Ramayana Right Now

Jenkins tried to recreate episodes from the Ramayana. Each participant was asked to choose a character from the epic and narrate their emotions and motives through that character. From Ravana,Surpanakha,Kaikeyi,Kumbhakaran to Laxman,Sita,Vibhushan and Ram,characters came alive in the room. Jenkins,who took up Ramayana as a part of his degree course in drama and film studies,feels that few epics or stories have Ramayana’s relevance . He first put his understanding of the epic to use when asked to direct a play on it. He had worked with the students of Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam in Kanchipuram. “I feel Ramayana speaks of ‘today’. That is why it is still alive and relevant. I am amazed when different groups of people send across varied interpretations of the text,” says Jenkins who has conducted workshops with children aged 5-17 years as well as professionals from mixed backgrounds.

At the workshop,ThilagavathiPalani,lovingly called Tulika,danced to show the happiness that Surpanakaha felt. The happiness changed to disbelief as her nose was cut off by Laxman. In another part,Ravana prayed and talked of inner peace. “Stories are a safe way of addressing emotions that we can’t normally articulate well,” says Jenkins. “When they choose a character,they have to relate to it. How would you react if this were you? This thought process is the essence of story telling,” he adds.