Kamiya Mohan Jani
We
all love celebrating Navratri, playing dandiya and garba, wearing
colourful clothes and dancing the night away with gay abandon. But how
many of us know the real reason for celebrating this auspicious
festival?
The denizens of Chittranjan Nagar Co-operative Society ‘D’ colony
have made an attempt to help the younger generation understand the
reasoning behind Navratri. Children in the age group of 3-12 years old
are performing the Ram Leela during Navratri, right up to Dussera. Ask
them what fascinates them about Ramayan and they say unanimously: the
respect that Lord Rama had for his parents.
In all, there are about 19-20 little participants and the
rehearsals began 15-20 days prior to Navratri. Even with the busy
schedule of school and tuitions that the kids have these days, they
were all so fascinated by the characters that they would never miss
their rehearsals. Their half-hour daily performance is followed by
dandiya, a routine which will continue till the tenth day of this
festival i.e. Dussera. Pranav Chandran (11), who is playing the
character of Ram, talks about his favourite scene, “I really like the
scene when I am able to defeat everyone at the swayamvar and marry
Seeta (played by Shivangi Kapil Dave). That proves that I am the
strongest,” he smiles.
Shivam Gaikwad, who plays Ravan, says the ten faces that he had
were too heavy for him to carry and therefore, he carried just four.
“Ravan did not always have ten faces; his brains worked ten times
faster than anyone else and therefore, ten faces are not required,”
clarifies little Shivam. “We are learning a lot of lessons from the
Ramayan - the most important being respecting your parents,” adds
Harshita Jani, who was playing Sumitra. 
“The purpose of having these kids perform the Ram Leela is not only
to entertain the audience, but also for them to understand the Ramayan
and our true values and culture,” says Neha Bajerai, a resident of
Chittranjan Nagar, who actually initiated the idea. Rakhi Lohana,
another organiser, says, “Every time we taught the kids a new scene,
there were a lot of questions as to ‘how’ and ‘why’ something happens.
We are glad that today, they know the entire story of the Ramayan.”
The make-up and the accessories of the characters were also up to
the mark. Once in a while, the kids would get irritated because of
their heavy costumes, but the excitement of performing made them ignore
the discomfort. “As far as the costumes and the make up for the kids
were concerned, the parents were quite co-operative and because of
that, the performance looked quite graceful,” says Bajerai. There were
times when the kids forgot their roles, but Neha and Rakhi, with their
prompting and encouragement, made sure that they got it right.
The response from the audiences who have viewed the show has been
quite encouraging and it was noticed that the ground is quite crowded
when these kids perform. Surely, these kids have set an example for
others their age. Here’s wishing them all the best!
Link: http://www.chemburghatkoparplus.com/fullStory.asp?articleID=CGP7ART1012006