Luv Kush Ramlila, Day 6: Crowd swarms to catch Lanka Dahan

New Delhi: The sixth day of the Luv Kush Ramlila, held on Monday at Red Fort, saw a huge crowd of spectators gathering on the ground. Due to the increasing number of spectators, Luv Kush Ramlila committee had to increase the number of volunteers on the ground and deployed more Delhi Police personnel.

As gathered by Arjun Kumar, Secretary of the Luv Kush Ramlila Committee, the program started with Lord Ganesha worship. More than forty artists from the country worshipped Lord Ganesha with their amazing dance form. Ram's arrival at Shabari Ashram in Ramlila was staged till twelve o'clock in the night. Moreover, Bali’s slaughter, Hanuman meeting with Sita in Lanka, Sita giving chudamani to Hanuman and Lanka Dahan was performed.

As per government guidelines, the Lanka Dahan scene, which is generally the most exciting part of the Luv Kush Ramlila, did not use fireworks and the committee made it symbolic.

Bollywood Actor Gagan Malik played the role of Ram and Samiksha Bhatnagar as Seeta.
Famous Bollywood star Jassi Singh appeared in the role of Ravana, Jassi recited a dialogue, “Main Lankesh Hu,” with his powerful voice. Moreover, Mushtaq Khan, who has done more than one and a half hundred films including Welcome, No Entry, appeared in the role of Ravana's commander.

Government guidelines mandated both the audience and the artists to be fully vaccinated. The Ramleela is being organised with proper Covid protocol and social distancing. Masks were compulsory. Ashok Aggarwal shared that the government hasn't given permission for stalls. Limited people were allowed in the Ramleela ground. Children were allowed with their parents.

One of the members of the committee said, “We always learned something new from Ramleela. Every state has its own Ramleela play in different languages, which is culturally very important for our generation. From Ramleela, we learned the real meaning of sacrifice.”

Ashok Aggarwal said, “This year, we have changed the screenplay. For those who are not able to come, we gave the facility of on-air telecasts through DD, Tata sky, etc. Due to pandemic, most of the Ramlila plays will not happen. So for them, Luv Kush Ramlila will be provided on-air Ramlila from Luv Kush Ramleela committee.”

According to Coordinator Ankush Agrawal, many ministers of the Delhi government including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and European ambassadors of seven countries are coming for the Dussehra festival on October 15.