an open-air ramayana. 137
preciation to the American Institute of Indian Studies, which generously supported my
Ramlila research (as well as many other endeavors); to Monika Thiel-Horstmann, who
organized the original conference in Germany and edited the volume in which the arti-
cle first appeared; to Richard Schechner, whose enthusiasm and encouragement were en-
tirely responsible for my embarking on this research—originally as his collaborator and
junior partner; to Jack Hawley for making this revision and new publication possible; to
the late Vibhuti Narain Singh, Maharaja of Banaras, and to the countless individuals—
performers, directors, audience members, boatmen, and so on—who shared their lives
and enriched mine during the years when these experiences were unfolding.
- For research on the Ramlila in English in the last few decades, see especially
Hein 1972; Hess 1988, 1994; Kapur 1990; Lutgendorf 1989, 1991; Parkhill 1993; Schech-
ner 1985, 1993; Schechner and Hess 1977. - When Richard Schechner and I conducted research in the 1970s and 1980s, the
Maharaja was Vibhuti Narain Singh—the last maharaja to have been in office before
India’s independence, thus to have actually served as head of Banaras State. Since his
death in 2000, his son has presided over the Ramlila. - Lutgendorf 1991, 146–47, 266.
- Mauni Baba died in the 1980s—an event which, I was told, left the Maharaja de-
pressed for some time. - Ayodhya-kanda, doha203, chaupai1, Shri Ramcharitmanas(Gorakhpur: Gita
Press, 1972), 425. Translations are mine. All citations are from this edition. Henceforth
citations will be given in abbreviated form, showing book, doha,and chaupainumbers.
Thus this passage would be cited as 2.203.1. - 2.61.2–3, p. 329.
- For a fuller discussion ofmayaand lila,see Hess 1993, 84–90.
- 2.32.
- Hein 1972, chap. 5, esp. 105–7.
- On the frame structure of Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas,see Lutgendorf 1990 and
Hess 1993. - Valmiki is the poet of the SanskritRamayana,dated by scholars to roughly 200
b.c.e.–200c.e.The sage Valmiki is believed to have lived in Treta Yuga, the same age as
the incarnation of Ram—very much earlier than the dates given above. The Sanskrit epic
is framed by the story of his inspiration to compose the poem, in which he appears as a
character. A new scholarly and literary translation of the ValmikiRamayana,under the
general editorship of Robert P. Goldman and published by Princeton University Press,
has been appearing volume by volume. Five of the seven books were published between
1990 and 1996. - 2.126.1–4, p. 373.
- 3.26.5, p. 546.
- 3.29.8, p. 550.