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The vibrant celebration of Ramlila in Delhi has taken a turn, engaging the city's youngest participants in a festive experience designed just for them. The event aims to bring the essence of the Ramayana to life for toddlers and young children, crafting a sensory-rich, child-friendly Ramlila experience, complete with musical performances, colourful tattoos, diya painting, and delicious treats.
Parents and children alike are embracing this immersive journey, where traditions are simplified and brought to life in a way that even the youngest can understand and enjoy. The event organised in Delhi's Maharani Bagh area on Saturday by Priyanka Raheja, an expert in early childhood cultural programs, said she aims to make an event 'larger than life' for children. Speaking to ANI, she said, "I've been doing the adult accompanied program across Delhi and Gurgaon for the past 15 years. Every year I do all the festivities for the babies, and we make it larger than life for the little ones because that's how they absorb everything. So Ramlila is one of the most talked about events that I do every year, and we do all the activities around Dussehra and Diwali on Ramlila. We have this tattoo guy who's really amazing. He actually makes all the tattoos with the characters of Ramlila. Then the children paint diyas, paint their hutteries, and they make some doughnuts, because sweet is always related with Diwali. So we cannot let it go like that and children, they like doughnuts and muffins, so they decorate that, and they eat it." "Other activities are there as well. Mehndi is there, the bangle girl is there, and she makes everyone wear bangles matching their outfits. We do a musical Ramlila, which I organise with multiple musicians. A Sufi singer is there, and this is how we go about it," she added. She also said that when organising the musical, she has to keep certain things in mind to make sure that the musical isn't too scary for kids. "So, I go with my instinct. As a child, I always felt that it was too scary (the Ramlila) and I could not understand most of the parts. So I simplified it. Then presented it for the little ones, for them to understand that Ravana was evil, and Ram was good. So it was a victory of good over evil. We do it in a fun way, in a musical way, wherein we get the army of Hanuman, and we get the life character of monkey singing, and very popular amongst toddlers. Then we go to Lanka, all together with the army of Hanuman. So we make it a really simplified version for the little ones, so they can understand, and we can leave an impact on their impression-forming years. These initial years, the early years, are very crucial in a toddler's life," she said. The parents of some of the kids also shared their experience of the musical, saying that such events help their kids learn a lot about culture and Ramayana. Gunjan, mother of a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter said, "I have a very small baby. She is one-and-a-half-years old and how she responded to the Ramlila, I think such events take children back to their roots. They are learning about their culture, Ramayana. It's beautiful seeing all of them together. They were responding to Hanuman, to Rama, to Ravana. It was a very nice eye-opener for the kids. It was a lovely experience. She is just getting her Hanuman tattoo being made in her hands. She can say Hanuman. Lovely experience." Another parent, Soumya, mother of a 22-month old kid said, "My daughter is just 22 months old, and the Ramlila event is amazing. The kids learn a lot, they do the actions, and my daughter has learned so much. The way the Ramlila story was reviewed with all the characters, Ram, Sita, it was amazing. Kids who are just below 2, like not even 2, she's not even 2, and she enjoys so much." Ramlila is a performance that takes place during the Dussehra festival. It is a series of performances re-enacting the Hindu epic Ramayana. (ANI)
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