The tea and samosawallas at Kendra Lawns, Copernicus Marg, scamper precariously between the hundreds of chairs with pointed edges to sell their snacks for the day. It’s one of the best venues to vend, as people here have been lining up to watch the 59th presentation of Ramlila, hours before its commence, and have certainly worked up an appetite. The show begins in two minutes and before that, all the eats are consumed.
It’s a story that has been told year after year on different stages, by different actors, but still finds audiences who’ll watch on with captivating engrossment. In its essence, it’s a story so simple in philosophy that its practice has become an intention to aspire for all. “It’s one of the best stories ever told,” says Shobha Deepak Singh, Director and Vice Chairperson, Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra, who presents the show. “I’ve related to different characters at different times in my life. At the moment I’m most inspired by Ram’s conduct where he readily agrees to go to the forest. Poignantly he tells Kaikayee that parents realise children’s wishes all their life, but that it would now be his turn to fulfil her demands,” she says. There is another couplet that has appealed to her for decades now. It’s when Ram wants to cross over to Lanka, he prays to the ocean to settle down. But when it doesn’t for three days, he gets angry and draws his bow saying ‘bin bhay hoya na preeti’ (fear commands obedience), Singh tells us. It’s one of the greatest lessons, she believes.
Singh sometimes worries about her presentation’s future. It’s an old tradition that has lasted because of her earnest efforts to showcase it in the most traditional format. Singh tries to not think about it much; instead, she focuses on finding a suitable successor who’ll respect what she started years ago. “Unfortunately, I haven’t found anybody with the kind of commitment I have. Perhaps, we’ll have to split my work among multiple people to get the results I would want. It’s difficult, but not impossible,” she says.