If you had to see the real flavour of Indian festivities, you had to be born in the 90s. And if you were indeed born in that glorious decade, you remember how much of a craze Ram Leela used to be before Dussehra. It may be a rarity now, but back then, every colony had its own Ram Leela. And if you’ve lived in North India, you’ve definitely grown up watching it every year. Read on as we trigger some childhood memories that will set you in the festive spirit.
1. We were too young to attend concerts, stage shows and plays back then. There weren’t many sources of entertainment either. The reason why we were so excited to watch Ram Leela was because it was the only live event we ever watched!
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2. The excitement started to build up way in advance. All the homework was finished in the afternoon itself, dinner was served earlier than usual just so we didn’t miss the Ram Leela at night. Not just us, our parents were equally excited too!
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3. Plans were made with the colony friends every evening to reach the venue on time to grab all the front seats. It was probably the only time we could be out with our best friends late at night for 9 whole days. Do you know how much of a thrill that is to a ten-year-old kid?
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4. No matter how much we love going to movie theatres, nothing can beat the joy of munching popcorn from the street vendor while watching Ravana abduct Sita.
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5. It did what our school textbooks couldn’t – it made Ramayana interesting. There is no way we could have known so much about Indian Gods and mythology by heart, had it not been for the Ram Leelas. It presented itself in such an interesting way; we didn’t mind watching the same show every year!
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6. It was so enthralling to see people from your own locality portray such larger than life characters on stage. No, actually, it was rather hilarious, for most of them couldn’t act to save their lives. They almost always forgot their dialogues on stage and the audience reacted with the most hilarious comments and insults ever! Now, that was definitely more entertaining than the Ram Leela itself.
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7. Those were the times when there were no female actors in Ram Leela. Men had to crossdress as women instead. Yes, really. From their make up to their clothes to their made-up voices – it was pure hilarity! They, especially the man who played Sita, became the butt of all jokes henceforth.
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8. There was only so much the organizers could manage with the little money they collected from the residents. But the make-up, the jungle wallpapers used instead of a jungle set, those blistering speakers, the dialogues still thrilled us, no matter how loud they may have been!
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9. The best part of watching Ram Leela with your parents was that your father always bought you fancy ‘Hanuman ji ka gada’. Some kids even carried Lord Rama’s cross-bow around while the more bratty ones flaunted Ravana’s headgear.
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10. If you ever acted in Ram Leela as the young Rama, you’d know how famous you became in your colony overnight. For those kids who wanted to become actors, the Ram Leela was ‘the big break’!
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11. If you knew some of the actors personally, you even got the privilege to go back stage and see how things were done off stage. Actors trying on those elaborate costumes, sets being arranged, the director calling out for cues – the feeling was no less than being at a film shoot!
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12. We never waited for anything more than the day they showed Lakshman cut off Surpanakha’s nose. That one day was the highlight of Ram Leela.
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13. Ravana may be evil, but he really was the coolest character ever, for us kids. One reason why we never missed Ram Leela was that we were always curious as to who was going to play the character. And, there was no way we could miss the last day. Vijaya Dashami was the grandest celebration ever.
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14. Ram Leela ended with Vijaya Dashami but the fun surely did not. There was always room for your favourite ice-cream in the end!
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Now that we’re all grown up, we realise that Indian festivals are not only a great time to hang out with your friends, they are ideal for meeting interesting women too. To check out the 11 reasons why Navratras and Durga Puja are the best time to meet Indian women
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