A school in California has been presenting Ramayana for nearly 50 years
From pre-schoolers and kindergartners dancing and prancing on the stage as forest animals to high school students delivering long dialogues and melodies as the main protagonists, the annual production Ramayana by the California-based Mount Madonna School as its end-of-year performance is a feast of sorts.
The 46th-year production is a revered and loved tradition by not only the school's students but also the teachers, parents, non-teaching staff, and alumni who volunteer at the school's annual production.
The longest-running Broadway-style show in the western hemisphere, based on the ancient epic, took place this year at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose from 5 June through 8 June. An amalgamation of varied skills of the students, ranging from ballet moves, traditional Indian classical dancing and acrobatics to singing and acting, was all on display via creatively intermingled dance choreographies, songs and other parts. The school show evolves annually, mingling the old parts with the new. A school in California has been presenting Ramayana for nearly 50 years
Many high school seniors who have been participating in the production for many years reach their acting and singing zenith as the main characters of Lord Rama, Lord Shiva, Goddess Sita, Goddess Parvati and others. The production opened with almost 200 students participating in the invocation to Goddess Saraswati with chants of Jai Ma-Jai Jai Ma.
'We are learning more and more about the epic as we present Ramayana every year. Our senior class of six students went to India and spent time in Himachal Pradesh and Haridwar at Sri Ram Ashram, a sister school of Mount Madonna School,' says Director Chelsea Otterness. 'The seniors learnt more about the characters that they are portraying and were surrounded by the vibrancy of the Indian culture of acceptance of other cultures.'
Otterness adds understanding and learning more about the depth of the story and how Ramayana is a well, and one can learn so much, including the lessons of the evolution of consciousness.
Never did I think that 10,000 miles away from India, I'd get to see a play on Ramayana. Like many Indians, I too have grown up on the stories of the ancient epic, and I remember debating and deliberating with friends and family on some of the actions and decisions of the protagonists in the tale. I also have many sweet memories associated with the stories from the scripture. I remember many summer vacation nights, lying under the cool evening sky in my maternal grandmother's house in Chandigarh, when my cousins and I would huddle around our grandfather to hear and rehear the myriad tales from Ramayana. Our Pitaji's description in precise details of Sitaji in her varied jewels was such that we were transformed to a different world.
The showcase of the production on the holy scripture was started by the members of the Hanuman Fellowship Centre, a non-profit organisation founded by the students of Baba Hari Dass and Mount Madonna School (an affiliation of the Hanuman Fellowship Centre).
Ramayana was introduced by teacher and Yoga Master, Baba Hari Dass. In 1972, students of the Hanuman Fellowship performed at yoga retreats and then at various venues, including universities. Initially, some children were members of the predominantly adult cast, but in 1979, the Mount Madonna School commenced a production with the students and other children making up the cast. After running parallel productions for several years, the school show evolved into an exclusive program. A school in California has been presenting Ramayana for nearly 50 years
The enthusiastic uptake of the ancient scripture of the Orient by school students in the US as a subject of its performing arts program and the long-term success of the effort are enthralling. Though the artistic merit of the production can be enhanced in various dimensions, the showcase of the long and difficult tale in less than four hours seemed a Herculean achievement in its own right.
On the plain of set grandiose and costume glamour, the play left nothing more to ask for. All ingredients of children's entertainment were present, and adults basked in the efforts and resulting pleasure of the young artists.
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