Cultural treat for visitors before staging of Ramlila from Oct 14

Sanjay Bumbroo
Tribune News Service
Panchkula, October 11

Taking a cue from Kullu Dasehra, the Mata Mansa Devi Charitable Trust will organise cultural programmes for five days ahead of the Dasehra festivities from October 14.

The cultural programmes to be held for the first time in the tricity will start at 5.30 pm and end just before the staging of Ramlila every day. Eminent singers and artistes would present items to enthral audience who would visit the Sector 5 ground to witness the dramatic folk re-enactment of the life of Lord Rama according to ancient Hindu epic the Ramayana.

Vishnu Goel, chairman of the MMDCT, while commenting on the 210-foot-tall effigy of Ravana, said this would be the first-ever tallest effigy of Ravana to be built in the northern India.

He said preparations in this regard had been going on for the past four months. The height of the Ravana’s effigy would be taller than any of the highest building in the tricity. The legs of the effigy would be about 60 feet and would be more in height than the nearby Shalimar Mall.

Vishnu said the weight of the effigy would be more than 7 tonnes and proper care would be taken while erecting the same before the start of the cultural programmes so that people not only from the city but also from Chandigarh, Mohali and other cities of neighbouring states could have a glimpse of the effigy.

He said earlier they used to organise the Dasehra celebrations at the Parade Ground in Sector 5 here. But as the 210-ft tall effigy could not be erected there, they decided to organise the celebrations in 12 acres ground near Shalimar Mall. They had taken prior approval for the same from the district administration.

He said latest technology had been used to burn firecrackers in the effigy. The firecrackers placed in the effigy would be burnt with the help of a remote control.

Programmes to start at 5.30 pm daily

The cultural programmes to be held for the first time in the tricity will start at 5.30 pm and end just before the staging of Ramlila every day. Eminent singers and artistes would present items to enthral audience who would visit the Sector 5 ground to witness the dramatic folk re-enactment of the life of Lord Rama according to ancient Hindu epic the Ramayana.

210-foot-tall Ravana’s effigy

The height of the Ravana’s effigy would be taller than any of the highest building in the tricity. The legs of the effigy would be about 60 feet and would be more in height than the nearby Shalimar Mall. The weight of the effigy would be more than 7 tonnes and proper care would be taken while erecting the same before the start of the cultural programmes so that people not only from the city but also from Chandigarh, Mohali and other cities of neighbouring states could have a glimpse of the effigy.