Ramlila associations shelve burning of Ravana effigies this Dussehra

With only a handful of Ramlilas being staged in the city, the festive spirit has already taken a back seat due to the pandemic. Now, Dussehra is also likely to be

With only a handful of Ramlilas being staged in the city, the festive spirit has already taken a back seat due to the pandemic. Now, Dussehra is also likely to be a low-key affair as none of the Ramlila associations in Chandigarh will burn Ravana effigies to signify the victory of good over evil.

HT Image

Speaking about the latest move, president of Chandigarh Kendriya Ramleela Mahasabha, Bhagwati Prashad Gaur, said, “The administration had organised a meeting with various associations of the city to give us permission for the Dussehra function. However, they gave us too little time to prepare for it and most organisations didn’t even turn up at the meeting, while the ones which were there declined to host any kind of function for Dussehra.”

Tejinder Chauhan from Barara village in Haryana, who had made a 221ft tall Ravana at Dhanas last year, will also be taking a year of. He has rather chosen to make a miniature 10ft effigy of Covid.

Speaking about how the Ramlila troupes will conclude their events, which in previous years ended with the lighting up of Ravana on Dussehra, adviser of the Joint Ram Leela Sangh, Ashok Chaudhary, who plays the character of Ravana, said, “We will be hosting pujas on the Ramlila stage this year. The stage will not be left vacant while we honour Lord Ram with prayers.”

The Ramlila troupes which had chosen to perform this year will hold a 24-hour puja for the cast members.

Jyoti Bhardwaj of the Sector-29 OCF Sanskritik Manch said that even though the professionals who hail from places like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh won’t be coming to the city, kids have started building their own Ravanas.

“Children of Sector 29 got together and are building around a 18ft tall Ravana. It is nice to see kids take an initiative,” Bhardwaj added.

Meanwhile, Chandigarh administration on Friday gave permission to the Youth Welfare Club of Maloya to celebrate Dussehra. The president of the club, Sobhit Kaushal, however, said, “We will not be burning Ravana, but rather taking out a Rath Yatra for which we had applied to get permission.”

Rajput Dramatic Club of Ram Darbar and Uttarakhand Kala Manch of Sectors 55 and 56 were also given permission to host Ramlila.