Why is Ram lila popular in North India than South India?

Question

When thought of Deepavali the question struck my mind---
Krishna killed Narakasura and we celebrate Deepavali. Rama killed Ravana mightier than Narakasura. During vijayadasami, Ramlila is the one we celebrate for that. Deepavali is celebrated across India but Ram lila is celebrated mostly in North India only. Why is it so?

Answer 1

I am not sure why you have impression, when I lived in Hyderabad between 1979 till 2000, Ravana effigies were burnt on each Dusshera every year. As someone whose origins are from Telangana/Andhra Pradesh, believe me when I say that the kula-devata for all Telugu people is Sri Rama. Heck, we claim that Panchavati is in Nasik, and the ancient Bhadra reincarnated as the famous Bharachalam mountain, where Sri Rama and Sita & Lakshmana passed through. It is still a favorite shrine of All Telugu people, rivaled in importance only by the famous Balaji Temple in Tirupati.

North Indians, for some reason, do not even celebrate the birth day of Sri Rama, yet ALL south Indians do (See here). Sri Rama Navami is a big day for South Indians, this comes as the 9th day in the month of Chaitra (usually in April or May per Gregorian calendar). It is based on historical birth day of Sri Rama given by Valmiki. Sita Rama Kalyanam with Vedic mantras is conducted on that day at most South Indian temples. I have not seen yet, any such vedic karma done in North India. Most North Indian Brahmins I asked, did not even know which day was Sri Rama's birthday, they though it was on Dusshera. Really? Face Palm for the dire straits of North Indian Hindus clearly.

Most South Indian Hindus at some point of time in their lives, attempt 'rama koti', i.e. writing 'Sri Rama' 1 crore times. As it is believed that whoever does this will attain the abode of Vishnu upon their death. North Indians are oblivious to this concept. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/rama-koti-books-immersed-in-godavari/article6301093.ece

Many South Indians Brahmins & vaishyas, practice the daily 'pArAyana' of Valmiki Ramayanam in Sanskrit. Whosoever reads/pArAyana of Valmiki Ramayana will have future generations continue successfully in his/her lineage (see here), is the popular belief in South India. I have never come across a North Indian Brahmin/Vaishya who was at least familiar with such a concept.

Sri Rama shrines/temples with most traffic exist in South India, with history going back 20000 years, there are no comparable Sri Rama shrines in North India. Examples - Bhadrachalam, Rameshwaram, etc.

So, non-Vedic Rama lila may be done more in North India, but South India is where even today you get to live the Vedic experience of Sri Rama, where Sri Rama is worshiped several times more than North India can even attempt.