A California school has been staging Ramayana for almost 50 years

Ranging from pre-school and kindergarten kids dancing and prancing on the stage in forest animal costumes to high school students reciting long dialogues and tunes as the principal characters, the California-based Mount Madonna School's annual production Ramayana as its culmination event is a feast of a sort.

The 46th-year production is a beloved and cherished tradition by the students of the school as well as the teachers, parents, non-teaching staff, and alumni who lend their services voluntarily at the school's annual production.

The longest-running Broadway-style production in the western hemisphere, adapted from the ancient epic, was this year held at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose from 5 June to 8 June. A blend of different skills of the students, from ballet steps, classical dancing in Indian tradition and acrobatics to singing and acting, was all put on display through creatively blended dance choreographies, songs and other elements. The school show changes every year, blending the old elements with the new.

A large number of the senior high school students who have been involved in the production for years attain their peak in acting and singing as the principal characters of Lord Rama, Lord Shiva, Goddess Sita, Goddess Parvati and others. The production started with nearly 200 students taking part in the invocation to Goddess Saraswati with Jai Ma-Jai Jai Ma chanting.

"We learn more and more about the epic as we perform Ramayana each year. Our senior class of six attended India and had time in Himachal Pradesh and Haridwar at Sri Ram Ashram, which is a sister school to Mount Madonna School," adds Director Chelsea Otterness. "The seniors learned more about the character that they were playing and were immersed in the colorfulness of the Indian culture of acceptance of other cultures."

Otterness brings the depth and the learning more about the depth of the story and how Ramayana is a well, and it is possible to learn so much, including the learning of the evolution of consciousness.

I never thought that 10,000 miles away from India, I'd be able to see a play on Ramayana. Like most Indians, I too have been raised on the tales of the ancient epic, and I recall arguing and discussing with family members and friends some of the doings and judgments of the heroes of the story. I also have very fond memories attached to the stories of the scripture. I recall countless summer vacation evenings, sleeping under the refreshing night sky at my paternal grandmother's residence in Chandigarh, when my cousins and I would gather around our grandfather to listen and re-listen the innumerable stories from Ramayana. Our Pitaji's portrayal in exact details of Sitaji in her diverse jewels was so that we were transported to another world.

The eagerness with which school students in the US have embraced the Orient's ancient scripture as a topic for its performing arts program and the ultimate triumph of the exercise are fascinating. While the artistic value of the production can be improved in many ways, the presentation of the long and arduous story within less than four hours felt like a Herculean feat in itself.

On the field of set grandeur and costume sparkle, the production wanted nothing further. All the ingredients of children's entertainment had been brought together, and adults benefited from the labor and resulting delight of the juvenile artists.

The showcase of the production on the holy scripture was started by the members of the Hanuman Fellowship Centre, a non-profit organisation founded by the students of Baba Hari Dass and Mount Madonna School (an affiliation of the Hanuman Fellowship Centre).

Ramayana was introduced by teacher and Yoga Master, Baba Hari Dass. In 1972, students of the Hanuman Fellowship performed at yoga retreats and then at various venues, including universities. Initially, some children were members of the predominantly adult cast, but in 1979, the Mount Madonna School commenced a production with the students and other children making up the cast. After running parallel productions for several years, the school show evolved into an exclusive program.