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Showing posts with label Ramayana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ramayana. Show all posts
Monday, July 09, 2012
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Royal Ramayana tribute [in Thailand]
30/11/2011
Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
Traditional artists from seven Asian countries are to join forces with their Thai counterparts in performing the Ramayana mask dance as a tribute to His Majesty the King on his 84th birthday anniversary.
Organised by the Culture Ministry, the shows, to be presented by mask dance troupes from Burma, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, are scheduled for Dec 6, 7 and 9. The programme, to take place at the National Theatre, is to be heralded on Dec 5 with a dance of benediction by each individual country.
The eight troupes are divided into two groups, performing on Dec 6 and 7, at 7pm.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
‘Agangamsor’ a Hit in Maryland Performance
By Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer Original report from Washington
24 November 2009
A Buddhist dance troop visited the Asian Arts and Culture Center in Maryland earlier this month to perform “Agangamsor and His Magic Power,” a uniquely Khmer adaptation to the Indian Ramayana.
The troop, from the Cambodian Buddhist Society, performed at Towson University, on Nov. 7. Its musicians and dancers are little-known treasures in the US state.
Master artist Mani Massady was trained at Cambodia’s Fine Arts University. Composer and “roneat aik,” or lead xylophone, player Chum Ngek and producer, lyricist and singer Say Sara were leaders of professional music ensembles in Cambodia who revived their arts in refugee camps and the United States since late 1970. Several up-and-coming dancers and musicians trained under these masters.
“Agangamasor” is the prequel to the Reamker, the story of the hero, Preah Ream, or Rama, who is the earthly incarnation of Preah Noreay, or Vishnu, the guardian of the universe.
Much of Khmer classical dance drama is based on Cambodian literature, especially the Reamker. While this part of the Reamker is common knowledge among older Cambodians, it has not been retold on stage until this production.
Suewhei Shieh, director of the Asian Arts and Cultural Center of the Towson University, told VOA Khmer that the center’s programming tries to present different types of arts, including performing arts and visual arts from all over Asia.
“Agangamsaor” is part of the “spiritual rhythm of Asia” series, she said, and fit with this year’s focus on spiritual and healing arts.
“Their preservation and creativity for this show are a very unusual, unique type of arts,” she said. “It is very admirable.”
Shieh said she hopes that other Asian cultures and people can follow such an example to preserve their own unique arts.
Saul Gorzelor, an employee at the World Bank, in Washington, came to the show and helped document the performance for the Cambodian Buddhist Society.
He felt “privileged,” he said, to help document a community coming together to keep a tradition alive that was nearly destroyed by the Khmer Rouge, “since all artists were considered suspects.”
“So anything that has to do with beauty and arts, and music and dance and culture, I think it is interesting,” he said.
Caroline Dantzler, a ballet teacher at Lake Twelve Ballet Academy in Ellicott City, Md., said ballet is a little different from Cambodian classical dance, because it moves around the space more, while some of the movements are more off the floor and the flow is also a bit different. The forms are similar, however, in the discipline and elegance, she said.
“The dancers were artists, and I truly enjoyed it, and I am so grateful that I had the chance to see it,” she said. “I love the flow of it, an the way it tended to tell the story about that the way they moved was lovely. The lines they made are very difficult. I think they must be very trained and they were beautiful. And the dancers expressed more than the words did, very much more.”
Sonhie Halmilton, a Malaysian-American housewife who has lived in the Towson community for 36 years, said she enjoyed coming to all Asian Cultural events at the university.
“It is great to see the culture coming back so quickly,” she said of the Cambodian performance. “You heard about Cambodia and the tragedy that took place. The people had no trace of any trauma, and yet the spirit and culture are so alive and inspirational. It is just quite fascinating.”
The troop, from the Cambodian Buddhist Society, performed at Towson University, on Nov. 7. Its musicians and dancers are little-known treasures in the US state.
Master artist Mani Massady was trained at Cambodia’s Fine Arts University. Composer and “roneat aik,” or lead xylophone, player Chum Ngek and producer, lyricist and singer Say Sara were leaders of professional music ensembles in Cambodia who revived their arts in refugee camps and the United States since late 1970. Several up-and-coming dancers and musicians trained under these masters.
“Agangamasor” is the prequel to the Reamker, the story of the hero, Preah Ream, or Rama, who is the earthly incarnation of Preah Noreay, or Vishnu, the guardian of the universe.
Much of Khmer classical dance drama is based on Cambodian literature, especially the Reamker. While this part of the Reamker is common knowledge among older Cambodians, it has not been retold on stage until this production.
