Anant R. Kukreti Professor School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, OU
"A culture defines itself by the heroes and heroines it creates in its own image, and the tales that have constantly inspired its artists to new visual interpretations." (From the introduction of the Public Broadcasting Services television series "Great Tales of the Asian Art")
Art can take various forms, which includes, painting, sculpture, carvings, music, dance, drama, poetry and stories. In any civilization such art forms have been developed, revered and enacted by the people, flowing like a river of past traditions and beliefs, carrying with it the past into the present and future. In Asia numerous examples exist of such art forms, which still inspire us today. These include the tales the Indian and Indonesian artists have told about Ramayana in paint, stone and shadow play. The great Indian epic Mahabharata depicted in philosophical writings (the Bhagwat Gita), paint and drama in which Krishna appears as the great guide and philosopher of all who were fighting to gain power. The Gita Govinda, which is the classic erotic poem written by Jayadeva from India celebrating the love of God (Krishna) and the immortal in image, music and dance. The Masked Dance Drama from Korea, in which the monks pursue the courtesans and servants outwit the aristocrats, is still played in villages as social satires marked by body movements depicting humor, music and dance. The nebulizing Tale of the Genji and the Tale of the Heigi from Japan, which go to the heart of Japanese art in telling the romantic stories, and today have also taken the form of drama. In this article the impact of Ramayana is presented. The material presented has been borrowed from the Public Broadcasting Services television series "Great Tales of the Asian Art."
Ramayana is a scared Hindu text and a great epic of India. It continues to be one of the most popular stories which children love to hear and the elder love to tell. In India, the narration of the Ramayana using various art forms crosses all barriers of society. Children of all religions - Hindus, Muslims and Christians - grow-up hearing the story of the great king Rama, his beautiful wife Sita, the arch villain Ravana, and the powerful and faithful monkey god Hanumana. This is so much true, that many times the most ignorant of the society are considered to be those who have not heard the story of Rama and Sita. Great writers of all religious affiliations have written critiques about this epic, so also artists have portrayed it using all art forms that one can think of. A televised series on Ramayana was produced and broadcast in India a few years ago. It was a great national event that had a big impact on the society. It was surprising to see the intense interest shown by the general population, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, in seeing this television serial. It completely brought the country to a standstill. In the cities, during the broadcast, all roads were empty, shopping malls closed, nobody would go visit anyone, and one could not even get anyone on the phone - people just did not want to miss even a minute of the show. In the villages the story was very different, where not everyone had televisions. People either got together at one home or in the village courtyard to watch it. Thus, there it became a mass social get together. This single event brought the people of the nation together, and no other event in history of India has had that dramatic an impact. This television serial is said to be the most watched program in the world. Today it has been dubbed or sub-titled in different languages and shown in various countries, including Canada, Great Britain, Thailand and Japan, among others.
The story of Ramayana has been illustrated using numerous art forms, in fact almost all mediums one can think of have been used. In India it has been carved in stone and tempera walls, painted on stones, scrolls and palm leaves, and during the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries painted on great sets commissioned by Hindu rulers and their families. These sets now appear in manuscripts, and were prepared by artists mostly from the regions of Rajasthan and the Punjab Hills (Kangra), south of the Himalayas. The paintings from Punjab tell the story using beautiful landscapes as the background, that add a lyrical content to the story. Soft and subdued pastel colors with delicate lines are particularly effective in enhancing the poetic value of the text. On the other hand, the Rajasthan paintings use primary colors, bright red, green and blue, and particularly concentrate on human action and the story line. Selection of the text of these paintings was primarily done by the patrons, but the style was decided by the artists depending where they came from, their family training and the availability of the materials. In both the styles of paintings, there is a dazzling variety in the illustrations of the Ramayana stories. These art forms also reveal that various versions of the story line exist, which differ slightly in content and interpretations of the events.
Ramayana is not only popular in India, but in various parts of South East Asia, where Hinduism spread about the fifth century. When one travels to Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia one can readily see visual art forms and performances of Ramayana inspite of the fact that Hinduism does not even exist in some of these countries any more. Indonesia is primarily a muslim country, but still Ramayana is deeply embedded in its culture, as can be seen in the shadow puppet plays commonly shown in villages even today telling its story, and the beautiful carvings depicting the story of Ramayana in the temples of Loro Pjonggano in Prambana. These temples were built in the ninth century, and Javanese artists carved 76 panels to tell the epic story. When Hinduism came to Indonesia, the muslim rulers recognized its rich culture and the intriguing mythological stories it had to tell, which a common man could relate to and learn from. Rather than banning it they promoted it through the shadow puppet plays, the art form which already existed in its society.
Ramayana is popular in India and other parts of Asia, first and foremost since it is a wonderful and interesting story. But, more than that, it depicts the fundamental principles and notions of the Hindu culture that have been an integral part of this culture for generations and centuries. One of the central concept of Hinduism that is depicted in Ramayana is the notion of "Dharma," which in western context many times has been referred as "Fate." According to the concept of "Dharma," the preordained role of each one of us is to be a model human being, no matter what our role is - a son, daughter, brother, wife, parent or ruler. In the story of Ramayana, Ram is portrayed as a model ruler. In order for him to be a great king, who cares for his subjects and protects them from harm, be had to first be a respectful son, second an obedient disciple of his teacher, third a caring husband and brother, and fourth a faithful friend. Similarly, Sita is portrayed as a model women who is faithful to her husband and family. There may be some disagreement on Sita being a representative role model for the modern-day women, who seek to be educated, self independent, intelligent and wanting to make their own decision. But, Ramayana is a story that still relates to wider idealizations and principles that we can still relate to in this century, and can include it in our new ways of life. The story tells us about the relationships that should be cultivated among the family members, between the students and the teachers, among the rulers and the subjects, and the society in large to make our lives harmonious and richer. If our society can adopt the fundamental principles put forth in Ramayana, our lives would be much more peaceful.