Varanasi: Ram, Lakshman hold up Ramlila to protest against stinking pond

VARANASI: Spectators who had gathered near Dhanesra pond on Saturday night to watch the ‘Ram-Kevat samwad’ episode of the historic Laat Bhairo Ramlila in Varanasi were in for a surprise.Instead of mouthing dialogues on stage, the actors portraying Ram and Lakshman were sitting on dharna in full costume along with other members of the Ramlila committee. They were protesting against the unhygienic conditions around the pond, which were so revolting that they had taken ill.Organisers claim that Laat Bhairo Ramlila dates back to the mid-16th century. While most acts are staged at the Laat Bhairo temple in Adampura area here, the crew moves to Dhanesara pond for two episodes for a touch of reality – the Ram-Kewat samwad and the episode where Kewat takes Ram, Lakshman and Sita across the Ganga.On Saturday evening, when the Ramlila team reached Dhanesra, it found the pond full of garbage.The stink was so intense that the two artistes playing Ram and Lakshman began vomiting. The enraged artists sat on a dharna at the site and resumed the show only after a couple of hours and much pleading.A dharna by actors staging the historic Laat Bhairo Ramlila against unsanitary conditions at the site forced committee president Ram Avtar Pandey to rush to the spot on Saturday. Pandey contacted the municipal commissioner. ADM city Vinay Kumar Singh and additional municipal commissioner AK Singh also rushed there to convince the actors to call off their protests.Finally, after the officers assured the Ramlila team that the pond and the Ramlila ground would be cleaned, Saturday’s episode of ‘Ram-Kevat Samvad’ was performed, more than two hours behind schedule.Pandey told TOI that the Ramlila was being performed since 1545 but such a problem was never faced in the past. He alleged that some people living near the pond had conspired to stop the centuries-old event by dumping garbage. He added that no efforts were made to clean the ground for the festive season.District magistrate Surendra Singh said the process of removing encroachment from around Dhanesra pond had been started. UP minister and MLA from Varanasi South Neelkanth Tiwari said, “This pond has been selected for revival and beautification and encroachers are being removed. Once this project is complete, all the problems of locals as well as the Ramlila committee would be over.”