Suewhei Shieh, director of the Asian Arts and Cultural Center of the Towson University, told VOA Khmer that the center’s programming tries to present different types of arts, including performing arts and visual arts from all over Asia.
“Agangamsaor” is part of the “spiritual rhythm of Asia” series, she said, and fit with this year’s focus on spiritual and healing arts.
“Their preservation and creativity for this show are a very unusual, unique type of arts,” she said. “It is very admirable.”
Shieh said she hopes that other Asian cultures and people can follow such an example to preserve their own unique arts.
Saul Gorzelor, an employee at the World Bank, in Washington, came to the show and helped document the performance for the Cambodian Buddhist Society.
He felt “privileged,” he said, to help document a community coming together to keep a tradition alive that was nearly destroyed by the Khmer Rouge, “since all artists were considered suspects.”
“So anything that has to do with beauty and arts, and music and dance and culture, I think it is interesting,” he said.
Caroline Dantzler, a ballet teacher at Lake Twelve Ballet Academy in Ellicott City, Md., said ballet is a little different from Cambodian classical dance, because it moves around the space more, while some of the movements are more off the floor and the flow is also a bit different. The forms are similar, however, in the discipline and elegance, she said.
“The dancers were artists, and I truly enjoyed it, and I am so grateful that I had the chance to see it,” she said. “I love the flow of it, an the way it tended to tell the story about that the way they moved was lovely. The lines they made are very difficult. I think they must be very trained and they were beautiful. And the dancers expressed more than the words did, very much more.”
Sonhie Halmilton, a Malaysian-American housewife who has lived in the Towson community for 36 years, said she enjoyed coming to all Asian Cultural events at the university.
“It is great to see the culture coming back so quickly,” she said of the Cambodian performance. “You heard about Cambodia and the tragedy that took place. The people had no trace of any trauma, and yet the spirit and culture are so alive and inspirational. It is just quite fascinating.”
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Cambodian theatre group stages Ramayana in Bhopal (India)
Bhopal, June 8 (ANI): A Cambodian theatre group enacted ‘Ramayana’, a mythological drama depicting the life of Lord Rama, at International Ramlila fair in Bhopal organised by the State Government.The nine-day long International Ramlila fair was held at the ancient Ujjain temple in Bhopal for the first time. The fair began on June 6 and will conclude on June 14.
People from different religions, different cultures, countries are staging Ramlila but in a manner that is prevalent in their culture. There are similarities but there are certain differences as well,” said Pawan Shrivastava, Organiser.
Cambodian theatre group named ‘Classical troupe of Kingdom Group’ enacted the Cambodian version of the epic Ramayana known as ‘Reamker.’
In Reamker, Lord Rama is known as ‘Preah Ream’ and Ravana is known as ‘Krong Reap.’ Sita is called ‘Neang Seda’ and Lakshman brother of Ram is called ‘Preah Leak.’ The name of Hanuman is the same but with a slightly different pronunciation.
Cambodian group artists enacted the entire epic in a ballet; there were no dialogues in the play. Mostly women performed all the roles in the epic. A woman played the role of Lord Rama.
“In our country, Ramayana is very popular, even the children know the main characters like Rama, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman,” said Hun Tha, a troupe artiste.
Cambodian culture has references of Hindu epic Ramayana from the 10 th century AD.
It is believed that Ramayana might have reached Cambodia through the contact with the South Indian kingdoms. Ancient Hindu temples there provide the earliest references of Ramayana and the world famous Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia depicts various episodes from the epic.
The fair will showcase different forms of Ramlila traditions of India and styles of staging the story of Lord Rama in south Asian countries.
Apart from Cambodia, groups from, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Singapore, Java, Laos, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh will be performing in the fair.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Fine Arts Troupe to Perform Rare Circus
The Monkey Army (Photo: Amrita)By Kong Soth, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
02 May 2008
A group of fine arts performers will put on a rare Khmer circus in Phnom Penh this weekend, showcasing a nearly lost art from recently rediscovered.
“Building the Bridge to Langka” will be performed May 3 and May 4, at the Chenla Theater, from 6 pm.
The performance, a story from the Ramayana, will be told through Khmer circus, organizers said.
Soun Bunrith, program director of Amrita, which was founded in 2001 in the US, said he hoped the performance will remind Cambodians to be more interested in art.
“To make the show of Khmer art, it is our tradition, so they can watch it and not forget it,” he said. “They are used to seeing very modern circuses.”
Nay Narin, director of the national circus, said she was proud to have the Ramayana story told through the art form.
