Inflation doesn’t stop them from organising ‘larger than life’ events

Ajay Singla,organiser of the Ramlila at Sector 47 said,“To ensure the sanctity of the festival and to bring out the genuine enactment of the holy characters,we have invited professional actors from Vrindavan. Playing the gods is not like roles played by other professional actors. It is much more than acting; it is a kind of a spiritual practice for us.”

The crew that has been invited specially from Vrindavan consists of more than 30 people that include students and people who are full-time actors playing the roles in Ramlilas and Raslilas. 11-year-old Anmol Ratan,who is the youngest one in the team,and is playing the role of Dashrath said,“Besides studying,I have been playing several roles for the ram leelas for the past 5-6 years and it has become a part of my life. We not only play the roles during the Ramlila,but also keep some of the Navratri fasts.”

“This year,we were permitted to make the stage in a bigger area as compared to previous years. We are using the best sound system in the city as each mike costs

Rs 35,000. We have spent around Rs 6 lakh on the preparations and we are getting a good response from the residents this year,” Singla said.

The organisers of the Ramlila committee of Sector 27 have also invited a professional team (famous mandali) from Mathura,which performs annually in the ram leela. The crew of this team consists of 36 people,with its youngest performer a 15-year-old student.

Many other organisers have also spent lakhs to improve the quality of the event in every possible way. Director of the Ramlila committee,Sector 17,Suresh Bakshi said,“With such high inflation this year,we are spending huge amounts every day. This time,the total amount will exceed 5 lakh easily in the 10-day celebrations.”