Centre stage: Ram Leela leaves audience thrilled

Play was also attended by K-P governor

PESHAWAR: Hindus performed Ram Leela on Friday to revive their cultural heritage and the audience was left enthralled.

The play was staged with different religious and spiritual songs at the hall of a local hotel on Friday.

The event was arranged by the Revival of Indigenous Cultural Heritage (RICH) project of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government.

The story of Ram Leela, a play about the life of Ram, has both cultural and religious importance for people of the faith. According to Hindus, it represents the social and cultural values of their society.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, a large number of Hindus who attended the play said this was the first time the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governor officially watched a play as the security situation made it difficult for him to do so in the past.

This is one of the more elaborate stories and was difficult for the artists to perform. A portion of the story was performed by young artists adorned in colourful clothing.

The role of Sita was played by Sanjana Kabeer. Sonu Kamal played Ram, Kirtan Kabir acted as Lakshman and Sandeep Siddiqi appeared on stage as Hanuman.

Ram Leela tells us of the inspirational way Ram’s brother and stepmother looked after his wife after he went into the jungle. It serves as an inspiration for Hindus to this day.

“The story is about peace, mutual respect and understanding which are the needs of our time,” said All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement Chairman Haroon Sarbdiyal, the organiser of the performance.

Sarbdiyal was happy the event was arranged in such a short span of time. “We are grateful to the K-P government for recognising our culture and supporting Hindus in following their own culture and traditions.”

Only Rs25,000 were provided by the K-P culture department, while all other expenses were met by the Hindus.

“This is just the beginning and we hope there will be more support and opportunities in future,” Sarbdiyal said.

Christian and Sikh families also attended the event and families from Mardan, Kohat and Nowshera were invited to participate.

They also offered prayers for peace and stability in the country. Performers also played religious songs on the occasion to the beat of the tabla and harmonium.

“This is the way we lead our lives,” said Sadhna, a girl from Hangu who was one of the performers.

She added it was an effort to maintain and preserve a culture unique to this part of the world. “We are promoting our culture to the people,” Sadhna said. “It will show the world that Hindus are still here and following their culture and religion freely.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 6^th, 2016.