Star-Studded Ramlila In Ayodhya Gives Message Of Communal Amity

AYODHYA || This year the Ramlila in Ayodhya is a special one. Not only are Muslims part of the event, even DD is airing the show live as a star studded event plays out from the Laxman Fort in Ram Nagri. The hype of the event is so high that UP CM Yogi Adityanath is slated to be part of the event soon.

To ensure massive outreach cutting across language barriers, the Ramlila is being broadcast across India in 14 languages including Urdu. With COVID restrictions in place, the general public will not be allowed to attend and see Ramlila.

The Ramlila is being telecast live on social media platforms and YouTube from October 17 to 25. Permission has been given to Delhi Ramlila Committee to organize Ramlila in Ayodhya this year. As per the organizers, "This will be a historic time when Ramlila will be broadcast in Urdu and it will feature Muslim actors like Raza Murad and Shahbaz Khan."Manoj Tiwari will be Angad.

Ravi Kishan MP from Gorakhpur will play the role of Bharat and Vindu Dara Singh will play the character of Hanuman. Raza Murad is Ahiravan and Shahbaz Khan is Ravana. Meanwhile veteran actor Asrani is Narada Muni. The Ramlila is being organized in collaboration with Department of Cultural and Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh.

This is a special Ramlila also because the ball has been set rolling post the decision for the Rama temple construction. New experiments are being done to save the traditions which have been going on for hundreds of years.

The clothes of the royal Rama have come from Nepal. The jewels of Mata Sita are prepared in Ayodhya itself. Lord Sri Ram's bow is from Kurukshetra and one of Ravana's many costumes is made in Sri Lanka. Local MLA Ved Prakash Gupta was very excited when he was asked about the event.

YP Singh, director of the Ayodhya Research Institute has been quoted by the media saying that about 400 artists from Ramlila circles across the country have been associated with the continuous Ramlila. An attempt was made to present Ramlila in the open in Ramkatha Park, but permission was not granted due to the possibility of crowd of spectators increasing infection chances.

On the Ramlila of Ayodhya, Satyendra Das, the head priest of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi said that it is believed that Ramlila never stopped in Ayodhya. The credit for the beginning of Ramlila, which has been going on for 400 years, goes to Megha Bhagat, a contemporary of Tulsidas.

Ramlila used to be very popular at the Rajdwar Bhavan. In the initial days the couplets of Ramcharitmanas and other epics of Rama were used. Earlier this year, the foundation stone for construction of a grand Ram Temple was laid in Ayodhya by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Shashi S Vempati, CEO of Prasar Bharati also tweeted about the telecast along with pictures of preparation by Doordarshan team to bring the grand affair to people's homes. "Team Doordarshan all set to bring Ram Leela from Ayodhya LIVE starting today," he tweeted.

--Arijit Bose