Journeys and Jottings

Issue 61- Ramayana in Asia - From fiery dances to ballets, temples to caves, we explore many facets of Ramayana across countries and cultures

A few years ago, I had visited the Peranakan Museum in Singapore where I learnt more about the ethnic group but what fascinated me was a poster that said “ Ramayana Revisited. “

At the entrance of the museum, were a couple of Singaporean Tamils teaching a group of Chinese and European kids the art of rangoli, while their parents indulgently watched them paint the floor with colourful designs. I walked in to be greeted by another group of children sitting patiently for the artists to recreate the legend for them. A painted carving of Hanuman carrying a mace, dangled from the ceiling above.

Huge banners portraying the epic as ‘A Tale of Love and Adventure’ screamed from the walls. As the tourists were getting ready with their cameras, the children who had come to watch suddenly got curious. There were Batik prints of the epic on sale; there were curios on display under the name of Heroic Handicrafts – you could even buy your own Ramayana badge.

I was told that there would be a few snippets of performances from the “many Ramayanas” of different countries and cultures. And the first one was about to start as I walked in quietly and took a seat. A couple of artistes walked in with painted faces, adjusting their long flowing pink and orange costumes. I heard a lilting Oriental melody as a hush fell. The Ramayana had just got its Chinese avatar. The Royal Chinese Opera performed ‘In the Forests of Dandakar’ while English subtitles played out on a screen.

There were Rama and Lakshman in the forest with Seeta when the demoness Soorpanka intercepted Rama. The scenes were familiar,  but the screenplay was intriguing. The artistes mesmerized the audiences, dancing their way around the stage, enacting various scenes, and depicting desire, revenge, anger, and violence. The theme however was the same - the triumph of “good” over “evil”. Ramayana transcended beyond the scope of a legend to enter the realm of world art. To the younger audiences, however, this probably seemed like a colourful oriental spectacle of superheroes who wear masks.

A little later, I was chatting with a few artistes who told me that they study Ramayan as an art form and they have virtually seen many interpretations of the epic in Southeast Asia. As we spoke, a golden-masked Hanuman walked in and started rehearsing his steps for the next performance. This was the Cambodian pageantry, called ‘Dances from the Reamker’ where Hanuman has a romantic side and falls in love. The performance was evocative as we saw a softer side to the monkey god, but soon the war scenes took over with amazing energy and movement on stage. The Chinese and Cambodian versions were as different as chalk and cheese and yet the sense of familiarity was overwhelming.

In Cambodia, the Reamker has many Buddhist influences, and Rama is referred to as Phreah Ream and Sita as Neang Seda. The Khmer also includes unique episodes not included in the original Hindu texts. For example, the encounter between Hanuman, and Sovann Maccha, the mermaid, is a favorite as well.

Talking to many tourists, I tried to understand the fascination for the epic which to them, is a pageant of human emotions like lust and desire. During the break, I walked around the museum to learn more about the Peranakans and I came across the Ramayana display. A montage of various versions of the epic from across the world was depicted here and I was lost in the artistic interpretations. 

A few days later, I flew to Bali from Singapore, only to find both Ramayana and Mahabharata literally in my face and I was taken in by the performance of the vibrant kecak or fire dance. It has its roots in exorcism, where a dancer on horseback jumps into a flame in a state of trance and the performance ends on a rather fiery note. But the dance drama relied heavily on the Ramayana. It was not just a performance, but a ritual.

The performances were more powerful, the costumes got a lot more colorful and there were more characters. There was no music, only loud chanting of “Chak”  called the Ramayana Monkey Chant by the male chorus. As the scenes got more dramatic, the tempo of the chant would rise and fall as the performers swayed their arms, creating an effect of the war between Rama’s monkey army and Ravana. The fiery performance stayed with me long after I had left Bali.

However it is in Yogyakarta where I saw the Ramayana come alive on stage. While there are puppet shows called wayang kulit, The Ramayana Ballet is a personal favourite, set against the glimmering backdrop of the Prambanan temples in Jogja. It is the ambiance of the open-air theatre across the River Opak that adds to the show. The Indonesian version of Ramayana takes about a couple of hours as we relive the epic from Rama along with Sita and Lakshman leaving their kingdom and heading to the forest.

