Geet Ramayan - Characters

Characters

A total of 32 characters from the Ramayana were voiced in the Geet Ramayan. Madgulkar expressed the emotions of characters such as Rama, Sita, Hanuman – the monkey (vanara) god and devotee of Rama – and Lakshmana (Rama's brother); he also attempted to give voice to the humblest characters in the epic. The vanara are given a song ("Setū Bāndhā Re Sāgarī") describing a bridge forming over the ocean so Rama and his army could cross to Lanka. The poet noted that the song described the sacrifice of joint labour and was an example of the principle, "Union is strength". Nishadraj and the boatmen expressed themselves in "Nakos Nauke Parat Phirū". The author of the Ramayana, Valmiki, was also given a song (the final song, "Gā Bāḷāno, Shrīrāmāyaṇ") with his advice to Rama's sons Kusha and Lava before they appear before Rama.

Being hero of the Ramayana and Geet Ramayan, Madgulkar expressed the varied moods of Rama; he was the most-voiced character in the Geet Ramayan with ten songs, followed by Sita with eight. He portrayed Rama as a complex character full of emotions and passions, with some of the questionable deeds, yet bound by a traditional virtue and the sanctity of a promise. Madgulkar voiced Rama's personal ethical dilemmas (in "Vālīvadh Nā, Khalnidrālan" and "Līnate, Cārūte, Sīte") along with his courage (in "Nabhā Bhedunī Nād Chālale"), and steadfastness (in "Līnate, Cārūte, Sīte"). He was shown to be patient with his brothers and mothers (in "Parādhīn Āhe Jagatī Putra Mānavāchā"), obedient of father and sages (in "Calā Rāghavā Calā"), heroic on the battlefield, and diplomatic when dealing with the monkey king, Vali (in "Vālīvadh Nā, Khalnidrālan"). Madgulkar is said to have successfully shown Rama's divinity alongside his human weaknesses. He was shown to be distracted at the loss Sita (in "Koṭhe Sītā Janakanandinī?"), and wailed in Lakshmana's presence (in "Hī Ticyā Veṇitil Phule"). In another situation, he uttered some heart-wrenching words to Sita, in front of his army with blaming her for all the happenings (in "Līnate, Cārūte, Sīte"), and then he was also shown to explain his behavior with oaths and confessions of loyalty to Sita (in "Lokasākṣa Shuddhī Jhālī").

Rama's mother, Kausalya, sang three songs; his brother Bharata, his father Dasharatha, Hanuman, Lakshmana, the demon Surpanakha (sister of Ravana), Rama's guru-sage Vishvamitra and Kusha-Lava have two songs each. The central antagonist of the Ramayana, the demon-king Ravana, was not given a song; his oppressive presence was expressed in prose narration, poetic descriptions and songs sung by the other characters (such as Ravana's demon brother Kumbhakarna in "Lankevar Kāḷ Kaṭhin ālā").