Ramlila in Chandigarh 2025
Like the past two years, Ramlila was successfully organized this year too at the Apni Mandi Ground in Sector 45 Chandigarh this year. Shri Ram Janki Sewa Mandal (Regd.), a socio-cultural committee organized this Ramlila in our sector. The schedule of the Ramleela was from 22 September to 2 October, 2025.
The preparations for this ramlila in chandigarh began early. Rehearsal was the first activity that was performed by the committee This involved screening potential actors who were to perform various characters in the Ramleela. Both old and new actors took part in this screening. The majority of actors retained this time were the ones that performed last year, while some new faces also made it to the final list of actors.
Ramleela rehearsal involving these selected actors went non-stop during the evening at the Santan Dharam Temple in Sector 45, Chandigarh. I also got to see the rehearsal and they particularly involved the scenes of confrontation between Lankapati Ravan and Banasur and Lakshman and Parshuram. The acting coaches and the actors put in their heart and soul into the rehearsal under the able leadership of the Director of Ramleela.
Along with actors and acting coaches, the other people present at the rehearsal were members of the Shri Ram Janaki Sewa Mandal Ramleela Committee along with the parents, relatives, or friends of the actors. The members of the music team were also present at the rehearsal venue for synchronized performance with the actors.
I particularly liked the performance of the actor who played the role of Lankapati Ravan. His bold voice resonated well with his acting and movements. The other characters also tried to put in their level best performance. The acting coaches taught them about the ways to put up even better performance and remove any flaws in their dialogue delivery, movements and acting.
Apart from the training of actors, the rehearsal also involved discussion among committee members over various other related activities of the Ramleela.
The rehearsal showed that this particular chandigarh ramlila preparation was going in the right direction.
While actors and acting coaches were taking care of the acting department, the volunteers of the Ramleela committee were busy collecting funds for the staging of this chandigarh ramleela. They collectively went to various houses in sector 45 as well as to shops in the market nearby for seeking funds for the Rameela. They had a mixed experience while collecting funds. Sometimes the amount paid by donors exceeded their expectations, sometimes it was quite less than expected. At other times, they had to return empty-handed. Irrespective of the results, the volunteers kept on work with zeal and dedication. They even came to our home for collection and enjoyed our hospitality.
By the end of their collection drive, the committee was able to gather adequate funds for the staging of Ramleeela as well as Dussehra at the same venue.
A day or two before the staging of Ramleela, I visited there to see the preparations. I discovered that Pandal was already put up. The stage was also ready. This time the stage and the Pandal were wider than last time. Moreover, the arrangements were also better than the previous year.
On the Ramlila stage, the Director of the Ramleela and other Ramlila committee members were giving necessary instructions to the actors and volunteers. Everyone was on their toes as very less time remained for the beginning of the actual Ramleela.
Every arrangement, including that of lighting, water, food, music, etc. was looked at minutely to ensure nothing gets left or missed.
After spending around 30–40 minutes or so there, I returned back to my home.
The Ramleela began as scheduled on the designated day but I could not attend it from the beginning due to Navrati-related fasting and being occupied with various household activities.
I went to see Ramlila on the third day. A huge crowd was already there to see the activities at Rameela. There were adequate seating arrangements for the people who came to see the Ramleela. In spite of this, many people were standing at the back as all the chairs were already occupied by the viewers.
I also decided to stand at the back to capture the acting of Ramlila characters in my device’s camera.
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On a few days, I went alone to see the Ramleela, on other days my family members accompanied me.
Mindblowing acting of the actors, entertaining music and bhajans, animated anchoring, visits by dignitaries and members of social organizations and their felicitation by the Ramila committee kept everyone glued to the seats.
In between the staging of Ramleela, the volunteers came with Pooja ka thaal for people to take arti. The crowd at the venue was also served with prasad on some days.