With lilting music and dramatic performances, the story unfolded as Ravana kidnapped Sita and killed Jatayu while Rama with the help of Sugriva after defeating his brother Vali sent Hanuman as the emissary to find Sita. Even though the final battle between Rama and Ravana was spectacular the scene where Hanuman sets the city on fire was a spectacle to behold. I had not seen a more fantastic performance of Ramayana.

In South and South East Asia, Ramayana has found several royal patrons. Many kings are named after Rama and there are temples built for Lord Vishnu (whose incarnation is Rama). While most Hindus worship Rama and Sita as deities, in some of the countries like Laos, Buddhists believe Rama to be an avatar of Buddha and the story called Phra Lak Phra Ram is their national epic. In Myanmar too, Yamayana as it’s called has a connection to Buddhism and is considered a legend from Jataka Tales.

In Thailand however, The Ramakien is a national epic and is said to be taught in schools as well. While Ayutthaya is the Thai version of Ayodhya, the story has a few changes from the Sanskrit Ramayana written by Valmiki and is one of the literary masterpieces and has inspired several performances like khon and nang dramas as well.

A few years ago, I was in Srilanka where I was on the Ramayana Trail, following the footsteps of Rama and Ravana. Ramayana in Srilanka is based largely on Valmiki’s Ramayana and they are divided into several ” kandams” or books. There are seven kandams Bala Kandam, Ayodhya Kandam, Aranya Kandam, Kishkinta Kandam, Sundara Kandam, Yuddha Kandam, and Uttara Kandam. And the two books of Sundara Kandam and Yuddha Kandam are set in Sri Lanka. The Srilanka Ramayana tour takes you through some of the sites of Ramayana sites in Srilanka which are also Srilanka's top attractions today.

The Ramayana trail in Srilanka includes over 20 sites spread across the island and it could take over two weeks to cover all of them. However, our week-long Srilanka Ramayana tour took us across the island on a road trip as we covered over 1600 km in five provinces and ten Ramayana sites in Srilanka. Temples, caves, forests, mountains, and lakes were all immersed in legends and myths as every monument was associated with the epic.

And that brings me to Ayodhya. For most devout Hindus in India, Ramayana is beyond an epic or a legend. For those of us who live and breathe the word of the sacred, Ayodhya is where the divine Rama was born as a prince to Lord Dasaratha. Ram Janma Bhoomi or the land where Rama is born draws both pilgrims and tourists and you almost feel like you are walking into the chapters of the Ramayana as you walk around here. Besides the Ayodhya Ram Temple, every part of the city resonates with the spiritual overtones. And when I was here a few weeks ago, I realized that Ayodhya is more than just a divine destination.  This is where The Ramayana begins and ends.

Every monument here is a leaf out of the lives of Rama and Sita and there are several There are quite a few places to see in Ayodhya besides the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple. The second most important temple is Hanuman Garhi Mandir. There is also Sita Ki Rasoi, Nageshwarnath Temple.  You can visit Dasrath Mahal and Ammaji Mandir, head to Kanak Bhavan, Valmiki Bhavan, Tulsi Bhavan, On the banks of Sarayu are the Ghats also called Ram ki Paidi, while there are Dasrath Kund and Bharat Kund.

We however went to Guptar Ghat, a very ancient site on the banks of the Sarayu River. A sense of timelessness pervaded this serene spiritual Ghat, where we could see some of the old temples. Besides the Chakrahari and Gutahari temples, you can see the Sita Rama Temple and the Narasingh Temple as well. The footprints of Lord Rama are carved in stone here. According to the priest, this is where one can see the footsteps etched on the sands of time for the last time. It is believed that it is the Sarayu that finally took Lord Rama with it to his heavenly abode as he took a last dip in the waters, known as Jal Samadhi. Faith has many dimensions and this is probably one of the most profound versions of it.

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