Sita’s swayambar being enacted on stage, with Rama preparing to break the bow

BD Block’s Laban Hrad Mancha was recently witness to an unbelievable occurrence: Sworn enemies Rama and Ravana got together to follow the cricket score on their mobile phones and jumped with joy as their favourite players scored. And Hanuman was being chided for fidgeting while the make-up man pasted his beard.

It was a play staged by students at a Rama Katha programme. Organised by Salt Lake Sanskriti Sansad and Iskon Calcutta, the two-day event was based on Sita’s swayamvar on the first day and Bharat milap on the next. There was a lecture on each of the topics after which students performed a play on the subject.

While the play on Sita’s swayamvar showed the breaking of the bow by Rama before marrying her, Bharat milap showed Rama’s devout younger brother visiting him in Dandakaranya forest during his exile.

To enact the plays, the organisers had approached Partha Coching Classes in BF Block. “One day our teacher Radhika madam came and told us about the plays. I was very excited to be a part of it, especially as I was to play the role of Sita,” said Shreshtha Chakraborty, a Class XII student.

If the girls were busy discussing their roles in their green room, the boys’ green room was quiet. A cricket match was on. “Rahane is out,” said a nervous Nikhil Agarwal, dressed in the costume of Lord Rama. “Since I’m Ram for the day I have to make sure Sri Lanka is defeated today. At least in the play,” added the Class XII student of Kendriya Vidyalaya 1, as Kanhaiya Saha of DPS Ruby Park, playing Bharat, checked his smartphone for updates on scores.

Sourav Mishra, a Class XII student of Kendriya Vidyalaya 1, was honoured at being chosen to play Ravan. “I was told I look like a villain. What can be better than dying at the hands of Lord Rama?” he smiled.

Equally excited was 18-year-old Drishti Agarwal, the young trainer of these students. “I gave them a week’s training and they are performing like professionals. This is the first time I’ve trained students for such a big platform. I’m sure they’ll do justice to their roles.”

Alongside the plays, the audience was also clued in on the discourses. “The preacher, Krishna Kundal Prabhu from Mumbai, is excellent. I felt I was getting enlightenment on the purpose of life. The plays were well-performed,” said Deepa Das Mitra, a biology teacher at Lakshmipat Singhania Academy, from among the audience.

Radhika Devi Dasi, one of the organisers from Iskcon, said that through the lectures, listeners are given lessons on practical life. “It shows the high sense of justice that Rama held and of how he was always concerned about the happiness of others,” she said.

Vallabh Chaitanya Das from Iskcon added that such programmes were important in Salt Lake. “The people here don’t even know their neighbours. We teach people how to live together as a family,” said Das.