Ramayana as an immersive experience

It was planned as an immersive experience in the Ramayana. At the Ramayana Kalpavrksam festival, a plethora of interesting events themed around this great epic ensured that via talks, music shows, dance performances, puppetry, goshti gaanam (group singing), an artisans' corner, recitation sessions, pictorial calligraphy, and more. Actually, it turned out to be an immersion in more ways than one, with programmes beginning very early in the morning, continuing through the day and stretching late into the night! The festival curator, renowned Bharatanatyam dancer, dance scholar, and choreographer Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant and the talks curator, well-known Kuchipudi and Vilasini Natyam artiste and scholar Dr Anupama Kylash managed to pack a great deal into the three days! The talks were named Ramamrita and the evening performances were called Rama Rasa.

In Sanskrit, the word Ramayana which is a combination of two words Rama and Ayana means the journey of Rama and the festival took attendees through a fascinating journey into the epic's various facets proving why its appeal is so deep and enduring. Interesting insights into the great epic and a wide variety of perspectives from scholars, musicians and dancers as well as a mosaic of art forms kept the audiences engrossed, drew critical appreciation and provided much food for thought.

The name of the festival was drawn from the famous Telugu literary work Srimad Ramayana Kalpavruksham authored by legendary, 20th-century Telugu writer Viswanadha Sathyanarayana, a Jnanpith awardee and Padma Bhushan recipient. Hence, it was apt that Dr Anupama's quotes from the book and her commentary on this magnum opus punctuated the various presentations of the festival. However, a brief presentation on this author would have made the tribute more complete.

The three-day festival Ramayana Kalpavrksam which was held recently in Hyderabad's Centre for Cultural Resources and Training campus, began, expectedly, with the auspicious Mangalavadyam, a nadaswaram performance by T M Ramachandrudu and party. A scintillating Bharatanatyam performance with impressive abhinaya and nritta titled Bhavayami Raghuram was presented by students of Ananda's dance-school Shankarananda Kalakshetra. This was based on Swati Thirunal's eponymous krithi on the Ramayana. It is a richly evocative composition which features in both Carnatic-music performances and several Indian classical dance forms. Ananda's nattuvangam was accompanied by live music from Sweta Prasad, Renuka Prasad, Uma Venkateswarulu and others. The evening concluded with a dance production from Chennai's Kalakshetra titled Vitasta.

The second day began with an early-morning Manas Paath, a recitation and singing performance by Pandit Dilkash Bharti Sadanand Vishwakarma and a party from Varanasi. Then came the talks. Ami Ganatra spoke of Sankalpa, Paap and Prayaschitta and dwelt on the concepts of sin and punishment in the Ramayana as illustrated through its various episodes. Hemant Pandey spoke on Hanumat Darshan in the Tulsidas Ramayana and said the currency of Ramcharitamanas was bhakti and revealed that many believed that the pen (authorship) was of Tulsidas but the Vichaar (thoughts or philosophy) was that of Hanuman. The Kamba Ramayanam (Tamil) was the focus of Sudha Seshayyan's speech wherein she spoke of its perennial contemporaneity and relevance to modern times. The Ramayana was described as a living tradition with the use of interesting anecdotes and examples by Nagaraj Paturi which resonated well with the audience.

The exhibition Ramayana Chitrakatha by the exceptionally talented P Parameshwar Raju attracted a steady stream of visitors who admired the pictorial narration of the epic in calligraphy and its imaginative design and execution. The story was recreated in over 50 remarkably beautiful frames by Raju. Workshops related to art were held on the last two days making the festival an interactive event. These well-attended programmes were held by Hema Kannan (Kolam), Rahul Teddy (Mala Grathana or making garlands for the gods), and Anupama Hoskere (Sutra Putula or puppet manipulation). A unique concept called Sanskriti Sanghatana had presentations by brands in the cultural space sharing their experience and knowledge and included one speech by environmentalist and 'water warrior' Kalpana Ramesh.

The talks session began with the articulate Vinay Varanasi who spoke of Sita from the Shakti perspective and explained how and why she has to be seen as the embodiment of the powerful Mahatripurasundari and also quoted Bhadrachala Ramadasu's and Thyagaraja's compositions to enhance his viewpoint. Gauri Mahulikar's topic of choice was woman composers of Ramayana and their perspectives wherein she dwelt on the versions of Kummari Molla (Telugu Molla Ramayanam) and Chandrabati Ramayana, etc., and how women writers (being women) tended to focus much on the travails and triumphs of Sita as a wife, mother and daughter-in-law. The nature of the Bengali version, Krittivasa Ramayana, and how and where it differed from the Valmiki Ramayana was the theme of Surajit Dasgupta's talk and he explained how its popularity was steadily growing in its home state. Ramaa Bharadvaj's presentation on the various foreign versions of the Ramayana and how they deviate from the Indian original was laced with Bharatanatyam gestures and plenty of humour.