This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Richman, P. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Ravana in London

The Theatrical Career of a Demon in the South Asian Diaspora

Oberlin College, USA, Paula.Richman{at}oberlin.edu

The Ramayana, one of Hinduism's two pre-eminent epics, portrays the heroic Rama as an exemplar of proper behavior, but demon king Ravana as deviant in culinary, sexual, and political deeds. Representations of Ravana have been theorized as functioning to (1) dehumanize (mostly Muslim) enemies as aliens or (2) condemn treatment by plantation owners in indentured labor colonies. This article analyzes representations of Ravana in three London plays (1970—2001) to see how South Asian diasporic performances depict the demonic. In a feminist Ramlila in Southall, Greater London, Ravana symbolizes racism in Britain. In a family entertainment at the National Theatre, Ravana is composed of ten `multicultural' heads. In a Tara Arts production where Rama meets Odysseus, the external enemy (Ravana), matters less than the internal one (the suspicions men harbor about their wives). These examples suggest that, in diaspora contexts, representations of Ravana can generate multiple, complex, and sometimes contradictory meanings.

Key Words: Birmingham Repertory Theatre • multiculturalism (Britain) • National Theatre (Britain) • Ramayana • Ramlila • Ravana • Southall • Tara Arts

References

• Asad, Talal (1993) Genealogies of Religion: Discipline, and Reasons of Power in Christianity and Islam. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Bhachu, Parminder (1985) Twice Migrants: East African Sikh Settlers in Britain. London: Tavistock Publications.
• Brah, Avtar (1988) `Journey to Nairobi', in Shabnam Grewal et al. (eds) Charting the Journey: Writings by Black and Third World Women, pp. 74—88. London: Sheba Feminist Publishers.
• Brah, Avtar (1996) Cartographies of Diaspora: Contesting Identities. London: Routledge.
• Brown, Georgina (2001) `Terrific Trouble at the Mill', Mail on Sunday (15 April).
• Bulcke, Camille (1950) Ramkatha: Utpatti aur Vikas (The Rama Story: Origin and Development). Prayag: Hindi Parishad Prakashan.
• Daily Telegraph (1979) `Asian Fury at Election Meeting' (24 April).
• Dhanjal, Beryl (1977—8) `Asian Housing in Southall', New Community 6(1—2): 88—93.
• Dhillon, Perminder (1979) `They're Killing Us in Here', Spare Rib.
• Downes, Christopher (2001) `The Ramayana', West End Extra (13 April).
• Dummett, Michael, ed. (1980) Southall 23 April 1979: The Report of the Unofficial Committee of Enquiry. London: National Council for Civil Liberties.
• Espiner, Mark (2001) `That'll be the Deity', Time Out (4 April).
• Gardner, Lyn (2001) `The Ramayana', Guardian (13 April).
• Goldman, Robert (2000) `Ravana's Kitchen: A Testimony of Desire and the Other', in Paula Richman (ed.) Questioning Ramayanas: A South Asian Tradition, pp. 105—16, 374—6. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
• Gross, John (2001) `Monkey Tricks and Magic-Making', Sunday Telegraph (13 April).
• Halliburton, Rachel (2001) `Hindu Epic Shines', Evening Standard (12 April).
• Hanna, Max (1974) `The National Front and Other Right-Wing Organizations ', New Community 3(1—2): 49—55.
• Institute of Race Relations (1981) Southall: The Birth of a Black Community. London: Institute of Race Relations.
• Kapur, Anuradha (1990) Actors, Pilgrims, Kings and God: The Ramlila at Ramnagar. Calcutta: Seagull Press.
• Katyal, Anjum (1998) `A Dialogue with England: An Interview with Jatinder Verma', Seagull Theater Quarterly 17: 71—80.
• Kelly, John (2000) `Fiji's Fifth Veda: Exile, Sanatan Dharm, and Countercolonial Initiatives in Diaspora', in Paula Richman (ed.) Questioning Ramayanas: A South Asian Tradition, pp. 329—51, 405—10. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
• Kelly, John (2004) `Jaikumari', in Brij V. Lal (ed.) Bittersweet: The Indo-Fijian Experience, pp. 47—70. Canberra: Australian National University.
• Nesbitt, Eleanor (1995) `Panjabis in Britain: Cultural History and Cultural Choices', South Asia Research 15(2): 221—40.[Free Full Text]
• Nightingale, Benedict (2001) `Farcical Mystical Tour', The Times (7 April).
• Nugent, Neill (1976) `The Anti-Immigration Groups', New Community 5(3): 302—10.
• Oswald, Peter (2000) The Ramayana. London: Oberon Modern Plays.
• Parekh, Bhikkhu (1994) `The Indian Diaspora', Asian Age (28 March—2 April).
• Pollock, Sheldon (1993) `Ramayana and Political Imagination in India', Journal of Asian Studies 52(2): 261—97.[CrossRef]
• Porter, Cedric (2001) `Monkeys' Magic Touch', South London Press (20 April).
• Richman, Paula (1991) `E.V. Ramasami's Interpretation of the Ramayana', in Paula Richman (ed.) Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia, pp. 175—201. Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Richman, Paula (1999) `A Diaspora Ramayana in Southall, Greater London ', Journal of the American Academy of Religion 67(2): 35—57.
• Richman, Paula, ed. (2000) Questioning Ramayanas: A South Asian Tradition. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
• Richman, Paula (2004) `Shifting Terrain: Rama and Odysseus Meet on the London Stage', Journal of Vaishnava Studies (April): 189—99.
• Richman, Paula (2005) `Ravana, Diwali, and Spiritual Unity', in Anna King and John Brockington (eds) Devotional Traditions in Indian Religions, pp. 78—128. Hyderabad: Orient Longman.
• Rosenthal, Daniel (2001) `Seasoned with Eastern Spice', The Times (10 April).
• Roy, Amit (2000) `Ram Lila', Daily Telegraph (29 October).
• Santhanam, Kausalya (2002) `Transcending Alienness', The Hindu Magazine (17 March).
• Southall Gazette (1979) `Festival' (19 October).
• Spencer, Charles (2001) `Hey, Hey, it's the Monkeys that Spoil it', Daily Telegraph (13 April).
• Stalker, John (2001) `Rep's West End Winner', Birmingham Evening Mail (19 April).
• Tara Arts Group (1977) [letter], www.salidaa.org.uk/salidaa/site/Collections
• Taylor, Stan (1978) `The National Front: Anatomy of a Political Movement ', in Robert Miles and Annie Phizacklea (eds) Racism and Political Action in Britain, pp. 126—46. London: Routledge.
• Verma, Jatinder (1998) `The Challenge of Binglish: Analyzing Multicultural Productions', Seagull Theater Quarterly 17: 81—5.
• Verma, Jatinder (2001) 2001: A Ramayan Odyssey [Script]. London.
• Woddis, Carole (2001) `It's a Culture Thing', Evening Standard (18 April).

Cultural Dynamics, Vol. 19, No. 2-3, 165-192 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0921374007080290


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Richman, P. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?