Enactment of Elderly Care in the Ramlila at Ramnagar: Foundation of Societal Values

Abstract

Rama traditions in oral and performance art cultures have bred many varied cultural environments over a long period in India, Southeast Asia, and beyond. Centrifugal forces have operated in two ways, helping propagate Rama traditions. A Ramlila is a light play of Lord Ramlila. Ramlila of North India is an essential theatrical medium that provides a space for young and old, rich and poor, to congregate for 16 to 20 days prior to Dussehra to witness this grand spectacle of human beings. After the Banaras Ramlila, Maharaja Udit Narayan Singh brought the Ramlila to Ramnagar in the first half of the 19th century on the pattern of the Ramcharitmanas. The Ramlila is similarly a moral and cultural compass to Indian society. In-built into the narrative are enduring strong values of truthfulness, responsibility, compassion, and regard. Of these, the virtue of caring for older individuals is an essential but extremely widely disregarded pillar. With the assistance of the likes of Dasharatha, Rama, Kaikeyi, Bharat, Lakshman, Ravan, Kumbhakaran, and the like, the Ramlila teaches us powerful lessons about the rightful respect and duties towards our elders, reminding us why being so nurturing is a pillar of human society. The Ramlila is an invitation to turn back to our roots. It instructs us that caring for the elderly is not only a responsibility but also an ethical obligation, a gesture of gratitude, and a reflection of our integrity. Valuing their presence, respecting their experience, and ensuring their well-being are enduring values of a caring community. I would like to put forward the bedrock episodes of old-age care, i.e., Rama's Obedience to Dasharatha, Kaikeyi and the Dilemma of the Role of Elders, Bharata's Abjuration of the Throne, and Lakshman's obeisance to Ram, etc.