On Ramleela stage, it is still a man’s world

Girdhari Phatak from Vrindavan is all set to give his best during the Ramleela performance on Monday. But instead of Ram or Lakshman, the 18-year-old will be seen in the get-up of a woman — Sita.

“Women can’t play Sita’s role,” explained Lekhraj Bharadwaj, the organiser of the Ramleela at Azad Maidan. “Neither can married men. Hence young boys are made to play Sita. Since they are young, they are innocent and easily adapt to any role. It is for this reason we prefer to have youngsters play Ram, Lakshman and Sita.”

It’s not just Phatak, 17-year-old Akash Chaturvedi is also one of the many boys chosen to perform the role in Ramleelas across the city.

Chaturvedi’s whole troupe comes from Mathura. “The first time I took part in the Ramleela was because it gave me the chance to come to Mumbai,” he said.

As to whether he felt awkward playing the part of a woman, he said, “Frankly, it was very weird the first time. It felt unusual to put on so much make-up and woman’s clothing. But I forgot all about it when I went on the stage. The character just takes over,” said Chaturvedi, who aspires to be an engineer.

Even for Phatak, this isn’t the first time that he will be donning women’s garb. “This is the second time that I will play a woman,” he said.

Both boys claim that they have learnt more about Sita. “You learn about Sita’s strength of character when she threatens Ravana with a blade of grass,” said Phatak, adding that the scene when she decides to follow Ram to vanvas usually has the audience and the actors teary-eyed. 

“She is strong-willed, emotional and faithful to her husband. She willingly agreed to share his sufferings. I have learnt about these qualities only after I started to play the role,” explained Chaturvedi.