Reclaiming Raasleela — the playfulness of life

THE widows also enacted Krishna Leela, something forbidden for them for centuries. The land they choose to spend their lives is known as the land of Raasleela, which, for some strange reason, came to be associated with the city of widows. In a way, they reclaimed Raasleela. 

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Poetry and music woven around the nitya leela (daily routine) of gods offered experiences of life in an aesthetic manner in the temples. Raasleela — the esoteric love poetry expressed in dance form performed routinely by several communities around Krishna Janamashtmi and Holi evolved as a sophisticated art form among the Vaishnavites. The sect members offer seva to their beloved deity of Shri RradhaKrishna. The seva came in various forms such as food, jewellery and also music and dance. Of all offerings, love is considered supreme. The traditional Vaishnavite poetry is about the beauty of surrender in intense love: bhakti for the one who gave us the gift of life as leela, in a state of playfulness. Therefore, Raasleela is played, not performed.

The tradition of playing Raasleela started around the 15th century in Vrindavan, based on the Vani literature of the Vraja (Brij) region. The Vani songs are a transcription of the songs that were heard by prominent saints of Nimbarka Sampradaya — Swami Harivyasa Devacarya and his Guru, Swami Shri Shribhatta, as they meditated on the nitya leela of Shri Radha Krishna. 

The Raasleela performances were introduced by a few swamis in Vrindavan, when they felt many new devotees could not understand the Vraja language. Therefore the swamis trained their brahmchari students to play the parts that appeared in the songs in order to convey a visual representation of the Leela being described in the verses. Since then the traditional form has remained, the actors are young brahmacharis led by the swami of that group. 

More beauty was added to this art as Swami Haridasa, a great dhrupad singer born in 1512, shifted his residence in the later part of his life to Vrindavan, the ‘playground’ of the beloved cowherd Krishna and Radha. He built his ashram in Nidhivan and sang his songs of love of Radha-Krishna. Following the example of Swami Shribhatta, Haridas continued to praise the Lord until the Lord manifested himself as Sri Banke Bihariji, it is believed. Every year eminent classical singers come to his Samadhi, to pay musical tributes to the great singer-saint. 

Swami Haridasa's music established the tradition of singing devotional compositions in dhrupad style, to the accompaniment of sitar and pakhawaj, the songs are composed in Vraja language. 

With the passage of time, purity of dhrupad music is compromised to meet contemporary tastes. Yet a few temples stick to the traditional grace of music and dance while playing Raasleela.