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Rendezvous with Rama
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It was a performance that synthesised all that was Asian at heart. And despite recent socio-cultural ramifications within the Indian context, one has to agree that the Ramayana lends itself to contemporary interpretations.
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"LET'S DO battle," says the voice of artistic director and choreographer Denisa Reyes in the dimly-lit Chowdiah Hall, just before the ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information's production of "Realizing Rama" went on the boards on November 6. Two dancers in tights move onto a stunning lycra-and-aluminium lotus shape, execute a few dramatic moves, exit into the wings as the lights dim. It's make-up and costume time. An hour before the curtain goes up.
When it does, a dance drama that evokes a standing ovation unwinds: studded with dramatic choreography by Denisa of the Philippines, graceful dancers from ten southeast Asian countries, and audience-friendly interactions. And rich, tantalizing silk costumes by designer Salvador Bernal of the Philippines, with distinctly Asian brocade pleats for easy movement, sourced and abstracted from regional Rama dance-dramas. And his platforms and ramps that conjure up myriad locations by sleight of eye, aided by dramatic entrances from the flexi lotus prop. And nuanced lighting and video projections onto the backdrop that jog memories of ancient temples, deities and undecipherable scripts. And a libretto by Nicanor Tiangson from Manila that speaks of the purification of Rama through the conquest of wealth, lust and power. And a score by Indonesian musical rebel pioneer Rahayu Suppanggah that combines native traditions with breakaway metres and scales.
As we battled with our notions of the Ramayana staged by Rukmini Devi's Kalakshetra or the Ramleela of the north, we were conquered by the extent to which Valmiki's epic has been assimilated into the daily lives of our neighbouring cultures. It now belongs as much to them as to us. This Rama, with his exploits honed to the barest bone, is rendered a beloved monarch through an exile of self-purifaction, with Sita as his heart, and Lakshman as his mind in constant attendance. He is drawn from the 13th Century Hikayat Seri Rama that Malaysian Islamic seers figure in, and the Phra Lak Phra Lam, an encyclopaedic saga from Laos. He evokes Ramayana Kakawin of 10th Century Java, the Ramayana once recited daily before Tribhuvaneshvara in Cambodia around 598 AD, and the heroic tales intrinsic to the 11th Century rule of King Anawratha of Myanmar.
On stage, thanks to Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), we watched a performance that synthesised all that was Asian at heart. And despite recent socio-cultural ramifications within the Indian context, we agreed collectively with scholar Harry M. Buck, who observed in 1989, "The Ramayana is not a sixth century or third century book. It is a contemporary book, changing its meaning with every succeeding age" (`The Role of the Sacred Book in Religion The Ramayana').
The presentation couldn't have been more contemporary. It was total theatre. Our visual recollections testify to that.
The dramatic personality of Ravana with his pop-sourced plastic-look tights, silver-horned headgear, fiery eyes in a painted face and a booming laugh, was enhanced by the powerful death sequence vocals from Indonesian dancer-actor Silvester Pamardi, an unforgettable closing touch. Or the monkey-dancers with their twitching, scratching, chattering collectivity, who drew the audience deep in with their antics in the aisles. Or the stunning acts of balance on the move as Rama (Malaysian Rudy de Luna, Jr.) crosses the bamboo bridge on monkey-back, yet imbues it with the quality of dance, not acrobatics. Or Ravana's stunning carriage of tangled elasticised red bands, which unified his demonic entourage and captured Sita within its tangle. Or even Sita's dilemmas, portrayed with infinite grace by Thai dancer Sirilak Songklib, whose delicate features didn't miss a mood. Or the beautiful sequence of forest life, created by the play of light over green drinking straw props.
We had no quarrel with the condensed story line. Or the introduction of the contemporary idiom into melded classical dance theatre forms. How does the core team view this fusion performance, magically transformed into a homogenous presentation under the Asian Flagship Project, premiered at the Hanoi Opera House in December 1998? "It was the biggest challenge of my life," reveals Denisa of her work with 22 dancers from diverse lineages, "because I'm trained in contemporary dance from New York. I had a three-month grant to research these traditional forms. Most of these professional dancers have played Rama or Sita or Ravana at some stage. I feel I learnt more from them, than the other way round."
"We tried to find a commonality, make it contemporary. We were just peeping into the Ramayana," Denisa adds. "Most traditional dancers go with the beat of the sound. It took a while to work out unison by counting. And they had to redefine their ideas of space because each tradition uses it differently."
Tour director Nestor O. Jardin of the Philippines contrasts Indian identification with other Asian responses. "In Korea, they didn't really understand, while in China the audience kept eating and talking throughout."
Sirilak, her eye pencil in hand in the pre-performance greenroom, says, "I'm trained in the Khon tradition of the classic Thai masked play. At first, it felt strange to do some of Denisa's moves as Sita, but usually it was OK." Rudy, attired in performance finery, draws from his training in Silat, the Malaysian martial dance form. Of his Rama, he says, "You can feel he's a good character, though he may be weak at times. Strict about dharma. And yes, moving in a contemporary way was a challenge to me."
What of the haunting musical score? As an ethnomusicologist and composer, Paris-trained Supanggah reflects: "I was trying to define a southeast Asian style, connected to the strong message. Perhaps my favourite was the music when Rama tries to find his balance. It derives from Javanese, Sundanese, and minimalist music, interspersed with both metric and non-metric western pentatonic scales."
Through the collective southeast Asian psyche, we related to Rama in a new avatar. Not as an identity to battle over. Nor even as a perfect hero. It was the triumph of the imagination and integration over cultural divides that reigned supreme. Less deific than dramatic, less iconic than fun-laced, this dynamic performance helped us to eschew age-old notions of conflict, recognise common cultural identities, and redefine our own contexts by realising Rama.
ADITI DE
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