“I am more concerned, if we are talking about the circus, that all Khmer people think it does not belong to us, and think this comes from foreigners,” she said. “Because of war, we have abandoned these for so many years, and they think we are copying from foreign countries.”
Performer Phun Pisy said she has performed circuses for many years, but the “Bridge to Langka” show will be difficult.
“I will perform as a fish known as Nang Sovan Macha, a female fish,” she said. “I have to prepare myself to act as a fish faithful in love with a white monkey, so I have to make my body very soft and very fast, too, to march with the music while performing.”
“Building the Bridge to Langka” will be performed May 3 and May 4, at the Chenla Theater, from 6 pm.
The performance, a story from the Ramayana, will be told through Khmer circus, organizers said.
Soun Bunrith, program director of Amrita, which was founded in 2001 in the US, said he hoped the performance will remind Cambodians to be more interested in art.
“To make the show of Khmer art, it is our tradition, so they can watch it and not forget it,” he said. “They are used to seeing very modern circuses.”
Nay Narin, director of the national circus, said she was proud to have the Ramayana story told through the art form.
“I am more concerned, if we are talking about the circus, that all Khmer people think it does not belong to us, and think this comes from foreigners,” she said. “Because of war, we have abandoned these for so many years, and they think we are copying from foreign countries.”
Performer Phun Pisy said she has performed circuses for many years, but the “Bridge to Langka” show will be difficult.
“I will perform as a fish known as Nang Sovan Macha, a female fish,” she said. “I have to prepare myself to act as a fish faithful in love with a white monkey, so I have to make my body very soft and very fast, too, to march with the music while performing.”
Sunday, October 07, 2007
A Sea view of Rama
The Churning of the Ocean of Milk of Angkor Wat 1st gallery is one of the most famous bas-reliefs in Angkor. This relief is located on the south part of eastern wall of the first gallery.(Photo: http://www.angkor-ruins.com)
Saturday October 6 2007
Dr S Krishnaswamy and Dr Mohana Krishnaswamy
NewIndPress.com (India)
We are at the tail end of a fascinating journey through history, in a time machine that took us back 2500 years, and often brought us back and forth to the 21st Century. We made several trips in 2006 — first, for research and then for filming a television documentary serial titled Indian Imprints to be telecast on Doordarshan’s national network. It deals with the impact of ancient Indian culture on Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. This “episode” is devoted to Rama as perceived in SEA (‘South East Asia’, not the Sea at Palk Straight, which is making waves).
Before launching our journey to South East Asia in the footprints of Rama, we must mention that Valmiki, according to historians lived anywhere between 800 BC and 400 BC, composed Ramayana based on the oral traditions that were a thousand years older.
In India, apart from at least four more Ramayanas in Sanskrit, there are the Jain Paumachariyam in Prakrit, Ramcharit Manas by Tulsi Das in Hindi, Sundarananda Ramayana and Adarsha Raghava in Nepali, Katha Ramayana in Assamese, Krittivas Ramayan in Bengali, Jagamohan Ramayana in Oriya, Rama Balalika in Gujarati, Ramavatar in Punjabi, Ramavatara Charita in Kashmiri, besides the well known Kamba Ramayanam in Tamil, Ramacharitam in Malayalam, Ranganatha Ramayanam in Telugu and Torave Ramayana in Kannada.
We travelled across South East Asia as co-researchers to evolve the script and also to plan the shooting. If conceptualising that into a television format was a major challenge, the nitty-gritty of organisation crisscrossing over a hundred locations in five countries was no less difficult. During our subsequent visits, we had distinct, but equally heavy responsibilities to perform — Mohana as the producer taking on the burden of dealing with two monarchies (Thailand and Cambodia), two Communist countries (Vietnam and Laos) and one democracy (Indonesia); while I began to write and direct the serial. In all these travels, the name “Rama” kept emerging everywhere.
In Indonesia, the world’s largest Islamic nation, we discovered that Ramayana and Mahabharata are compulsory subjects in most of the universities. The Indonesian version of Ramayana is called Kakawin Ramayana in the old Javanese (Kawi) language. In the Indonesian version of Mahabharata, Draupathi has only one husband. At the famous 10th Century Prambanan temple in central Java, dedicated to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, the Ramayana is depicted in bas-relief in several parts. The sultan of Jogjakarta supports the daily performance of a leather puppet show of either Ramayana or Mahabharata in his Palace annexure. He also subsidises the world’s only daily performance of a dance ballet based on Ramayana, performed with the Prambanan towers as its backdrop. The highlight of the extraordinary show is that all the two hundred artistes are Muslims. We ask the leading actors how they perform Ramayana with such ardent involvement. The spontaneous reply is: “Islam is our religion. Ramayana is our culture.”
