Ramleela रामलीला

The Ramayana, played by the people for the people

For centuries, through Navratri and up to Dussehra, towns and neighbourhoods across India have put on the story of Shri Ram themselves. Shopkeepers become kings, schoolteachers become sages, and a neighbour becomes Ravan for one night. The Ramleela of Ramnagar in Varanasi runs for a whole month. UNESCO lists the Ramlila tradition as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

This year Adarsh Vista stages its own: twelve scenes from the Ramayana, from Ayodhya to Lanka, played by fourteen of our residents on the evening of Vijayadashami, just before the effigy of Ravan burns.