The Ramayana, American Style

[krsna]

The Ramayana, American Style

Los Angeles Times

 

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, June 6, 2004: The spirit of the Ramayana has

spread around the world from India to Cambodia, Thailand, Bali, Fiji

and more. Every Asian country has claimed the epic and interpreted it

to suit their needs. Now, a new version of the Ramayana called Ramayana

2K4 has been produced by Robert A. Prior and has opened at North

Hollywood's El Portal Theater. Prior says, "I've read about 25

different adaptations from different cultures and I see it as a love

story. I wanted it to be very strongly about Rama and Sita, having the

relationship be a sensual one as well as a spiritual one. We've

attempted to be faithful to the basic ancient myth while contemporizing

it in the telling." By contemporizing the epic, the article points out,

"Prior's version has a live tabla player, 14-composer technotrack, and

a blend of acrobatics, shadow puppets, 200 splashy costumes, arty

videos and more." Judy Mitoma, director of the UCLA Center for

Intercultural Performance, says, " The compelling power of the story is

that, although it's a Hindu epic, it is also found in non-Hindu

countries -- the Philippines, for example. That it created a

foundational mythology on which so much of these civilizations have

built their ethos and their values and philosophy, speaks to the

story's strength." Babubhai Gandh, president of Vivekananad Yoga

Research Institute comments about Ramayana 2K4, "The Ramayana has given

inspiration to millions of people. It is a divine thing and should be

presented as divine. When you modernize it, or represent it in some

loose or mundane way, you dilute it. It's like pure water you mix with

gutter or sewage water." However, Ramaa Bharadvaj, who has performed

the myth in the classical South Indian dance idiom, bharata natyam,

says, "Because I'm traditional in looking at people who take religious

mythology and change it into something else, I would have been offended

if it was disrespectful. But it was kind of an international Ramayana

and I liked it. It was fun and totally funky." Prior sums it up, "My

Ramayana has a happy ending. Most cultures adapted the myth as tragedy.

But it seemed here people would feel betrayed if they went through this

huge journey and it ended tragically."