VADODARA, Sept 30: The Northern India Cultural Association (NICA) would hold a grand function of Ramlila and Ravan Dahan to mark the Dussehra festival at Polo Ground here on October 1.Addressing reporters here on Monday, NICA president H K Agrawal and secretaries Ashok Arora and Keshav Mitra said artisans from Mathura (UP) were already working on 60-feet high effigies of Ravan, Kumbhakaran and Meghnad. The effigies would be set on fire following Ramlila by Lord Ram amid bursting of fire crackers.While the script of the two-and-a-half hour Ramlila has been written by Mahendra Nath Chaturvedi, it will be presented under the direction of Shashikant A Das. Nilkanth Ghandekar has composed the music and Tarvinder Arora would lead the group of singers.While Atul Shrivastava and Ashok Mathur will look after the stage, property and lights respectively, the play will be enacted on a 10-feet high platform prior to Ravan dhavan, they said.About the association's activities, the office-holders said NICA was one of the largest cultural forums of the state, which held dance, drama and poetry programmes regularly, besides various contests for children throughout the year.
