Kathavachak’s Characters and the Artists Who Play Them

Abstract Chapter 5 presents comparative readings of passages from key emotional moments in the Radheshyam Ramayan and the Rāmcaritmānas, with occasional reference to Valmiki’s Rāmāyaṇa. It interweaves these with personal vignettes of Ramlila actors in the Subhashnagar neighborhood of Bareilly who have performed in the various roles in the cited passages. Focusing on a few significant scenes and characters—Lakshman, Sita, Anasuya, Kevat, and Shabri—this chapter shows how Kathavachak infuses more realism into his text, and gives these characters larger roles and more subjectivity than Tulsidas does. Yet we can detect in Kathavachak’s treatment of these characters a brahminical paternalism that runs through his work and public statements. Meanwhile, the actors’ accounts shed light on their experiences and thoughts related to the Radheshyam Ramayan and Ramlila.