Verse for better Ramlila
Instead of dialogues written in prose, Rama and Ravana of Kumaoni Ramlilas sing out their lines
BD Kasniyal

Pitthoragarh, September 21
Come Navratras and every nook and corner of the country stages its own Ramlila. Kumaon has its unique style which has originated from 'nautankis' and 'raslilas' of Mathura.

Centuries ago, devotees of the bhakti cult communicated their feelings of attachment with their Lord through ballet.

This gave rise to the form of 'nautankis' and 'raslilas' which spread the cult of Krishna bhakti all over the subcontinent.

"Initially, Parsi theatre companies used to perform on various religious topics. When these companies reached Kashipur in the Kumaon region, these troupes started enacting Vaishnav themes like the raslilas and Ramlilas," said Dr Ram Singh, a noted social historian of the region.

The Ramlila in Almora and Pitthoragarh districts were influenced by these ‘nautankis’ and this form of musical ballet is still prevalent in all over Kumaon.

“Ramlila celebrations began in Pitthoragarh in 1895-96 when Devi Dutt Makaria came as a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) to Pitthoragarh that was then a sub-division of Almora district.

“He erected a small stage near Pitrota village and staged the first Ramlila in 1897,” said Padma Dutt Pant, a retired principal.

In Almora, the tradition of Ramlila and Dussehra is one of the oldest in the Kumaon region. Almora is only place where effigies of 20 members of Ravana’s family are displayed and then burnt on Dussehra.

“But the Ramlila which started in Almora in 1831 is based on song and ballet. The delivery of dialogue is through singing and music while the steps are based on the ballet dance form of Uday Shankar, the famous dancer who stayed in Almora for some time,” said Rajendra Bora, a Kumoani poet and artiste associated with Ramlila in Almora for more than three decades.

Organised by the Sri Laxmi Bhandar Hukka Club, Ramlila in Almora has also been influenced by ‘raslila’ and ‘nautankis’ of Mathura.

During the initial years, the script of the Ramlila being staged in Pitthoragarh was based on a book made available by SDM Devi Dutt Makaria.

The staging of the Ramlila in Pitthoragarh promoted inter-communal harmony where a Mohammedan used to play the sitar with Jait Ram, a Dalit, who accompanied him on the tabla while Brahmins used to play the lead roles.

During the initial days, mustard oil lamps were used to illuminate the stage. This system continued till gas stoves were introduced by an unknown trader from Bareilly in 1916.

When petromaxes were introduced in Pitthoragarh, the timings of the Ramlila underwent a change. The performance, which till then started in the afternoon, came to be opened at night. After 1940, the new script of Ramlila was evolved.

Ramlila has a long past in Nainital. The town witnesses four stagings of the Ramlila - Tallital, Mallital, Narayan Nagar and Sher ka Dhanda. While the Ramlila of Mallital enters its 91st year, the Tallital Ramlila is over 100 years old.

“A totally musical Ramlila is our uniqueness. Our other specialities that no other Ramlila in the Kumaon region has are our background scenes, music based on Radheshyam Ramayan and participation of female actors,” said Ganga Prasad Shah, a member of the Ramsevak Shabha that organises Ramlila in Nainital.

In 1960 when Pitthoragarh became a district, classical music was introduced and several classical singers started taking part.

The artistes who have enriched the Ramlila with their talent were Lali Ram, Mohan Bhatt, Bhairav Jung Thapa and Rajnikant Joshi.

Ustad Bulaki Ram started imparting classical music lessons to the artistes. This initiative strengthened the musical aspect of Ramlila.

Pitthoragarh Ramlila has seen a change in instruments from time to time. Initially, it was the sarangi and tabla. Harmonium was introduced in 1916. And now, modern musical instruments rule the music scene.

“At first, the sarangi based on sub-classical ragas was the only instrument. Local organisers like Ganga Ram Punetha, Govind Lal Gupta, Harkishan Lal Shah, Bahadur Pal, master Bulaki Ram and master Intiya Ram developed their own script and based it on pure classical ragas.

“We are different from the ballet prevalent in other parts of Kumaon as they are based on the Bimtal script and recite on mixed ragas. We are a bit more classical,” claimed Jagdish Punera, secretary of Ramlila committee of Pitthoragarh.

“We have a taleem (training) committee comprising old artistes and musicians. The committee starts selecting artistes for Ramlila two months in advance and impart training in acting and classical singing,” said Punera.

Mahendra Matiyani, leading theatre artiste of the Kumaon region, relates that the Ramlila enacted in Kumaon region was influenced by the ballet introduced by noted classical dancer Uday Shankar in late 1950s.

“Although the influence of Uday Shankar is same on every Ramlila in Kumaon, but Pitthoragarh Ramlila is different in terms of script and tunes,” said Matiyani.

Besides 36 places in Almora, Pitthoragarh and Nainital, the musical Ramlila of Kumaon is also staged in Ramnagar, Haldwani, Khatima, Champwat, Lohaghat and Bageshwar.

Eid-ul-Fitr celebrated with fervour
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 21
The festival of Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated with gaiety and fervour in Uttarakhand today. The main prayers were held at Eidgah. Prayers were also held at mosques located in Clementon, East Canal Road, Bindal and other prominent locations. People in large numbers thronged the places around 10 am to offer prayers.

However, at the Govind Garh Eidgah, maximum number of people offered prayers. Located in downtown Dehradun, around 18,000 Muslims gathered here to pray for the well being of humankind. In Kashipur, Beljudi, Missarwala, Fifrojpur and other areas of Uttarakhand, people offered prayers.

To provide people a comfortable time during the time of prayer, the Eidgah Committee and the municipal committee provided water and maintained cleanliness around the mosque. However, from the point of view security, Additional SP Ashok Kumar Bhatt, SDM Banshidhar Tiwari, Circle Officer Dr Harish Verma and other security officials kept an eye on the day-to-day happenings and maintained the traffic also.

Present at the time of namaaz were many prominent members who wished the citizens.

After the prayers, Muslim men clad in white kurta-pyjama, along with kids in brand new clothes, exchanged greetings with everyone. Women who offered prayers at home also dressed in colourful suits and cooked delicacies such as sheer and other non-veg items to rejoice amid friends and family. At various markets also people did end moment shopping too.

“After one month of continous fasting, this is our day when in the company of friends we celebrate,” said Karili Ahmad.

Roorkee: Muslims celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr that marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramzan with fervour and gusto here today.

Over 25,000 ‘namazees’ gathered at the Eidgah ground in the Purani Tehsil locality to offer namaz, which started around 9 am today.

“We pray for the peace, progress and development of our country,” said local resident Aleem Siddiqui after culminating his namaz.

Meanwhile, the police had made tight security arrangements around the site as well as in the town for the peaceful celebrations.

“All arrangements were put in place to deal with any kind of mischief during the festival. The policemen were given strict instructions not to disturb any individual in the name of checking,” said SP (Rural) Ajay Joshi.

The bazars were full with people shopping all around to mark the festival.

A step to bring humans, nature closer
Tribune News Service