An Indonesian Ramlila for Lucknowites

The City of Nawabs witnessed a

Ramlila

with a different flavour recently. Indonesian artistes performed the epic on stage in an event organised by ICCR, Lucknow and

Ayodhya Shodh Sansthan

. The event witnessed a full house at the

Paryatan Bhawan

auditorium where guests came much before the performance began, which started with a video narrating the synopsis of the Ramayan.

A scene from the Ramlila (BBCL/ Farhan Ahmad Siddiqui)

Five Indonesian artists performed Hanuman Duta showcasing how Ram and Lakshman requested Hanuman to go to Lanka and look for Sita. "It was challenging to perform in Lucknow as it was our first performance here but the outcome turned out to be overwhelming for us," said I Uuayan, one of the artistes. The artists received a lot of appreciation for their Balinese dance ballet and received a standing ovation after the show ended.

Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary

, minister of Culture, Government of UP marked his presence as the chief guest of the event and was welcomed by Heera Lal, special secretary Culture and director Culture welcomed the guest while YP Singh, founder Ayodhya Shodh Sansthan ensured the event went off well. Famous folk singer and

Padma Shri Malini Awasthi

, came a tad late but appreciated the artistes after the 53-minute show culminated. Speaking about the performance, Laxmi Narayan said, "The beautiful depiction of Ram and Sita's love won my heart. The facial expressions and dance through which they narrated a scenario from Ramayan was really commendable."
"Language is not a barrier for Lucknowites. They can easily relate to these things through actions because they truly appreciate art," said Arvind Kumar, regional officer,

ICCR Lucknow

.
By Adnaan Rizvi

Malini Awasthi and Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary (BBCL/ Farhan Ahmad Siddiqui)

Mohammad Ikhsan and Dr Yogendra Pratap Singh (BBCL/ Farhan Ahmad Siddiqui)