The atmosphere at the Ramleela was exciting, magnetic and electrifying. These are the scenes that I particularly loved and appreciated at the Rameela. These included the one in which Sage Vishwamitra was seeking Raja Dasrath’s help for fighting the Rakshas who were obstructing activities of Rishis in the forest, the death of Chachi Tadika and Lakshman-Parsuram confrontation at the Seeta Swayambar. The other notable scenes of the Ramleela were Shri Ram being sent to Banvaaas by Rani Kaikayi, King Dussrath grieving at Shri Ram going to the forest for Banvaas. Other notable scenes were the kevat taking Shri Ram, Lakshman and Sita in his boat to cross the Saryu River. Rajkumar Bharath along with various Ranis visiting Shri Ram Chandra, Lakshman and Mata sita in the forest in Banvaas was also a great scene.
The other noteworthy scenes that I got to see was the nose of Shrupnakha being cut by Laskhman, Meghnad being slayed by Laskhman, Ravan approaching his brother Ahiravan and Kumbharan for help after suffering significant losses in battle with Shri Ram’s army.
The actors performed their scenes with perfection and with a lot of emotions which made people teary-eyed. .
Once or twice lights in this particular ramlila chandigarh went off which affected the rhythm of actors, organizers and crowd. But everyone showed patience and the activities continued as usual once the lights returned. The director of the Rameela thanked the crowd for their patience and support.
There was so much to learn from the characters being played in the Ramleela. The character of Shri Ram sacrificed the royal comforts to honour the wishes of Mata Kaikayi. He remained calm and patient even in adversities. When required, he fought bravely against the Rakshahas to establish peace and protect his companions and common people.
The character of Mata Sita showed her sacrifices and support for Lord Ram during the Banvaas. The character of Lakshman also showed his love for his brother Ram who decided to accompany him rather than reside in the royal palace. The character of Urmila, the wife of Lakshman, was inspiring as she dutifully followed the instruction of Lakshman to remain in Ayodhya to let him perform his duties with full dedication..
The character of Bharat also inspires us. He took Khadaun (Wooden Slippers) of Lord Ram with him to Ayodhya and worshiped them till the Banvaas of Lord Ram ended. The Khadaun indicated Lord Ram who ruled the kingdom of Ayodhya. Bharat remained a mere observer and guide rather than being a ruler.
The character of Lord Hanuman also inspired us as how he went out of the way to help Shri Ram without caring for his personal safety and comfort.
The character of Vibhishan also inspired us as he tried to educate his brother Lankapati Ravann to save himself and the common people of Lanka from the wrath of Shri Ram’s army. The character of Lankapti Ravan showed how one error led to his end even though he had immense knowledge, bhakti for Mahadev and full of bravery and unmatched military might.
Kumbharan’s character was also inspiring as he reminded Bhaiya Ravan of the mistake he had committed and asked him to return Sita to Lord Ram. Still, Kumbhkaran did not leave his brother Ravan in the hour of crisis and went on to fight for him against Shri Ram’s army.
When Ravan was breathing his last, he taught Lakshman like a Guru about what to do and what not to do in life.
In this way, various characters of Ramleela gave us something to learn which will help us lead a better life in one way or the other.
The Ramleela ended on the Day of Dussehra which was also conducted at the same venue i.e. the Apni Mandi Ground in Sector 45, Chandigarh. After Dussehra was over, Shri Ram was coronated as king in the night when he returned to Ayodhya after defeating the Ravan, the mighty king of Laka.
I can say with surety that this could be termed as the best ramlila in chandigarh because of the brilliant performance given by the actors and dedicated and untiring efforts put in by the committee members and volunteers involved. But there is always room for improvement. Let’s hope they will put on an even better show next time.
In this way, this Ramleela in Chandigarh gave us some great memories and something good to learn and implement in our life and in the life of people around us. Only a sense of nostalgia remains now among everyone who was associated with the Ramlila in one way or the other. The nostalgia will remain there till we get to see the staging of Ramleela at the same venue next time in the new year in a more grander and exciting way.
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