One of the most important landmarks of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, is a gigantic modern sculpture, an extraordinary work of art of Krishna and Arjuna in the chariot with their horses almost flying. Garuda is the national insignia of Indonesia. If you move on to the predominantly Hindu territory of Bali in Indonesia, which has a few thousand Hindu temples, you see the strong influence of Ramayana in the sculptures and performing arts there. We see two group dance performances of the Ramayana — one on a modern stage, and the other in a spiritually devout atmosphere of a temple, where some dancers are in a trance. Rama lives in their midst with no questions being asked.
Leaving the 17,000 islands of Indonesia, we travel to mainland South East Asia. The Laotian version of Ramayana, called “Palak Palang,” is the most favourite theme of the dancers of Laos. The National School for Music and Dance, in this communist country, teaches the Ramayana ballet in the Laotian style. Several Buddhist monasteries and stupas of Laos have sculptures depicting Ramayana in stone as well as in wood panels.
There is a perceptible Hindu-Buddhist syncretism in that entire region. There are sculptures of Rama and Krishna and other avatars (incarnations) of Vishnu in the Shiva temple at Wat Phu Champasak in southern Laos, which has been declared a World Heritage Centre by UNESCO.
Ramayana is immensely popular in Thailand. Huge statues of Sugriva and other characters from Ramayana decorate the courtyard of the Royal palace, surrounded by huge corridors depicting the whole story of Ramayana in large paintings from floor to ceiling. Ramayana sculptures adorn the walls and balustrades of several other Buddhist temples in Thailand. In the Thai version of Ramayana called Ramakian, rediscovered and re-composed by the Thai King, Rama I in the 18th Century, Hanuman is a powerful figure. We also visited several areas where Hanuman is worshipped. There is a huge statue of Hanuman on a hillock facing a major Buddhist monastery.
Several kings of the royal family of Thailand (including the present king) adopted the name ‘Rama’, over the last three centuries. Before the capital was shifted to Bangkok, the capital of Thailand (then Siam) was called Ayuthya (Ayodhya) as a mark of respect to Rama.
In Vietnam, a nation predominantly under the ancient Chinese influence, we see Rama and Krishna, although there is no local version of the Ramayana. In central Vietnam, which was known as the Hindu kingdom of Champa for over 1500 years, there are a large number of Hindu temples, some of them have an unbroken tradition of worship, dating back to a thousand years. You find Rama as an incidental presence in the temples that are predominantly dedicated to Shiva or Uma Maheswari. There is a lot of Krishna in Champa.
If any country in historic times had matched India in its faith in Hinduism, it was perhaps Cambodia. In this war torn Buddhist monarchy, which has met many tragedies in recent times, you find that coronation is complete only with the handing over of ancient gold idols of Shiva and Vishnu by the rajaguru to the king. More than a hundred temples, mostly in a state of ruin, tell the story of the great empire of the Khmers, who worshipped Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma and the Buddha. It is here in Cambodia that Suryavarman built his truly colossal temple dedicated to Vishnu — Angkor Wat, believed by million of visitors, to be most worthy of being included in the Seven Wonders of the world. Angkor Wat, the largest stone temple for any deity in the world, has a nearly 2.7 km circumambulatory passage with gigantic carvings devoted to the epic stories of the churning of the ocean, Ramayana, Mahabharata and so on.
Before launching our journey to South East Asia in the footprints of Rama, we must mention that Valmiki, according to historians lived anywhere between 800 BC and 400 BC, composed Ramayana based on the oral traditions that were a thousand years older.
In India, apart from at least four more Ramayanas in Sanskrit, there are the Jain Paumachariyam in Prakrit, Ramcharit Manas by Tulsi Das in Hindi, Sundarananda Ramayana and Adarsha Raghava in Nepali, Katha Ramayana in Assamese, Krittivas Ramayan in Bengali, Jagamohan Ramayana in Oriya, Rama Balalika in Gujarati, Ramavatar in Punjabi, Ramavatara Charita in Kashmiri, besides the well known Kamba Ramayanam in Tamil, Ramacharitam in Malayalam, Ranganatha Ramayanam in Telugu and Torave Ramayana in Kannada.
