Director Bharatbala won the Best Documentary award at the 72nd National Film Awards on September 22, for Ramnami
, his short film examining an ostracised Chhattisgarh devotional sect that tattoos the name of Ram across their bodies as a peaceful form of historical protest against caste-based temple exclusion.
The recognition has also bridged rural Chhattisgarh and urban culture, inspiring Kolkata’s upcoming Durga Puja celebrations.
Origins in 19th-Century Exclusion and Bodily Devotion
The Ramnami community emerged in the 1890s within Dalit populations in the Chhattisgarh region during an era when exclusion from Hindu temples barred them from traditional places of worship. Rather than abandoning their faith, community members chose a radical form of devotional resistance: transforming their physical selves into mobile temples by inscribing the name of Ram across their skin, clothing, and personal objects. By placing worship of Lord Ram at its core, the movement rejected the notion that one’s connection to the divine should depend on caste or entry into temples. For the community, the name itself remains sacred, reflecting an extraordinary mix of faith, identity, and social defiance.
Historical accounts attribute the movement’s inception to Sant Parasuram, a Dalit saint born in the 1870s who was the first person to tattoo the word ‘Ram’ across his forehead in the 1890s.
Filming the Living Temples Across Chhattisgarh Villages
Chennai-based filmmaker Bharatbala travelled to Champa in Chhattisgarh five years ago chasing the story of the ostracised devotional sect.
“We don’t care about any differences; our body and mind itself are the temple.”
Manohar, central subject of Ramnami, via The Hindu
Bharatbala noted that the elders in the community have maintained that they discover the God within, meaning they do not need to go to the temple.
Full-Body Tattooing Nears Its Historical End
Full-body tattooing is nearing its historical end. Aging members comprise the final generation of Ramnamis, whose homes are primarily found in Chhattisgarh’s Mahanadi valley villages alongside the border areas of Odisha and Maharashtra.
“My face is still left, including the eyelids, eyebrows and head. As long as one can bear the pain, one continues. Then one takes a break, only to be tattooed after some time.”
Gularam Ramnami, general secretary of the Ramnami community, via Indiatimes
At 54 years old, Gularam is among the youngest of those still extensively tattooed. Although youth continue to participate in bhajans, pass down traditional songs, and wear smaller tattoos on their chests, hands, and foreheads, contemporary factors like urbanization, employment, education, and migration make them reluctant to permanently mark their faces and entire bodies with an unmistakable identity. During December and January, marking the conclusion of the harvest season, the Ramnamis travel to Sarsiwa village located in Raipur district for a three-day Bhajan Mela, setting up a pillar inscribed with Ramnam and reciting the ‘Ramcharitmanas’.
Inspiration for Kolkata’s Chaltabagan Durga Puja
The cultural visibility generated by the documentary and ongoing community efforts has extended to major urban festivals. This year, the 82-year-old Chaltabagan Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata—part of the 84th edition of the Manicktala Chaltabagan Lohapatty Durga Puja Committee—will be based on the theme ‘Nishaan—The Mark’, drawing inspiration directly from the Ramnamis.