Varanasi, Sep 23 : As the festive spirit of Dussehra sweeps across India, even the high walls of Varanasi's Central Jail are echoing with chants hailing Lord Ram. In a unique initiative blending tradition with reform, prisoners serving life sentences or long-term imprisonment are performing the age-old epic of Ramlila within the jail premises.

This isn't a one-off event. For the past 15 years, the Central Jail has hosted its own rendition of Ramlila, with inmates playing every role from Lord Ram and Goddess Sita to King Ravana and Lord Hanuman.

The performance begins on the first day of Navratri and culminates with the symbolic burning of Ravana's effigy on Dussehra. Preparations begin as early as July, turning the prison into a stage of devotion and redemption.

Speaking to IANS, Senior Jail Superintendent Radha Krishna Mishra shared insights into the initiative: 'We have been organising Ramlila since 2010-11. Prisoners are carefully selected for roles, and regular rehearsals are conducted. They not only perform with sincerity but truly bring the Ramayana to life.'

Interestingly, the jail doctor plays a crucial role in assigning parts to inmates based on their behaviour, voice modulation, and personality ' turning the casting process into a thoughtful and creative exercise.

Ramlila is a performance of the Ramayana epic in a series of scenes that include song, narration, recital and dialogue. It is performed across northern India during the festival of Dussehra, held each year according to the ritual calendar in autumn.

The most famous Ramlilas are those of Ayodhya, Ramnagar and Varanasi, Vrindavan, Almora, and Madhubani.

This staging of the Ramayana is based on the Ramacharitmanas, one of the most popular storytelling forms in the North of the country. This sacred text devoted to the glory of Ram, the hero of the Ramayana, was composed by Tulsidas in the sixteenth century in a form of Hindi in order to make the Sanskrit epic available to all.

The majority of the Ramlilas recount episodes from the Ramacharitmanas through a series of performances lasting ten to twelve days, but some, such as Ramnagar's, may last an entire month.

Festivals are organised in hundreds of settlements, towns and villages during the Dussehra festival season celebrating Lord Ram's return from exile.

Ramlila recalls the battle between Lord Ram and Ravana and consists of a series of dialogues between gods, sages and the faithful. Ramlila's dramatic force stems from the succession of icons representing the climax of each scene.

/IANS