Five decades after their debut, Kalakshetra’s Ramayana dance dramas still resonate

Rama’s exile as demanded by Kaikeyi lasted 14 years. It took Rukmini Devi the same number of years to complete her six iconic Valmiki Ramayana productions. “It is a strange coincidence that it took 14 years for me to bring my Rama back to his Kingdom,” she had said. 

Nearly half a century after that, Kalakshetra’s Ramayana series continues to draw full houses — this Margazhi season saw the entire series being staged after a gap. 

Rukmini Devi brought in environment and aesthetics, myth and philosophy, plastic art and theatrical rituals into a single arena. Her Ramayana series personifies qualities and dramatises abstract concepts. Those who deride her for allegedly removing sringara can find tender moments between Rama and Sita. For those who scoffed that the Kalakshetra style was too serious, there were many scenes full of humour and wisdom worthy of appreciation.

C.P. Shantha and Rama Devi as Lava and Kusha in ‘Sita Swayamvaram’ staged in 1955
| Photo Credit:
Courtesy: Kalakshetra

It was in 1954 that Rukmini Devi decided to produce Valmiki Ramayana as a dance drama series. The task of selecting verses and editing the script was given to Venkatachala Shastry, Adinarayana Sharma and S. Sharada. Rukmini Devi went all the way to Mysore to persuade 83-year-old Vasudevachar to come to Kalakshetra in Madras to compose the music. First presented in 1955, Sita Swayamvaram began with Lava and Kusha, the children of Rama and Sita narrating the story to Rama himself. 

When Vasudevachar composed the narration in Ragamalika, veena maestro Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer is said to have exclaimed “If I were a Maharaja, I would give you a thousand gold sovereigns in appreciation of this Ragamalika.” Even today, many are fans of the series’ music. Mysore Vasudevachar’s music has such depth to it. The ragabhava in the music is intense and enhances the full import of each word. Expressions of changing moods in a single raga within a song are brought out strongly. For the scene where the boatman Guha ferries Rama, Lakshmana and Sita across the Ganga, Vasudevachar created a new raga called Gangalahari. 

Sri Rama Vanagamanam and Paduka Pattabishekam were produced in 1960. Vasudevachar passed away just before his 100th birthday, and it took Rukmini Devi five years to come back to Ramayana with Rajaram, Vasudevachar’s grandson composing music for Sabari Moksham (1965). Choodamani Pradanam was produced in 1968, and Mahapattabishekam in 1970. 

There were many artistic decisions Rukmini Devi took while producing these iconic dance dramas. For instance, in Sabari Moksham, the scene where apsaras were singing and dancing in a lake was depicted through imaginative choreography. 

Lava and Kusha in the dance drama at the 2025 festival
| Photo Credit:
Courtesy: Kalakshetra

Again, while delineating the character of Surpanaka, Rukmini Devi did not visualise her as transforming into a beautiful woman. Her interpretation was that Surpanaka already considered herself beautiful. Rukmini Devi saw that Valmiki Ramayana does not talk about Lakshmana drawing a line of fire to protect Sita. She effected slight changes in the sequence of events to make it work for the stage. Instead of recreating the war on stage, she used the clever strategy of apsaras describing the sequences. She used minimum props to create the illusion of Hanuman flying over the sea to Lanka.

Rukmini Devi had said that the unhappiest scene for her to choreograph was the Agnipravesham, where Sita enters the fire to prove her chastity. But when she heard Seetharama Sarma’s song for it, she consented to its inclusion. S. Sharada was witness to how Rukmini Devi choreographed the scene — she demonstrated to Krishnaveni, who was playing Sita, how to express desolate sadness. This scene went on to become iconic.

These dance dramas were also pioneering, because they were originally produced when there were no artistic reference points. For the costumes, Rukmini Devi created unbelievable colour combinations. It is said that she once placed fallen leaves in different stages of drying, and wanted those colours for Jatayu’s costume. She had the assistance of the best lighting designers who helped her bring alive the epic.

C.K. Balagopalan as Hanuman in Choodamani Pradanam
| Photo Credit:
Courtesy: Kalakshetra

Choodamani Pradanam and Mahapattabhisekam were not performed for the last two years. After several years, all the six episodes were presented as part of a single festival. Brilliant costumes, split second lighting changes, appropriate musical effects and every artiste showing deep involvement and enjoyment marked this Season’s presentation, particularly the energy brought by Jyothish Satheesh, the new Hanuman. He left a similar impression as the previous Hanumans — played by Balagopalan and Janardhanan.

Third-generation Kalakshetra artistes presenting vintage productions like they were freshly-minted gold, with the elegance and dignity with which they were choreographed many decades ago, hits differently.