We travelled across South East Asia as co-researchers to evolve the script and also to plan the shooting. If conceptualising that into a television format was a major challenge, the nitty-gritty of organisation crisscrossing over a hundred locations in five countries was no less difficult. During our subsequent visits, we had distinct, but equally heavy responsibilities to perform — Mohana as the producer taking on the burden of dealing with two monarchies (Thailand and Cambodia), two Communist countries (Vietnam and Laos) and one democracy (Indonesia); while I began to write and direct the serial. In all these travels, the name “Rama” kept emerging everywhere.
In Indonesia, the world’s largest Islamic nation, we discovered that Ramayana and Mahabharata are compulsory subjects in most of the universities. The Indonesian version of Ramayana is called Kakawin Ramayana in the old Javanese (Kawi) language. In the Indonesian version of Mahabharata, Draupathi has only one husband. At the famous 10th Century Prambanan temple in central Java, dedicated to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, the Ramayana is depicted in bas-relief in several parts. The sultan of Jogjakarta supports the daily performance of a leather puppet show of either Ramayana or Mahabharata in his Palace annexure. He also subsidises the world’s only daily performance of a dance ballet based on Ramayana, performed with the Prambanan towers as its backdrop. The highlight of the extraordinary show is that all the two hundred artistes are Muslims. We ask the leading actors how they perform Ramayana with such ardent involvement. The spontaneous reply is: “Islam is our religion. Ramayana is our culture.”
One of the most important landmarks of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, is a gigantic modern sculpture, an extraordinary work of art of Krishna and Arjuna in the chariot with their horses almost flying. Garuda is the national insignia of Indonesia. If you move on to the predominantly Hindu territory of Bali in Indonesia, which has a few thousand Hindu temples, you see the strong influence of Ramayana in the sculptures and performing arts there. We see two group dance performances of the Ramayana — one on a modern stage, and the other in a spiritually devout atmosphere of a temple, where some dancers are in a trance. Rama lives in their midst with no questions being asked.
Leaving the 17,000 islands of Indonesia, we travel to mainland South East Asia. The Laotian version of Ramayana, called “Palak Palang,” is the most favourite theme of the dancers of Laos. The National School for Music and Dance, in this communist country, teaches the Ramayana ballet in the Laotian style. Several Buddhist monasteries and stupas of Laos have sculptures depicting Ramayana in stone as well as in wood panels.
There is a perceptible Hindu-Buddhist syncretism in that entire region. There are sculptures of Rama and Krishna and other avatars (incarnations) of Vishnu in the Shiva temple at Wat Phu Champasak in southern Laos, which has been declared a World Heritage Centre by UNESCO.
Ramayana is immensely popular in Thailand. Huge statues of Sugriva and other characters from Ramayana decorate the courtyard of the Royal palace, surrounded by huge corridors depicting the whole story of Ramayana in large paintings from floor to ceiling. Ramayana sculptures adorn the walls and balustrades of several other Buddhist temples in Thailand. In the Thai version of Ramayana called Ramakian, rediscovered and re-composed by the Thai King, Rama I in the 18th Century, Hanuman is a powerful figure. We also visited several areas where Hanuman is worshipped. There is a huge statue of Hanuman on a hillock facing a major Buddhist monastery.
Several kings of the royal family of Thailand (including the present king) adopted the name ‘Rama’, over the last three centuries. Before the capital was shifted to Bangkok, the capital of Thailand (then Siam) was called Ayuthya (Ayodhya) as a mark of respect to Rama.
In Vietnam, a nation predominantly under the ancient Chinese influence, we see Rama and Krishna, although there is no local version of the Ramayana. In central Vietnam, which was known as the Hindu kingdom of Champa for over 1500 years, there are a large number of Hindu temples, some of them have an unbroken tradition of worship, dating back to a thousand years. You find Rama as an incidental presence in the temples that are predominantly dedicated to Shiva or Uma Maheswari. There is a lot of Krishna in Champa.
If any country in historic times had matched India in its faith in Hinduism, it was perhaps Cambodia. In this war torn Buddhist monarchy, which has met many tragedies in recent times, you find that coronation is complete only with the handing over of ancient gold idols of Shiva and Vishnu by the rajaguru to the king. More than a hundred temples, mostly in a state of ruin, tell the story of the great empire of the Khmers, who worshipped Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma and the Buddha. It is here in Cambodia that Suryavarman built his truly colossal temple dedicated to Vishnu — Angkor Wat, believed by million of visitors, to be most worthy of being included in the Seven Wonders of the world. Angkor Wat, the largest stone temple for any deity in the world, has a nearly 2.7 km circumambulatory passage with gigantic carvings devoted to the epic stories of the churning of the ocean, Ramayana, Mahabharata and so on.
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