The curtains dont fall

The Anvarat Ramleela in Ayodhya is staged throughout the year. The organisers say that so far,nothing has been able to stop the daily act,not even a terror attack....

For the last five years,65-year-old Lakshmidas has been visiting the Tulsi Smarak Bhawan campus every day after the evening aarti. Thats 1,954 days, he says. Lakshmidas is one of the 100 regular visitors to the Anvarat Ramleela or the only continuous Ramleela in the world.

While Ramleela is traditionally staged only during the navratras,the Anvarat Ramleela in Ayodhya is staged throughout the year. So every day,the Tulsi Smarak Bhawan,where the Ramleela is staged,witnesses a new chapter from Rams life. In the last five years since this was launched,over 150 troupes and 55 styles of Ramleela from all over the countryeven from Maldives and Indonesiahave performed here. The feat has caught the attention of UNESCO,which has called the Anvarat Ramleela a commendable effort to preserve an intangible heritage.

Organised by the Uttar Pradesh Culture departments Ayodhya Shodh Sansthan,the first Ramleela was launched on May 20,2004. And since then,not one day has passed without the story of Ram being staged before the audience.

Regulars recall the Ramleela performance of July 5,2005,when terrorists entered the Ram Janmabhoomi campus. The temple town was tense and we wanted something that could take our minds off the incident. And that days Ramleela,with scenes of Bharat Milap,was an out-of-the-world experience, recalls Shishir Pandey,who is one of the regular visitors.

Each troupe performs at the Bhawan for 15 days,making it two troupes a month and 24 in a year. There are troupes from Orissa,Bihar,Jharkhand,Tamil Nadu,Madhya Pradesh,Chhattisgarh,Karnataka,West Bengal and different regions of UP like Mathura,Vrindavan,Bundelkhand,Allahabad,Varanasi and Orai. The Shriram Centres famous Ramleela with Indian and Korean artistes has also been staged here.

For the locals,it is one of the cheapest mediums of entertainment as the entry is free. Currently,its the Sharda Ramleela Mandal from Satna,Madhya Pradesh,thats performing.

Radheyshyam,the director of the troupe,says the Anavrat Ramleela is a regular source of income for his troupe members. We have performed here twice and through the Anvarat Ramleela,we sustain our troupe even after Dusshera, he says.

Story continues below this ad

Krishna Gopal,owner of a dharamshala nearby,says his business has never been better. Most of the artistes stay with us and my rooms are booked all through the year, he says.

Mahant Nritya Gopal Das of Ayodhya,who is among the regular visitors,says the Anvarat Ramleela has not only brought the story of Ram closer to the lives of people,but has added to Ayodhyas significance. In Vrindavan,Krishna Leelas are organised round the year,which is why they are a major pull for tourists. Through this Anvarat Ramleela,the institute is making sure that not just locals,but even tourists get to see and hear of Lord Rams story any time of the year.

The team behind the Anvarat RamleelaDr Y.P. Singh,director of the Ayodhya Research Institute,and Avinash Mishra,the managersays they will make sure the Ramleela goes on,even if they run into a fund crunch,like they do at times.