Why in the news?

• Ramanagar’s Ramlila has come to stall in the COVID 19 pandemic.

What is Ramlila of Ramnagar?

• Ramlila, literally “Rama’s play”, is a performance of the Ramayana epic in a series of scenes that include song, narration, recital and dialogue. 
• It is performed across northern India during the festival of Dussehra, held each year according to the ritual calendar in autumn. The most representative Ramlilas are those of Ayodhya, Ramnagar and Benares, Vrindavan, Almora, Sattna and Madhubani.
• Ramnagar, a boat ride from the ghats of Varanasi. Its Ramlila is organised by the royal family and is the grandest in the country and practically unchanged from the time the first performance was held in 1830.
• It is the largest moving theatre performance in India, with a UNESCO Intangible Heritage tag given in 2004, it attracts lakhs of audiences from villages as well as scholars and stage professionals from across the country.
• It is played for 31 days and is based on Tulasidas’ Ramcharitmanas.
• The Ramlila is performed by men only, with the “pure” young boys playing the “swaroops”— the roles of Ram, his brothers and Sita — being selected from Brahmin families after an extensive audition attended by the king and palace officials. The boys are carried on the shoulders of the Ramlila workers and their feet do not touch the floor. People crowd around for their “darshan” every evening of the performance and touch their feet for blessings.

References:

1. https://lbb.in/delhi/ramnagar-ramlila/
2. https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/ramlila-the-traditional-performance-of-the-ramayana-00110
3. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-why-the-200-year-ramnagar-ki-ramlila-has-an-important-place-in-indias-art-history-6839744/