Banaras ki Ramlila

The built form along the ghats of Banaras takes multiple functions- a retaining wall acts as a facade of the building with articulation of bastions, step walls, opening punctures as colonnades, or bringing light to the inside space. The slope of the terrain governs how the walls cascade down towards the water through a series of roles to play. In the mornings some spaces act as entry points to the ghats and later on as a shaded place for youngsters to sit and relax and later in evenings it acts as a view towards the Ganga aarti. Similarly, the bastions, and platforms on ghats shift their roles while catering to the users. The site selected is Shivala Ghat which has multiple entry points which is essential for the mass to gather for the event and also experience a free flow of movement. By furthering the allocation of areas to sit or pass by the space can be transformed as stationary or space in movement. The series of steps coming down to the water edge act as a space for the audience to sit and the water edge as a setting for a linear stage accommodating a wider cone of vision.