BALANGIR: As the dusk sets in, chants of ‘Jai Sri Ram’ fill the air at Jagannathpada in Balangir town. After a round of prayers at the local Ramjee Mandir, artistes of Ramjee Natya Sansad dressed as various mythological characters gather at a corner of the lane to showcase Ram Leela - a tradition that was preserved by their forefathers over a century back.
Leading them is 70-year-old Balamukunda Behera, who is the director (Natyaguru) of the 50-member Natya Sansad that stages Ramayana in a dramatised form for 21 days beginning Ram Navami in the Hindu month of Chaitra. The essence of the epic remains the same and it has all elements of theatre – colourful props, music, dance and drama.
Legacy of Ram Leela
The tradition of Ram Leela was started in Ramjeepada, close to Jagannathpada, 150 years back under the patronage of the Balangir royalty. “The then king wanted something that would entertain people after a long day of work. That is when Ramjee Natya Sansad was roped in to showcase Ram Leela at the old Rajbati (Balangir palace). It was not only the source of entertainment but also an exploration of Ramayan’s teachings for people,” said Behera who is the second generation Natyaguru. The venue moved to Sailashree palace when former chief minister of Odisha late Raja Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo became the king.
While not much is known on who started the Natya Sansad, Behera’s father late Ganesh Behera headed it and trained several artistes including him. “From the golden deer to squirrel and an asura to Lord Ram, I have played all roles in Ram Leela before taking over the responsibility of the Natya Sansad from my father,” said Behera, who runs a small hotel in Balangir.
The tradition continued to prosper under Raja Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo. But like every other folk form, this deeply rooted tradition suffered a setback owing to modernity and lack of patronage and resources. In 2002, the troupe stopped staging Ram Leela. “The biggest reason was that people were no longer interested in watching Ram Leela following the advent of so many channels on TV,” he said.
After 18 years in 2020, Behera toyed with the idea of reviving Ram Leela in all its authenticity and staged a show at Jagannathpada two years later. “To my surprise, the crowd that came to see it was 200 times more than what it was in 2002. There was a new found interest among people for such epic tales,” he said. While there has been no change in the traditional story-telling, the only new element embraced by the troupe is social media. It streams Ram Leela live through its Facebook page – Ram Leela Balangir – and Youtube to promote the tradition.
The Performance
While the birth of Lord Ram is celebrated in the local temple on Ram Navami, the performance begins a day later and ends with the death of demon king Ravana and Lord Ram returning from his exile, after 21 days. All the characters abstain from eating non-veg and give great emphasis on maintenance of sanctity during the 21 days.
The cast includes people of all age groups, from a six-year-old child who plays the role of a young Ram to 86-year-old Subhas Chandra Sai who essays the character of an old boatman. All the characters are played by men including that of Devi Sita. Interestingly, the character of Lord Ram is played by Sailin Kumar Babu who is an executive assistant in the Watershed and Soil Conservation office and Ravana by Dr Rudra Narayan Patel, who is senior gynaecologist in a local government hospital.
An interesting aspect of the Ram Leela here are the wooden masks, used by artistes during play. The masks are as old as the tradition and were prepared for the first show of Ram Leela 150 years back. Back then, except for Lord Ram, Devi Sita and Laxman, all the other characters including ‘Banar Sena’ and ‘Asuras’ had masks but today, only 20 of them exist including that of Hanuman. The mask of Hanuman is worshipped every day at the Jagannathpada temple. “When Ram Leela was started, the king had got these masks prepared from Padmabati village in Nayagarh which had wood craftsmen. Over the years, many of the masks got damaged and became unusable. The remaining masks are repaired and coloured every year to be used in Ram Leela,” said the Natyaguru Behera.
Unlike Behera who inherited the Ram Leela tradition from his father, his son isn’t keen on doing so. But that doesn’t worry him. To keep the tradition alive, Behera is now training a new generation of artistes. “There are many other youngsters of Balangir who are willing to learn it. Hopefully, they will take forward this cherished cultural tradition in all its authenticity,” he said.