125-year-old Ramlila defies time and crises, continues uninterrupted:school students play Ram-Sita; former Presidents, Chief Minister have acted

A Ramleela that was not stopped by Hitler’s World War, nor by the COVID lockdown. It was not even affected by bullets from the British. Originally performed using torches, the Ramleela has now embraced modern technology, including smartphone flashlights. The ‘Chalit Ramleela’ at the mela ground in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, began 125 years ago. This may be India’s only moving theatre where four generations—from baby boomers to Gen Z and Generation Alpha—have been performing. Audience members leave movies, series, and even take leave from offices to live their characters for the duration of the performance. Not only that, in this Ramleela, former presidents, former chief ministers, and ministers have also performed. The Dainik Bhaskar team visited Vidisha to cover this 27-day-long Ramleela. Know why this Ramleela is special Not even Hitler’s World War could stop it A registered society has been created to manage the Ramleela. Vice President Kirti Prakash Sharma stated that the Chalit Ramleela was started in 1901 under the chairmanship of the late Vishwanath Shastri. At that time, there was no electricity, so performances were conducted in torchlight. The event continues to generate significant enthusiasm among locals. Kirti Prakash Sharma added that since its inception, the Ramleela has never stopped. Even during World Wars and the COVID lockdown, performances continued uninterrupted. People actively come to watch and participate. Special aspect of Ramleela Four generations have been acting Vice President Kirti Prakash Sharma’s family has been performing for four generations. His father acted for 74 years, and Kirti Sharma himself has been performing for 35 years. His son has been acting since the age of 4, and now his grandson also participates. Kirti Prakash Sharma’s brother, N.P. Sharma, acted for 44 years. Son and grandson come from Hyderabad His son Vaibhav Sharma (43), a software engineer in Hyderabad, has been portraying different characters for four years. He takes 4–5 days leave every year to perform. His son, Prabhav Sharma (9), also takes part. Apart from Kirti Sharma, many others leave their jobs to perform in the Ramleela. The society’s secretary stated that Ramesh Vyas, while working in the railways, traveled to Vidisha to play Garun. Another individual, a judge from Betul, also participated in acting. Ram in 12th grade, Sita in 9th grade There has always been great enthusiasm for performing in the Chalit Ramleela. The organizers maintain more than 100 costumes for various characters. People also enthusiastically take on roles such as Vanar (monkey) characters. Pandit Chandra Vyas has played Guru Vashistha for nearly 45 years, and Pandit Harishankar Shastri (67) has been performing since the age of 10. Meanwhile, Manthan Pathak, a first-year student, has been acting since the age of 4 and is playing Bharat this year. Twelfth-grade student Krishna is performing as Ram, and ninth-grade student Dhruv Bhargava is portraying Sita Mata. Know what the characters say College first-year student Manthan Pathak said: I have been performing for 14 years. This time, I have the honor of playing Bharat. My mother, uncle, and grandfather have all performed. Our family has been associated with Ramleela for generations. We will continue to serve as Ram Ji wills. Balram Sharma is a Sanskrit teacher said: I have been performing for 8 years. Once I played King Janak, once Bharat. This time I will participate in King Dashrath’s last rites. I come for practice every day after my work ends at 2 PM. Preparation process Initially, the Ramleela lasted 10 days. Over time, it has expanded to 27 days. No actor receives payment. All participants take time off from their work to join. Training begins on December 15 and continues for one and a half months. During this period, characters practice speaking, walking, standing, sitting, and other movements. During the Ramleela, main characters follow a pure diet and abstain from smoking. Natural colors are used for character makeup Pandit Vishal Chaturvedi said that his grandfather Jagannath Prasad Chaturvedi used to do makeup for Ramleela characters. His father, Rudresh Chaturvedi, continued the tradition, and now he himself performs it. Daily, they do makeup for approximately 30 people. Organizers maintain more than 100 costumes for different characters. Jewelry, bows, and arrows are also prepared for each role. People come from villages to watch Ramlila The Chalit Ramleela takes place during Makar Sankranti at the mela. The 300×280 area is monitored by 32 cameras, and seating is arranged for 20,000 people. Villagers from Vidisha city and surrounding areas attend the fair and the Ramleela. Sakaldeep Thakur of Vidisha has been watching for 40 years. Shanti Bai from Vidisha has been attending for 50 years. Both enjoy the moving Ramleela every year.