ABSTRACT
Days before the time fixed for the Dasahra festival, men, done up like monkeys and attended by drummers, may be seen in the bazaars collecting money for the fair, at which the more striking leading incidents of the epic are annually performed, part by part, in a rude pantomimic fashion. The hero, Rama, and his inseparable brother, were dragged along on wooden horses, placed on a wheeled platform. There they sat, side by side, holding tiny bows and arrows in their hands, in a most ridiculous way, while the less important mythological personages, divine or other, came along in carriages or litters. Near the temple of Vishnu, by Rattan Singh's Serai, arrangements had been made for a dramatic representation of Rama's famous history. The crowd began to settle down. The central space was cleared. Rama and Lakshmana walked barefooted round the arena, showing themselves to the spectators.
