Ramnagar Ramlila Begins With Ravan Janm as Anant Narayan Singh Arrives in Royal Procession

The Ramnagar Ramlila began on Friday evening, as it does every year on Anant Chaturdashi, with the birth of Ravan. Anant Narayan Singh, head of the former Kashi royal family, arrived at the lila ground in the royal procession, and staging started only after he got there.

The first day's performance began at around 5 pm near the main gate of Rambagh. Singh came to the site in the royal buggy, with chants of "Har Har Mahadev" all along the route and people lining the lanes of Ramnagar to see the procession.

At the lila ground, PAC personnel gave Singh a guard of honour. He then rode an elephant to his place to watch the performance, as the tradition requires. Police and administration had put security arrangements in place for the opening.

The first episode showed Ravan's birth and the yagya he performed afterwards. Pleased with his penance, Brahma appeared and offered him a boon. Ravan asked that no one other than a man or a monkey be able to kill him, and Brahma granted it. In the same sequence Kumbhakaran asked for the boon of sleeping for six months and staying awake for one day.

The lila then moved to Ravan's growing arrogance. After getting his boon, he extended his power over the heavens, defeated Kuber and took his Pushpak Viman. Frightened by the demons, the gods led by Indra went to Vaikunth.

A dialogue between Brahma and Lankini was also staged. In it Brahma tells her that Ravan will rule for a long time, but that the day he disrespects a monkey will mark the beginning of his end, and Lankini reeling from a monkey's blow will be the sign that the demon king's rule is finishing.

The day ended with Earth, in the form of a cow, going to Brahma to describe what she was suffering under Ravan, and the gods and Earth praying for deliverance.

Chaupais from the Balkand of the Ramcharitmanas were sung between episodes. The lila then paused for about an hour, and spectators went off to the fair that has come up in Ramnagar. After the break, the next episode began with the Ksheer Sagar tableau.

The Ramlila is believed to have been started in 1783, in the time of Maharaja Udit Narayan Singh. It begins on Anant Chaturdashi and goes on for about a month. It has no single stage. Episodes are performed at fixed locations spread over roughly four kilometres of Ramnagar, and the audience walks with the story from one site to the next.

It has also kept its old form. There are no big stages, electric lights or loudspeakers. The lila is performed under petromax lamps, and the performers deliver their dialogues in loud, clear voices so the crowd around them can hear.

Preparation starts well before Anant Chaturdashi. Performers are chosen about four months in advance through a traditional selection process, and during that period they are expected to observe celibacy and are given sattvik food. Several families in Ramnagar have been part of the lila for generations, some now into the fourth.

Thousands of people come every evening, many of them "nemi" devotees who attend the lila every day for the whole month.