Lucknow: The Shri Ramlila Samiti Mahanagar staged several significant episodes from the Ramayana, captivating audiences with devotional performances and emotionally charged scenes. The portrayal of Bharat Milap at Chitrakoot emerged as the highlight of the evening, moving spectators with the reunion of Lord Ram and Bharat.
Before the performance, committee patron VK Joshi, president Sanjay Srivastava, Lalit Mohan Joshi and senior office-bearers Girish Joshi and Sanjay Pandey performed the aarti of Goddess Durga, formally inaugurating the programme.
The evening began with the Sita-forest dweller dialogue and the conversation between Bharat and Kaikeyi, highlighting Bharat’s anguish over his mother’s actions. This was followed by the much-awaited Bharat Milap scene at Chitrakoot, which evoked deep emotions among the audience.
The subsequent episodes depicted Shurpanakha approaching Ram and Lakshman in the forest and expressing her desire to marry them. When her advances failed, she turned aggressive towards Sita, prompting Lakshman to cut off her nose. The Khara-Dushan episode followed, leading to the dramatic abduction of Sita by Ravana.
The performances featured Yashi Lohumi as Ram, Falguni Lohumi as Lakshman, Anuradha Mishra as Sita, Pratishtha Sharma as Bharat, Yashi Sharma as Shatrughna and Asha Rawat as Kaikeyi. Lavita Haloi portrayed Shurpanakha, Pankaj Tripathi played Khara, Rajesh Tripathi appeared as Dushan, Manish Upadhyay portrayed Marich, Kamal Pant played the disguised Ravana, and Bhaskar Joshi essayed Ravana.
Renowned announcer Pandit Narayan Pathak served as the sutradhar, enthralling the audience with recitations of verses from the Ramcharitmanas throughout the performance.
The evening combined devotion, dramatic storytelling and powerful portrayals of the Ramayana’s enduring themes of brotherhood, sacrifice and righteousness.
