When women take centrestage

Mona

Bahut bhav aata hai...says Sandeep, as he sits applying the eyeliner amongst the girls preparing for different roles. Anju Mathur is trying hard to find the right blush to go with her maroon lehenga; Priya Verma is busy putting on the glittery bindi that stands out on her small face; Kavita waiting for her mascara to dry before she answers our query. The girls get their own space to get ready, Sandeep is just there sharing make-up, as his is the Rajasthani dance act before the curtains open for Sita janam scene.

Like every other walk of life, women are an important part of Ramleela too! Not only are city artistes taking to the stage to perform women characters, some like Diksha Sharma are also assistant director, makeup, and costume artiste!

More like bhakti

Anju, Priya and Kavita are performing for the first time in Chandigarh. They are part of the group named Shri Rajadhiraj Kala Kendra from Mathura and have staged Ramleela across Punjab. “It’s more like bhakti,” shares Kavita.  Vinod Chaturvedi, who has been doing the same for last four decades shares, “It was not easy to get women to be part of Ramleela; we had to ensure that the artistes who came on board were devout and got proper respect too.”

Diksha Sharma takes to the stage every single day. “I do get remuneration for it, but for me these nine days are full of devotion. I contribute from my remuneration for the Dussehra bhandara.”

Playing Sita

Pooja, a student of class 11 at Government Model Senior Secondary School-15, has been playing Sita for Kumaun Sansrikit Rangmach Ramleela Committee for the last few years, something she really looks forward to, “We get together to rehearse and be part of the celebrations.” Ask about her favourite character in Ramayana and she says Shrupnakha! Someone that she has never played but always enjoyed watching.

BP Gaur, who has played Ram for many decades and is now directing at Sector 22, is all for women being part of it, “There are characters that only women can bring to life.”