Author: Dinker Vashisht
Publication: The Economic Times
Date: October 13, 200
URL: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1260886.cms
The legend of Maryada Purushottam Ram is being
retold, but both the audience and the ambience have come a long way. Hence
in City Beautiful this year, the Prince of Ayodhya arrived to marry the Princess
of Mithila in a limousine; mock weapons for the Lankan war were imported from
Mauritius and Canada, while Lord Hanuman had that great flight to fetch sanjivani
courtesy state-of-the-art special effects!
Welcome to ramlila in the age of BPOs.
"We have to keep making these efforts to make ourselves relevant in modern
times and to capture the interest of the younger generation," said organisers
of Navyug Ramlila Committee, Chandigarh. Every year during Ashwin navratras
around 20 ramlilas are organised in different parts of Chandigarh (in cities
like Delhi it's 400). Their budgets vary, from mere thousands to as high as
Rs 20 lakh! This means that there is a lot of competition and, yes, organisations,
with deeper pockets, have a distinct advantage over others.
"The competition has ensured that the
whole activity has become much more sleek than it was about 10 years ago,"
said an organiser. The garments, which were locally made, are now procured
specially from Delhi's Kinari Bazaar. Some of the weapons and ornaments are
imported from Canada and Mauritius. For instance, the head that wears the
Ravana crown isn't uneasy any more. After all, the cumbersome coronet, which
the actor used to wear till about five years ago, has been replaced by a fibre
diadem.
The whole act of ramlila appears all the more
wonderful when one considers that there the audience gets to see the show
for free. All the funds come from generous donors. Even the actors don't charge
their fee. As a result, just before the start of Navratras in October organisers
frantically look for patrons. The greater the number of audiences, the better
are the chances of getting the finances. To maximise the reach of this entertainment,
several committees have gone to the extent of purchasing time slots on local
cable television channels.