Top netas add sparkle to old city Ramlilas

NEW DELHI: It was perhaps for the first time since he became India's Prime Minister that Narendra Modi shared a stage with Sonia Gandhi. On Friday, the two, along with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, vice-president Hamid Ansari, President Pranab Mukherjee, and Union health minister Harsh Vardhan sat on one stage at Parade Ground to attend a Dussehra celebration. The organizers said they have never had a greater and more diverse attendance of the country's political class.

Breaking from tradition, the PM did not shoot an arrow towards the effigy of Ravan. A source quoted Modi as saying that, being a mere mortal he did not wish to slay the demon king. The organizers said this time around, instead of handing out bows and arrows, they distributed a variety of weapons to their guests. "We gave a sword to the PM, trident to the President, mace to the vice-president, and a bow and arrow to Sonia Gandhi as symbolic weapons to eliminate the wrongs of our society," said Ravi Jain of Shri Dharmik Leela Committee, which has been organizing the event since 1924.

In the Walled City, where the most elaborate enactments of Ramlila are held, Dussehra is a time for politicians to connect with voters. While Modi and Pranab Mukherjee left the Old City after attending their first function, Sonia Gandhi along with Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi arrived at Ramlila Maidan, where they set Ravan's effigy on fire. Ramlila Maidan, being a Congress bastion, reportedly did not invite the PM. At another event in Old Delhi, Union home minister Rajnath Singh set fire to an effigy of Ravan in the company of actor Vivek Oberoi. Several MPs and MLAs were busy attending Dussehra celebrations in their constituencies. In East Delhi, Maheish Girri attended an event organized by Indraprastha Ramlila Committee.

The Ramlila organized by Luv Kush Ramlila Committee near Red Fort has been attended by many Bollywood actors over the years. "Last year, we concluded our Ramlila with Akshay Kumar playing the role of Ram. This year we had invited Hrithik Roshan, however due to some last-minute issues he could not attend. He was replaced with Vivek Oberoi," said Arjun Kumar, secretary of the committee. In the last few days the committee lined up Chandrachur Singh, Nisha Kothari and Govinda as guests.

Ramlila committees attracted huge crowds this year through social media and private messaging services. People were sent invites through prerecorded messages in audio calls, Whatsapp and WeChat messaging services.

"I had been receiving alerts and invites from different committees on phone. Though I usually spend my Dussehra holiday resting at home, this time the frequent prompts got me to the ground," said Rajinder Singh Bisht, who came to Ramlila Maidan with his family from Karol Bagh.

While Vijay Raj Sonu from Mayur Vihar said he really liked the innovations, such as replicas of Niagara Falls and the LED rotating eyes of Ravan, Kumbhkaran and Meghnad at Luv Kush Ramlila Committee's event, Shailendra Sharma said, "For me, Ramlila is about the story and the acting. The whole thing can't be reduced to a circus".

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