NOIDA/GHAZIABAD: GB Nagar and Ghaziabad gear up for Ramlila preparations with bhoomi pujas, venue and artist selection etc across various Ramlila committees on Sunday. While bhoomi pujas by the Shri Ramlila Committee (SRC) at site 4 City Park and Shri Dharmik Ramlila Committee (SDRC) at Ramlila ground Aiccher in Sector Pi Greater Noida were held on Sunday, other committees will hold similar pujas around mid-Sept. The Ramlila, which will be held from October 3 to 13 across different locations in both the districts, will have artists from Delhi, Moradabad in UP, Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur from Rajasthan who will perform at the major Ramlilas in both the districts.
Lakhs of people are a major draw at these Ramlilas which will culminate with the festival of Dussehra on Oct 12 and Bharat Milan on Oct 13. The day began with the bhoomi pujas by Shri Ramlila Committee (SRC) at site 4 City Park in Greater Noida and Shri Dharmik Ramlila Committee (SDRC) at Ramlila ground Aiccher in Sector Pi in Greater Noida on Sunday. “This year, the Vijay Mahotsav 2024 program will be celebrated with great pomp in Central Park located at Site 4 from October 3 to October 13.
We have completed the bhoomi puja for the program today,” said Manjeet Singh president Shri Ramlila Committee (SRC) at site 4 City Park in Greater Noida. On the occasion havan was performed amidst Vedic chanting and breaking of the coconut by chief guests Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh and Dadri MLA Tejpal Nagar. Nagar inaugurated the puja by garlanding the statue of lord Ram at the puja site.
SRC president Manjeet Singh added that this year, the Ramlila ground has been made very beautiful by spending lakhs of rupees. “Green grass has been planted in the entire ground so that there will be no dust anywhere on the ground. The audience will be able to enjoy the Ramlila performance and the fair to the fullest,” he said adding that it’s the 15th year of celebrating Ramlila by SRC in Greater Noida.
SRC treasurer Manoj Garg said that celebrations will kickstart from October 2 on Gandhi Jayanti, with a dance competition by school children. "The Ramlila will close after Dussehra on Oct 12 with a grand ceremony on October 13 with Bharat Milap," said Garg. On performing bhoomi puja on Sunday, Sher Singh Bhati, founder SDRC said that they “are celebrating the 15th year of Ramlila celebration in the city and expect lakhs of people in the Ramila ground which is the main attraction in Greater Noida.
” While the Shri Sanatan Dharm Ramlila Committee (SSDRC) Noida, the oldest in Noida, will celebrate its 39th year of staging the Ramlila at the Ramlila ground Noida Stadium, Sector 21A in the presence of SSDRC patrons MP Mahesh Sharma, Noida MLA Pankaj Sung, former minister Nawab Singh Nagar and former chairperson Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Women (UPSCW) Vimla Batham etc, the bhoomi puja of SSDRC is slated for Sept 14. Similar bhoomi puja is planned by Shri Ram Mitra Mandal (SRMM) Ramlila Committee Noida around Sept 16 or 17 at the Ramlila Maidan in C block of Sector-62. “We will decide the date of bhoomi puja in a couple of days, but it’s expected around Sept 16 or 17.
Meanwhile artists from Moradabad, and effigy makers are busy preparing for the grand celebration. On October 7th the Ram baraat (the wedding procession of lord Ram) will take place which will cover all the major intersections of the city. It will start from Sector 20 Hanuman temple and conclude at the SRMM venue site.
This will be followed by Dussehra on Oct 12,” said Munna Kumar Sharma general secretary of SRMM. Sharma adds that the staging of Ramlila will begin from October 3 at 7 pm with Ganesh Puja at the Ramlila ground in C-Block, Sector 62. While the festival of Dussehra will be held on October 12 with the burning of the effigies of Ravan, Megnath and Kumbhkaran, the Ramlilas will come to an end with a closing ceremony followed by Bharat Milap on October 13.
Spectators across all Ramlilas in the district will also be able to enjoy attractive fairs, swings as well as choice of food at the venues. In Ghaziabad, the Sullamal Ramlila (SR) at Ghantaghar is the oldest and will celebrate its 124th year this season. Also, the Adarsh Ramlila Samiti (ARS) Kavi Nagar which will stage the 48th edition of its Ramlila with artists from Delhi.
“We are celebrating a grand Ramlila with artists from Delhi,” said Bhupendra Chopra secretary of ARS Ramlila Kavi Nagar..
