Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

"Performing the Ramayana Tradition: Enactments, Interpretations, and Arguments, edited by Ramayana scholar Paula Richman and Rustom Bharucha, scholar of Theater and Performance Studies, examines diverse retellings of the Ramayana narrative as interpreted and embodied through a spectrum of performances. Unlike previous publications, this book is neither a monograph on a single performance tradition nor a general overview of Indian theatre. Instead, it provides context-specific analyses of selected case studies that explore contemporary enactments of performance traditions and the narratives from which they draw: Kutiyattam, Nangyarkuttu and Kathakali from Kerala; Kattaikkuttu and a "mythological" drama from Tamilnadu; Talamaddale from Karnataka; avant-garde performances from Puducherry and New Delhi; a modern dance-drama from West Bengal; the monastic tradition of Sattriya from Assam; anti-caste plays from North India; and the Ramnagar Ramlila. Apart from the editors' two introductions, which orient readers to the history of Ramayana narratives by Tulsidas, Valmiki, Kamban, Sankaradeva, and others, as well as the performance vocabulary of their enactments, the volume includes many voices, including those of directors, performers, scholars, connoisseurs, and the scholar-abbot of a monastery. It also contains two full scripts of plays, photographs of productions, interviews, conversations, and a glossary of Indian terms. Each essay in the volume, written by an expert in the field, is linked to several others, clustered around shared themes: the politics of caste and gender, the representation of the anti-hero, contemporary re-interpretations of traditional narratives, and the presence of Ramayana discourse in everyday life"--

Acting --- Acting --- Performance --- Performance --- Performing arts --- Performing arts --- Religious aspects --- Hinduism. --- Religious aspects --- Hinduism. --- Religious aspects --- Hinduism. --- Religious aspects --- Hinduism. --- Religious aspects --- Hinduism. --- Religious aspects --- Hinduism. --- Kampar, --- Tulasīdāsa, --- Vālmīki --- Vālmīki. --- Vālmīki. --- Rāmacaritamānasa (Tulasīdāsa). --- Rāmāyaṇa (Vālmīki). --- Rāmāyaṇam (Kampar).

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Throughout Indian history, many authors and performers have produced, and many patrons have supported, diverse tellings of the story of the exiled prince Rama, who rescues his abducted wife by battling the demon king who has imprisoned her. The contributors to this volume focus on these "many" Ramayanas. While most scholars continue to rely on Valmiki's Sanskrit Ramayana as the authoritative version of the tale, the contributors to this volume do not. Their essays demonstrate the multivocal nature of the Ramayana by highlighting its variations according to historical period, political context, regional literary tradition, religious affiliation, intended audience, and genre. Socially marginal groups in Indian society--Telugu women, for example, or Untouchables from Madhya Pradesh--have recast the Rama story to reflect their own views of the world, while in other hands the epic has become the basis for teachings about spiritual liberation or the demand for political separatism. Historians of religion, scholars of South Asia, folklorists, cultural anthropologists--all will find here refreshing perspectives on this tale.

Indic literature --- Råama (Hindu deity) in literature --- Såitåa (Hindu deity) in literature --- Languages & Literatures --- Indo-Iranian Languages & Literatures --- History and criticism --- Rāma (Hindu deity) in literature. --- Rāma (Hindu deity) in literature. --- Sītā (Hindu deity) in literature. --- Sītā (Hindu deity) in literature. --- History and criticism. --- Kampar, --- Tulasīdāsa, --- Vālmīki. --- Rāma --- Sita --- In literature --- Seeta --- Seetha --- Siya --- Vaidehi --- Janaki --- Maithili --- Bhoomija --- Rāghava --- Ramachandra --- Ram