Ram and the Rome connection

It’s not everyday that you see an Italian baritone crooning his part as Ram in Ramleela. But Odissi danseuse Reela Hota’s formidable Ramleela aimed to do exactly that. As part of her annual International Ancient Arts Festival, Hota roped in tenors Mattia Oliveri and Raffaele Abette to play Ram and Lakshman respectively. Not only does her version of the stage adaptation of the great Indian epic have opera singers, it also features five Indian dance forms — Odissi, Kathak, Manipuri, Purulia Chhau and Yakshagana — as well as a 28-member orchestra comprising Indian and international members.

Hota says she was inspired by Maryada Purshottam Ram’s dharma. “Ram never spoke of religion. I found the idea of imbibing opera singers quite exciting because of the element of drama they come with,” says Delhi-based Hota, who plays the role of Sita. “When I contacted them, all the members of the opera jumped at the idea. Each art form came with it’s own quality — Manipuri dancers have a grace to them and so they play the attendants. Yakshaganas have a raw energy, which is ideal to portray Ravan and the demons.”
Hota roped in bass singer Federico Benetti to essay the dual roles of Janak and Hanuman and Fabrizio da Ros to conduct the orchestra. Looking after this range of medley artists was prize-winning composer maestro Carlo Antonio Cocomazzi. The play itself was written by Hota’s mother and yoga guru, Bijoyalakshmi.

The Ramleela featured seven different acts. Starting with Sita and Ram’s meeting and their marriage, it moved on to Ram, Lakshman and Sita’s banishment, Sita’s subsequent abduction, Ravana’s court, the battle scene, and finally ended with Ram’s coronation and celebrations.
“While Sita performed Odissi, Ram, Lakshman, Hanuman and Janak were part of the opera,” says Hota. “Sita’s attendants performed Manipuri, Ravan and the demons performed Yakshagana, and the vanar sena performed Purulia Chhau.”

Opera director Marco Pucci Catena says he had been reading the Ramayana for hours over several days. “It is a dangerous task, I must say, with little time on hand. But, the essence is important, and we tried to ensure that both the cultures met in a great way,” says Catena.
Fabrizio, the opera conductor, said he was excited about the experimentation. “Indian percussion instruments and cymbals are quite unique. My endeavour has been to beautifully marry the Indian sounds with the Western,” he says.

It must have been difficult to manage so many performers and so many dance forms. “It was chaos at first, and there was some fumbling in trying to understand the others’ dance form. But after a few days of rehearsing, we were quite comfortable,” says Hota.