Rawana, King of Lanka (2009)

Ramayana is one of the great Hindu holy books and tells the story of Prince Rama and his Princess Sita. The evil Rawana, King of Lanka, disguises his Prime Minister as a golden deer and lures Prince Rama into the forest. With Princess Sita now alone, King Rawana pounces and carries her off to his hideaway.

Hanuman, the white monkey god, informs Princess Sita that Rama is trying to rescue her and gives her Rama’s ring as proof of contact. When Rama arrives he is met by King Rawana’s son, Megananda, who shoots an arrow that magically turns into a snake and ties Rama up.

Fortunately, he is able to call upon Garuda (mythical man-bird creature) who helps him escape. With the help of Hanuman and his monkey army, a great battle where good defeats evil occurs and Rama + Sita return home safely.

[About this Photo: Last October I spent a week in Bali, Indonesia for vacation. This story is portrayed every night with full costume, dance, chanting, and fire at Uluwatu, one of the most spectacular Hindu temples on the island, high atop a cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean. The performance is called Kecak and includes a large choir of men chanting "kecak..cak..cak.." which imitates a troupe of monkeys. Each of the characters are ornately decorated in costume and dramatically animated.

I was lucky enough to be positioned right up front throughout the performance and the finale involving a ring of fire as an attempt to burn Hanuman, the white monkey god, reminded me how close I was to the action. Considering the location of the cliff temple, at sunset, and the actors performing a traditional story with such enthusiasm, this turned out to be one of the greatest things I may ever witness.]