Ramleela in Trinidad : 100 Years of the Felicity Open-Air, Folk Theatre Tradition

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Indian history informs us that in ancient times the area in India known as Ayodhya was the same place known as Kosala. From about the 6th century BC to the 1" century AD, Kosala formed part of the greater geographic, cultural and administrative region known as Bihar. Bihar or Vihara (the country of monasteries) then encompassed the countries of Videha, Vajji, Vaishali, Malla, Mithila, Magada, Anga, and parts of Jharkhand.

During the Mughal era, Emperor Akbar divided the whole of India into administrative regions one of which was Oudh or Awadh. Ayodhya became a part of Awadh with the bordering city of Faizabad being its capital city. Later Awadh was incorporated into the United Provinces or Uttar Pradesh (UP), with Ayodhya becoming a constituent part of UP. It continues to remain within this geo-political administration. But from ancient times, right up to the present period, waves of migration of the peoples of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have taken place by road, sea and later by air, spreading India's vast treasure of learning and knowledge, including its rich literary and cultural heritage, traditions and life style, far and wide. While India has had a long relationship with the rest of the world, within recent times the Ayodhya Research Institute has been contributing its share in promoting the history, literature and tradition of our ancient civilisation. Established in 1986 as an autonomous organization of the Department of Culture of the Government of Uttar Pradesh, the Institute was set up to research and identify the significance and contribution of Ayodhya and this geographic region to Indian thought, philosophy, religion, literature, arts and overall culture.

The folk theatre of Ramleela is the story of a hero warrior and King named Ram. This story, dating back into antiquity, long before the Christian era, has been told and retold for millennia in many countries and cultures of the south- east Asian region. Ramleela, literally translated means, 'the play of Ram'. The mortal hero Ram, over the centuries has been elevated to a God, Shri Ram. His story is told in epic proportions; his birth, education and training, marriage, exile, trials and tribulations, battles and triumphant return to rule the kingdom of Ayodhya in Northern India.

The trend of the story is equally linear as its sub-stories which create detours, only to return in a circuitous way to the main narrative. The epic contains many key characters, each with their own sub story, all interwoven into the grand narration. It conveys messages on concepts of authority, leadership and management, morality and ethical issues in the quest for final freedom and release from the chains of human, earthly existence. It questions concepts of 'authenticity, whether classical, religious or secular.

To the Brahmin caste in India who kept the Sanskrit language and the knowledge that was written therein as their sole preserve, Tulsidas's rendering of the Ram story in the Dev Nagri script - the dialect of the common man of north India was blasphemy. But it has endured. It opened up more vistas of opportunities in other languages also, for India's far-flung off-springs to sup from this and others cups, which contain the essence of her ancient civilization.

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