Other Topics : Art Culture - Fashion - Tourism

Latest & Hot News about our Art and Culture

Return to current news about Art and Culture

At 75, veteran plays his 57th Ramlila role
By Baldev S Chauhan, Indo-Asian News Service

Shimla, Oct 2 (IANS) At 75, age hasn't yet affected his energy, voice or memory, as Girdhari Lal readies again to hit the Ramlila stage.

Lal is easily still the most popular Ramlila actor in this Himachal Pradesh capital, playing one of the many characters from the great epic since he was a teenager. 

"I have been acting every year without break on Shimla's oldest Ramlila stage at Gunj since I was 18 years of age. That was in 1948," says Lal. 

That's almost 60 shows. 

"I have done all the roles - Rama, Sita, the devoted brother Lakshman, the demon king Ravana, the loyal Hanuman and countless other characters."

Ramlila is the enacting of the events narrated in the epic Ramayana, about Rama's and his battles against evil, especially his demolition of Ravana who had abducted his wife Sita.

Interestingly, there is an age-old tradition of only males acting in all the roles, including that of Sita.

"Like a true folk theatre actor, Girdhari Lal has the gift of playing any role. He can also modulate his voice perfectly for both male and female characters," said Kuldeep Chand, his fan and make-up man for years.

"He remembers his lines so well he doesn't even need to do the rehearsals," Chand says.

Lal, who runs a small business here, says he has no retirement plans and would continue to act in Ramlila roles as long as he enjoys it.

However, he laments the decline in the standards of the Ramayana theatre, which is a rage across north India.