an open-air ramayana. 117
Ramlilas the boys who play the deities are consecrated and worshipped like
temple images. But in Ramnagar there is an especially powerful belief that
God is literally present in thesvarups—four boys dressed in gold, with
glittering makeup on their faces and tall crowns on their heads, and a fifth
boy who plays Sita, similarly decked with spangles and ornaments and
wrapped in a magenta sari.
- Ramnagar has an enormous space devoted to the Ramlila, including town,
villages, fields, forests, temples, and ponds, covering fifteen or twenty
square miles. Each scene has its fixed setting; the places were chosen and
consecrated early in the nineteenth century and are known year-round by
their Ramlila names. Thus the whole area has become a microcosm of the
sacred Ramayanageography. The effect of the drama is greatly heightened
as people move through the different environments, which are well suited
to the scenes played in them.
- The Maharaja attends every night ’s performance. He is unquestionably in
charge, and his presence lends authority, dignity, and discipline. Besides
being the traditional ruler of Varanasi (in which position he continued to
command great respect long after the dissolution of his princely state), the
Maharaja is the representative of Shiva, ruling deity of Varanasi. Every-
where he goes, he is greeted with loud cries of salutation to Shiva: Hara
Hara Mahadev!^2
- The whole story of the Ramcharitmanasis presented in detail, with strict
adherence to the letter and spirit of Tulsi’s poem. This is often contrasted
with the chopped versions offered in other Ramlilas, as well as with their
tendency to degenerate into mere entertainments. The spoken dialogues
are close to the language of Tulsidas. The main actors are well trained and
serious. In Ramnagar, people assert, everything is done by rule and tradi-
tion, and nothing ever changes.
- Thousands ofsadhus(wandering renunciants) attend the Ramlila, camping
out in Ramnagar for the month and further sanctifying the occasion.
- It is believed that the originators of the Ramlila, who chose the sites and
composed the dialogues—especially a sadhunamed Kashthajihvasvami—
had supernatural powers, and that the Ramlila grounds were made reposi-
tories of these powers.^3
- The people who attend the Ramnagar Ramlila have faith, and the power of
their faith has been cumulatively giving its energy to the Ramlila for many
