How Ram is imagined differently by Indians through his various imageries
In its various forms, retellings and anecdotes, the story of Ram is one which has been deeply entrenched within the culture of South Asia. Even within India, the story of Ram takes unique form across different communities. Having been an oral tradition for the longest time, modern printing technologies revolutionized the way people consumed this mythical story. The rise of the Hindu iconography gave a physical form to the revered Ram for the first time; accessible in the form of books, calendars and art prints meant for worship. The movies and television series took the prints out of the books and infused life in the divine post which gods and goddesses became a part of the internet culture, language, memes and gif. Straddling through all these mediums, the imagery and imagination of Ram has undergone drastic change and variation. While some are credited to the medium itself, some other imageries can be attributed to the changing cultural subtext of the nation. This piece is an attempt to understand the imagination of the various imagery of Ram, the meaning it holds and the context behind it.
The Deity
The most basic and earliest imagery/imagination of Ram has been as Lord Ram, the divine avatar of Vishnu. Post the consolidation of the Hindi language as we know it today which coincided with the boom of grassroot printing technology in India; there was spurt in the production of religious books. This eventually led to the development of the first wave of a robust Hindu iconography on the basis of which the imagination of Lord Ram subsequently sprung out. As one of the most ubiquitous images, it can be found in any average Hindu household in the calendar behind the door, the images inside the home temple or on the cover of a Gita Press book. It features a handsome male with bluish skin donning a serene and reassuring smile. Decked in gold ornaments signifying purity and armed with his bow/arrow, Lord Ram bestows his “ashirwad” through a hand gesture. While the upper body is generally visible, he has the divine halo around his head and throne. The background could variably be a bright burst of light, a spatial void or the fluffy cirrus clouds signifying the heavens and beyond. Ram as the deity is shown to be a calming, reassuring and “sundar” presence, espousing qualities of compassion and empathy.
The King
The longing for “Ram Rajya” and the imagination of Ram as the ideal king, “maryada purushottam” has been a recurring theme in the social and political milieu of India. Though anecdotes from the period of Ram’s return to throne is not as popular as his exile hero journey, Lord Ram has held sway over the imagination of the people as the ideal king and embodiment of kinship values. If Krishna embodied love, Vishnu through Ram avatar professed the characteristics of a ideal, just and principled king. Thus, not only did Gandhi imagine a Ram-Rajya for India, Modi in his recent speech invoked the qualities of Ram as an able administrator of a diverse land. The imagination of Ram as the king manifests in the various iconography where he is shown holding a court along with Laksham, Sita, Hanuman and other characters in the background. Television and movies bought to life the idea of Ram holding a durbar; be it in a palace in Ayodhya or in the jungle commanding the vanar sena.
The Hero
The core story of the Ramayana epic traces the journey of a banished prince and his return as the rightful king. In sync with Joseph Campbell’s study on comparative mythology and the resultant monomyth; the story of Ram is the quintessential hero story. The banishment of Ram from his own kingdom marks the beginning of the adventure, post which he recedes far away from civilization into the deep jungles. In this unknown world, our hero faces many obstacles and gains valuable friends/aid who help him in his quest. The battle with his adversary, the rescue of his beloved wife and his triumphant return to his kingdom marks the king restoring the balance of a world which had been wrecked upon his departure, while elevating himself to the status of a divine being. While the stories are rife with instances that classically reek of the hero trope, of late the imagery of Ram as a metaphorical hero of the Indian nation and the Hindu religion has also emerged. While the image of a determined Ram standing atop a rock eyeing the island of Lanka is the classical hero depiction, a more recent depictions of Ram take the form of an athletic male against the backdrop of a bright red setting sun. As Ram becomes a role model, his imagination as savior hero overshadows his credentials as a godly king.
The Warrior
The battle between Ram and Ravana is one of the most important sections of the Ramayana and popularly is the most awaited night during the yearly Ramleela performances. The battle itself has many micro duels and events within it, where Ram has traditionally been depicted as the able leader, smart strategist, compassionate team member and a skilled fighter. However, of late the warrior imagination of Ram has been dialed especially in the popular social media posts and public art. A far cry from the upper body profile of a smiling Ram depicted as the deity, the angry and frowning warrior Ram draws inspiration from two sources: the viral angry hanuman imagery and the popular Indian mythology-fiction genre. The warrior is imagined as an Indian adaption of a cross between the Greek gods and Japanese samurai, someone who has a well chiseled body and a minimum of 6 pack abs, while performing gravity defying stunts to shoot his sharp arrows. The saturated color pallet and shadows/silhouettes imagery add to the sinister and fearsome personality of Ram imagined as a warrior. While Hindu gods and goddesses have traditionally been depicted as serene and calming, the violent energy of the latest Ram renditions are in sync with the narrative of the Hindu fringe who see him as the one saving the country, not just the religion. Ram is no longer the god on a pedestal to be offered flowers, but he has become the poster boy and front-line warrior in battle fueled by divisive politics which has been amped up by playing on the insecurities of masses.
