Ramlila

Once you've looked at some of the videos on this blog, be sure to click on the October 2009 link at the right of the screen and scroll down to various videos of Ramlila activities during more than a month long celebration of this genre of performance.

Ramlila site

Ramlila is an all-India annual event which takes place sometime during September and November every year. It is performed for the Dassahra Festival.

Lila means "play" or "sport", thus Ramlila is the "play or sport of Rama".

The date of its origin is uncertain but it probably was first performed in the 17th century with the creation of the poet Tulsidas who rewrote the Ramayana in the local language. His work is called Ramcharitmanas. The complete text is chanted during the entire set of Ramlila events which often lasts 30 days.

Ramlila is often staged like a pageant in which audiences move from one locale to another to watch dramatic events staged on temporary settings associated with the events depicted. Many thousands of spectators from all the communities of a town or city are welcome to watch performances. It is performed by amateurs and financed by merchant committees, similar to the guilds in medieval Europe who supported religious performances.

In some performances the actors who portrayed Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana are carried to the performance area on the backs of priests. Large effigies symbolize the demonic characters. In the photos below the three effigies were constructed on the ramlila grounds in Delhi and burned at nightfall to celebrate the triumph of good and the destruction of evil. Over 100,000 people were said to have attended the event that night.