places in Garhwal region. There is mention of organising Ramlila in Pauri city in 1906 with the cooperation of the late Purnanand Tripathi. One thing about Kumaon’s Ramlila is that, during 1940-41 in Almora city, the famous dance composer Pandit Uday Shankar also tried to bring innovation in it through still pictures. His still pictures, acting, excellent music and dance skills were very impressive.

The characters who perform in Kumaon’s Ramlila are not associated with any drama troupe. Its actors are common people who become proficient in just twenty days of Taalim. There is social participation in all the work from the arrangement of stage construction and staging to gathering financial resources. The influence of Parsi theatre is visible in the dialogues, tunes, rhythm, beats and notes spoken in Kumaoni Ramlila. A mixed glimpse of Braj folk songs and Nautanki is also found in the Ramlila here. To bring an attractive effect in the dialogues, Nepali language and Urdu ghazals are also used at some places. In Kumaon’s Ramlila, simple words of local dialect are used in the dialogues. Various ragas and raginis are used in the sung dialogues of Ramlila. Kumaon’s Ramlila includes the Ramayana singing style of Bareilly’s famous storyteller Pt Radheshyam. The singing by the characters sounds very pleasant to the ears to the melodious tune of the harmonium and the resonant sound of the tabla. Apart from the couplets and quatrains of Ramcharit Manas, dialogues in prose form are used at many places. The main thing is that, in the Ramlila here, singing is given more importance than acting.

In Kumaon region, rehearsals of Ramlila start a month in advance, which is called ‘Taleem’ here. The Taleem master makes the characters practice the dialogue, acting, singing and dancing with great effort. A temporary stage is prepared with wooden pillars and planks in a public ground or place in a village or city. Ramlila performance starts from the first day of Sharadiya Navratri. The entire Ramlila continues till Dussehra or a day or two after that. In Kumaon’s Ramlila, all the events from Lord Ram’s birth to his coronation are staged. In Kumaon’s Ramlila, Sita Swayamvar, Parashuram-Laxman samvad, Dasharath Kaikeyi samvad, Sita Haran, Laxman Shakti, Angad Ravana samvad, Mandodari-Ravan samvad and Ram-Ravan yudha are the main attractions. More than sixty characters act in the entire Ramlila.

This tradition of staging Ramlila in Kumaon region developed from Almora city and later became popular in many nearby places. In the initial period, Ramlila of Satrali, Patia, Nainital, Pithoragarh, Lohaghat, Bageshwar, Ranikhet, Bhowali, Bhimtal, Ramnagar, Haldwani and Kashipur were famous. Ramlilas organised by hill migrants in cities like Moradabad, Bareilly, Lucknow, Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai were also very famous.

The colour of Ramlila is seen in the cultural city of Almora. Even today, Ramlilas are organised with great enthusiasm in Nandadevi, Radhunath Temple, Dharanaula, Muralimohan, Dhungadhara, Karnatakakhola, Kholta, Pandekhola, Narayan Tewari Dewal and Khatyadi. The attraction of the Ramlila of Lakshmi Bhandar (Hookah Club) in Almora city is different to other Ramlilas of the city. During Dussehra, more than one and a half dozen effigies of Ravana’s family made by various committees of the city are taken around the market with great enthusiasm. Dussehra of Almora has now taken the form of a cultural fair. A huge crowd of people gathers in the city to see these effigies.

The late Pandit Ramdatt Joshi, astrologer, late Badridatt Joshi, late Kundanlal Sah, late Nandkishore Joshi, late Bankelal Sah, dance maestro late Pandit Uday Shankar and late Brajendralal Sah, along with many other deceased persons and artists have made a unique contribution to promoting the Ramlila of Kumaon region. In the 1970s and 80s, Uttarayan programme of Lucknow AIR also played an important role in promoting the Ramlila of Kumaon region by broadcasting it. At present, many theatre artists are engaged in the work of preserving and improving the traditional Kumaoni Ramlila.

(The author is Programme Associate at Doon Library and Research Centre, Lansdowne Chowk, Parade Ground, Dehradun.)