Ahead of Dusshera, Ramleela steps into Russian House in Delhi

Delhi’s Red Fort Ramleela made its Russian House debut, bringing 12 Ramayana episodes and 50-plus actors to the stage ahead of Dussehra.

A slice of Delhi’s Ramleela tradition travelled to the Russian House in New Delhi on Friday evening, as the Shri Dharmic Leela Committee, which has staged its annual Ramleela at the Red Fort since 1924, presented a special performance ahead of Dussehra. The two-and-a-half-hour production brought 12 episodes from the Ramayana to the stage.

Actors performing Ramleela at the Russian House (Raajessh Kashyap /HT)

More than 50 actors took part in the production, which involved over 10 days of preparation. Dhiraj Dhar Gupta, General Secretary, Shri Dharmic Leela Committee, said, “This is our first show in Russian House and I’m very thankful to the Russian Embassy and Russian Ambassador to India for giving us this stage.”

The evening also highlighted the long history of cultural exchange between India and Russia, with the two countries set to mark 80 years of diplomatic relations next year. Elena Remizova, Director and Head of the Representative Office of Rossotrudnichestvo (the Russian House) in New Delhi, recalled Russian traveller Afanasy Nikitin’s early account of India before turning to the significance of hosting the Ramayana at the Russian House.

“He came here 215 years ago for the first time. He left very interesting writings about India of that time. It is even before Marco Polo. But nevertheless, I hope that next year we can have this beautiful Ramayana in Moscow because we need to spread this word also to Russian audiences in the heart of Russia,” she said.