As far as traditions of folk theatre go, Ramleela is one of India’s most famous, performed across north India during the autumnal Navratri celebrations. Variations aside, it basically is a dramatic re-enactment of Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas, telling the story of Lord Ram. Major incidents in the epic are covered in an episodic way, with an interplay between dialogue and musical verses. Performances last days, and culminate on Dussehra with the burning of the effigy of Ravan, representing the victory of good over evil. In this broad form, Ramleela has travelled to distant corners of the world with the Indian diaspora. Here we look at one such instance — that of Trinidad, an island in the Caribbean with a significant Indian population. How did Ramleela reach Trinidad? Who brought it there? How has the theatre form evolved over the years? Is it different from what we see in India? A sweet sour story In early 19th century Britain, calls to abolish slavery intensified. Slave trade was banned in 1807, and finally abolished in 1834 in the British Empire. This, however, created a massive problem in many British colonies whose economy depended on slave labour. The island of Trinidad, where sugar formed the backbone of the economy, was one such colony. In 1838, the enactment of the emancipation legislation in Trinidad was followed by a large-scale emigration of emancipated slaves from the sugar estates. Plantation owners, desperate to keep their economy afloat, turned to indentured labour from India. On May 30, 1845 the very first boatload of indentured Indians came to Trinidad. While seen as more human than slavery, indentured servitude was nonetheless brutal for labourers. ‘Agents’ back in India would lure unsuspecting Indians to it with the promise of riches and opportunity. A part of their wages would be withheld till the end of the contract. This way, labourers would effectively be under bondage while working in back breaking conditions on the plantations. “Use of indentured labour from colonies like India … unfolds a story of uneven power relations, between labour in the colonies and capital in the ruling country under State patronage,” economist Sunanda Sen wrote in ‘Indentured Labour from Indian in the Age of Empire’ (2016). Today, Indians — mostly descendents of these labourers who continued to enter Trinidad as late as 1917 — form the largest ethnic group in Trinidad, at around 35 per cent of the total population. Most came from the present day eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Carrying Ram to a foreign land When travelling to these distant lands, indentured individuals were unable to carry many material possessions. What they did bring, though, was their culture. “Although Indian Hindus carried only a few belongings to Trinidad, they are said to have brought the Manas [Ramcharitmanas], either in memory or book form,” Paula Richman wrote in ‘Ramlila in Trinidad’ (2010). Most, she wrote, grew up hearing the text recited and watching it enacted. This is how Ramleela arrived in Trinidad. In villages in the countryside, now thronged by Indians speaking Bhojpuri and eating chapatis, Ramleela saw widespread participation of the community. “Elders who used to play particular roles coach new players. Experts supervise ritual preparation of the grounds. Someone with a large work shed or garage lets the stage crew use it to construct the effigy . Teams of women cook mouth-watering culinary specialties roasted over open fires and served hot each night of the performance,” Richman wrote. A gradual decline By the later half of the 19th century, however, their popularity was waning. As formal education spread, Bhojpuri was slowly replaced by English among the Indian population. As a result, younger generations were simply not as familiar with the Manas as their predecessors. “As young people found Hindi chanting increasingly unintelligible, many spent less time watching the play and more time frequenting food stalls, smoking with friends, or hanging around nearby amusement park rides,” Richman wrote, adding that “earlier, the mela [fair] was Ramlila’s sideshow; now, at some sites, the play was sidelined”. This decline was made worse by a steady migration of Indians into urban spaces, leaving behind their former social life that revolved almost completely around Hindu festivals. Now, youth encountered other cultural influences like the Carnival, an annual cultural high point for Trinidadians. As Richman wrote, “In comparison to Carnival, some Hindu youths saw Ramlila as amateurish in its look, unexciting in staging, and ponderous in pace.” Innovation and rejuvenation But these factors also made Ramleela ripe for innovation — as audiences dwindled, troupes got ever-more experimental. Today, gender and caste restrictions on participation have been loosened, new dramatic techniques embraced, and dialogue simplified to appeal to younger audiences. Most importantly, increased financial backing has meant that production values have skyrocketed. As Indian-origin Trinidadians have become ever so powerful in the country’s politics, Ramleela has paralelly enjoyed renewed attention, financial and otherwise. However, the basic essence of the story and performance remain the same. “The fundamental anchor of Ramlilas in Trinidad remains the Ramcharitmanas. A Hindi verse from it begins each scene even though the rest of the scene is in English,” Richman wrote. “Audiences continue to absorb the teachings of the Manas at Ramlila, whether they realise it or not, and whether they understand Hindi or not,” she wrote. And in Trinidad, it remains the foremost representation of one’s Indianness. For a population which traces its roots to a faraway land, Ramleela has been an anchor to those roots, although it has evolved over the years to become ever more Trinidadian as well.
