Chhattisgarh: National Ramayana festival will see one epic with different interpretations, say artistes

The story of Ramayana is the same in India and Indonesia, but cultural factors give rise to different interpretations of the epic, said Indonesian dancer Ni Wayan Sriyani, who has come to Chhattisgarh to perform at National Ramayana Festival here.

The story of 'Ramayana' is the same in India and Indonesia, but cultural factors give rise to different interpretations of the epic, said Indonesian dancer Ni Wayan Sriyani, who has come to Chhattisgarh to perform at 'National Ramayana Festival here. Sriyani portrays the character of Lord Ram and loves the fact that he fought so hard to bring his beloved wife Sita back to the family. Rama's character requires a lot of improvisation, as it involves a lot of body movement, she said. ''The story of Ramayana is same in India and Bali, but cultural factors make it different,'' Sriyani told PTI on the sidelines of the three-day festival organised at Ramleela Maidan in Raigarh city. In the Balinese interpretation, there are three types of characters — male, female and a middle character, she said. ''Rama's character falls in the middle category, as it is not an extreme male form. Women can also portray Rama, as his expressions are not extreme like that of Ravan,'' Sriyani said. “Ramayana” provides lessons about good, evil, love and several other aspects of life, she said, explaining why she was drawn to the epic. Penh Chunnit, who heads the Cambodian dance troupe, said there are 27 regions in Cambodia and each has added some unique factor to ''Reamker'' (Cambodian Ramayana). Among performers from other states, K S Hegde, who leads the Yakshagana group from Karnataka, said this is probably for the first time that such a large-scale event on ''Ramayana'' is being held. A sixth generation Yakshagana performer, Hegde said that while the epic is famous in South Asia, during their performances in western countries, dancers have to employ more theatrical elements for the audiences' enjoyment. Yakshagana is a popular form of folk theatre in Karnataka, which originated more than 500 years ago. Hegde's team has performed in the US, UK, UAE, Indonesia and others. ''Ramayana is a good medium of cultural exchange'', he said. The National Ramayana Festival, which started on Thursday, will see performances by artistes from 12 states and two international troupes — Cambodia and Indonesia.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)