Adaptability in Amritsar

The age-old tradition of retelling Ramayana, with the usual dose of drama, has gotten an upgrade with costumes, LED background screens and professional light and sound. With the audience for the traditional Ramlila decreasing, there have been adaptations to make the experience larger-than-life without compromising on authenticity.

The Vaishno Dramatic Club, which has been organising Ramlila for the past four decades in Naraingarh and Cheherta areas of Amritsar, is among one of the most visited Ramlila productions in the city. From hiring local theatre artists for playing various characters to creating light and sound effects on several important scenes and composing their own music, the group has ensured that their audience gets a novel experience every year. “Traditions have to give away for some adaptability and, so, we bring in novelty in terms of our presentation and production on stage, and not the storytelling. The characters on stage have an impact on the audience. The Ramlila has today become like a theatre show, where every character gets his own unique entry and presence. For that, we have to get everything in the right order,” said Sunil Sharma, who has been playing the role of Ravan for years.

Other elements include rotating the stage, using elements of fire, water and wind through technology-based tools to add more realistic appeal to the scenes. While there are some temple committees that organise Ramlila every year with big budgets, there are also youth clubs that hold functions with their limited resources.