Ram Leela Is Back!

After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions on public gatherings, the popular Ram Leela is back at Mumbai’s Girgaum Chowpatty luring thousands...again, writes Gajanan Khergamker

The nine nights of Navratri are celebrated across India in various forms and they mark the victory of good over evil and are observed by joyful celebrations across communities. 

Western states are known to celebrate Navratri by celebrations where revellers dance to the tunes of garba songs and perform dandiya raas while the Eastern states observe Durga Puja and celebrate the various forms of the goddess. In the Northern states, Hindus observe ceremonies and religious festivities across nine days to celebrate the victory of Lord Ram over the evil Ravan who had abducted Sita during their exile.

However, in Mumbai, where people from all parts of the country live and work together, you will see all these celebrations happening at one time. So, while you have dandiya performances happening at venues across the city, there’s the legendary Ram Leela being performed at key locations on each of the nine nights where the devout throng by thousands.

Ram Leela, a dramatic re-enactment of the life and anecdotes of Lord Ram from the epic Ramayan, is a dance drama performed by mandalis (performing groups) staged through the nine nights of Navratri. 

Each night showcases an episode or adhyay from Lord Ram’s life when he set out for exile – his life during exile, abduction of his wife Sita by the evil Ravan from Lanka, Ram’s search for his wife, Hanuman’s devotion towards his Lord Ram, Ram gathering his army to attack Ravan after a failed dialogue, the legendary war between Ram and Ravan and finally killing of Ravan on Dussera, the tenth day when larger-than-life effigies of Ravan, brother Kumbhakaran and son Meghnad are set ablaze to mark the victory of good over evil.

Hanuman paying obeisance to Lord Ram and Laxman seated at Mumbai’s Girgaum Chowpatty venue (File pic)

As the performers get ready to come on stage, one of them peeps out of the curtains to see how many have gathered before he ducks back in to ‘tip’ off the director and awaits further instructions. The ground on the other hand gets filled slowly as enthusiasts walk in hurriedly looking for a ‘good seat’. The elderly and the children can be seen anxiously waiting for the act to start. And, once it does, the crowds are rapt in attention and a reverence synonymous with Ramayan. For those viewing Ram Leela, the excitement peaks to a feverish pitch at the end of the nine nights.

Like every other traditional folk art, Ram Leela has sadly been losing its audience over the years to technology and time. Earlier, the grounds used to be thronged with people coming to sit and view Ram Leela in full grandeur over the nine nights. 

It was part of the festivities during Navratri. Children would often be seen sitting right in the front to get the best view and would applaud and break into a jig at every warranted instance.

The performing group, Shri Anant Ramleela Mandal from Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, have been coming to Mumbai and performing at Girgaum Chowpatty with the organisers since the beginning itself i.e., since 58 years in all till date: With the exception of the two-year gap owing to the lockdown restrictions. 

Director of the group Baidyanath Chaturvedi is a busy man backstage. He makes sure all the characters have put on their costumes and make up. The backstage is scattered with costumes and props lying around and the all-male members can be seen busy finalising their appearances before they go on stage.

“My father formed the group 84 years ago in Mathura and I helped him ever since, till he left everything to be run by me,” he says with pride. The group performs Ram Leela and travels everywhere in the country for various events to perform the same. 

The most intriguing and hated character of Ramayan, King of Lanka, Ravan gets all the attention. Even backstage, Ravan can be identified easily owing to his ‘evil’ make up. Bal Mukund Chaturvedi, who runs a general store in Mathura, has been playing the role of Ravan since 1982 and is comfortable in his character, even if he is the most hated. 

“Ravan was a man of knowledge but lacked wisdom. He did what he had to do to keep up his image and satisfy his people,” he says in a baritone voice, apt for his character. He has been part of the troupe for the last 45 years and started off by playing Ravan’s son Meghnad till he was ‘promoted’ to play the big role.

Bal Mukund Chaturvedi has been playing the role of Ravan at the Ram Leela since 1982 (File pic)

Any folk art is incomplete without music, so is Ram Leela. The troupe has its own musicians who accompany the artists wherever they go. Ram Leela being enactment of the Ramayana, it’s essential to narrate important episodes of the epic story. 

This is done by Vinod Chaturvedi who speaks the ‘Vyas Peeth’ during the performance to disseminate the wisdom from Ramayan. He is often accompanied by Guddu Khan on dholak and Anwar Khan on naal when he decides to narrate the story in the form of a bhajan or a tune.

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