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Ramayana – an epic comes alive
on stage By: Ajay Vishwanathan
Click on photo to enlarge
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Sunday, November 17, 2013. The crowds were settling in at
Georgia Tech’s Robert Ferst Center for the Arts. The welcome and
introductions from Venkat Maddi, President of Shirdi Sai Baba
Temple, were well received. Mahesh Kommajosula aptly put it, “It
is a blessing to do Ramayana under the watchful guidance from
Sai Baba.”
Every gaze was fixed on the stage as the curtains slowly rose to
music. After months of pondering over scenes and backdrops,
after hours of grinding rehearsals and fine-tuning the timing of
the music, lighting and actors, the moment had finally come to
cut loose the epic production, Ramayana.
The spotlight beamed down to the center of the stage. Reclined
in his characteristic pose under the hood of Sesh Naag ,
MahaLakshmi by his side, Lord Vishnu smiled. After listening to
the woes of Gods and tales of Ravana’s domination and terror,
Vishnu finally rose to his feet. And made an announcement aimed
at wiping out all misery: to destroy Ravana and his evil, He and
Lakshmi would take the human form of Rama and Sita, and grace
Earth, thus marking the birth of Ramayana, the grand epic.
The tremendous production efforts came into view as various
events unfolded, each scene embellished with color, costumes,
intricate make-up, and authentic props and settings. From
Dasharatha’s Putra-kameshti yagna, the rewarding appearance of
Yagna Purush, the birth of Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana, and
Shatrughna, the calming Vashisht gurukul, to the striking
transformation of the young brothers into strapping men armed
majestically with bow and arrows. The appearance of the scions
of the Sun dynasty on stage was greeted with applause and set
the tone for the rest of the show.
“Rama’s name will remain forever etched as the indestructible
symbol of dharm,” said Vasisht as he convinced Dasaratha to
offer his sons to Vishwamitra for protection of his yagna. As
the play progressed, with backdrops riding heavily on many
moving parts, with scenes requiring precise coordination, there
were high-points that will remain etched forever in people’s
minds. The Vishwamitra ashram, breaking of Shiva’s bow,
Sita-Rama Kalyanam, squashing of Parashuram’s ego, crossing of
Ganga in a boat, Panchavati, severing of Soorpanakha’s nose,
Ravana’s entry, playing Veena to Mandodari’s moves, Sita’s
abduction and Pushpak viman journey to Ashok Vatika, the
Vali-Sugreev combat, the elaborate design of Rama and Ravana’s
chariots as they engaged in the final battle, and of course the
picture-perfect Rajya Abhishek where the finery, color and
grandeur of the costumes lit up the stage.
“When I consider previous plays that I have been part of, the
production aspects of this one probably rank as some of the most
complex,” said Lakshmi Vedala, one of the key backstage support
hands for Ramayana who was also instrumental in helping boost
ticket sales. |
“A show like this is immensely valuable for adults
and children alike,” said Navin Tyagi, a dedicated devotee and
an ardent fan of music. Instead of being among the unknowing
audience, if you had stood offstage in the sidelines, you would
have realized how formidable and involved the planning and
logistics were – the switching of microphones from actor to
actor, constant rewiring of equipment, costume changes between
scenes, impressive cosmetic transformation of artists by
volunteers who waited with their make-up kits and immense
patience, the swapping of backdrops and shifting of props. You
would have also noticed great chemistry, selflessness, and
teamwork with one goal in mind: the successful rendering of an
epic that took months in the making. All the qualities that Shri
Shirdi Sai Baba would have been proud of.
Preparations for Ramayana had taken epic proportions over the
last nine months, from the script to the onstage performance.
There were about 55 onstage roles and more than 30 backstage
production crew members who breathed life
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Syam Yellamraju
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into this classic
production. Adults and children were equally enamored by the
show and seemed to have taken great interest in the play. Many
are now reading Ramayana with renewed interest.
The evening before the play, when the boat - on which Rama, Sita,
Lakshmana and Sailor cross the Ganga - refused to move on the
stage as planned, everyone was concerned; alternate plans were
being developed. That night, Syam was still deliberating the
fate of the equipment as he stood quietly at the Home Depot
checkout counter. Handing him the receipt, the cashier said,
“Now your boat will roll smoothly,” and winked at a stunned Syam
who would ponder over the fellow’s remark for a long time. Could
it be some kind of a divine blessing for the team?
As the artists took the final bow to standing ovation on the
night of the performance, many a heart on stage was filled with
gratification for having been part of a wonderfully executed
venture, a joyous odyssey. Some had tears in their eyes. And
more than one person wondered how an unconnected, unaware Home
Depot worker was so sure that Rama’s boat would indeed roll
along, one more time. |
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