Of all the great mythological tales, the Ramayana, one of the most enduring Hindu epics, came to the stages of Southern California to not only immerse audiences in the action packed saga but to also assist in raising funds for a future expansion of the Shri Ashta Lakshmi Sametha Venkateswara Swamy Temple here Oct. 27. 

California-based retailers Kumar Jawa, founder of India Sweet & Spices, joined hands with Munish Makkar of Ambala Cash & Carry to intensify interest in the temple which was established in 2011. 

Jawa corralled the India-based production company Bollywood Entertainment and its promoters Jaswant Mehmi and Pramod Loi to include the fundraising event as part of BE’s ten-show tour in California which ends mid-November.

The three-hour Hindi play billed as “Shree Ram Leela” was also performed in Artesia Oct. 26, and on Oct. 13 at the Sunnyvale Hindu Temple in Northern California.

ALSVST president Dr. Lakshmidevi Putta, and husband and board member Prasad Putta welcomed the fund assistance to widen the temple grounds on roughly “two acres of the unique temple” which is devoted to the worship of Sri Venkateswara Swami, also known as Balaji, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, surrounded by the secondary manifestations of his consort goddess Lakshmi in eight forms.

Only two similar temples within the United States, “one is in Texas and the other in Michigan,” are devoted to the eight Lakshmis or the eight earthly sources of wealth: Adi (first manifestation), Dhanya (grain), Dhairya (courage), Gaja (animals), Santana (offspring), Vijaya (victory), Vidhya (education) and Dhana (money), according to the Puttas.

Field Deputy Ceaser Huerta who represented Councilwoman Nury Martinez of the sixth district joined the audience to watch the play and show support for the temple’s first public event. The city provided tables and chairs at no cost for the outdoor event which included vendor stalls offering fashion, jewelry and food from Vishnu Restaurant of Irvine and India Sweets & Spices to guests.

Director and producer Rajiv Mehta captured the essence of the epic as a cast of actors portrayed humans, gods, animals and demons often in bright-colored silks, golden headdresses, chest covers and ornaments.

The family friendly play, which was a mingling of “lights, sight and sound,” Mehta told India-West, mixed vocal playback of the onstage, pre-recorded dialogues by each artist with the spectacle of vibrantly mimed gestures against video snippets of the story and songs, echoing the triumph and plight of the characters.

The trimmed version of sage Valmiki’s Vedic poem began with a stirring scene of Sita’s swayamwara or husband selection.

Audiences were introduced to the virtuous hero Lord Rama (Yogesh Arora) who successfully breaks Shiva’s bow and wins Sita’s (Dipti Arora) hand in marriage.

With his fiery and devoted brother Lakshman (Manish Kapoor) at his side, Rama meets his evil antagonist Ravana (Amrik Teja), who makes his earthly desires of jealousy, greed and anger known, thereby paving the way to his own self-destruction. King Janak was played by S.P. Singh.

The characters Hanuman (Yogesh Kumar), Kaikeyi, and Mandodari (Baljinder Kaur), Megnath and Dashrath (Suvinder Pal Singh), Sughreev (Ramesh Bhardwaj), Kumbhakarana (Umesh Nagpal), Kevat and Angad (Gaurav Sharma) took the viewers through their various roles within the centuries-old story imbued with courtly intrigues and leading to Rama’s banishment to the forest, Sita’s capture by Ravana, fierce battles to save Sita, and heroic sacrifices such as Hanuman’s assistance to Rama in rescuing Sita.

The play ended with Ravana’s predictable catastrophic demise at the hands of Lord Rama, who in reality was the seventh incarnation of the supreme deity Vishnu.

ALSVST’s onsite Bharatnatyam teacher Nalini Natrarajan also presented dance segments by her students prior to the show.

Ram Leela festivals are commonly held during the period of Navratri in India and often stretch “as long as ten days,” according to Mehta, who added that such shows “further culture and tradition within the younger generation.”

Local gurudwara member Tara Sagoo brought his son Harmon, 7, to watch the show for similar reasons. “I want to expose my son to dramas such as these which I grew up with and are a rarity in the States,” said Sagoo.

The temple conducts Bharatnatyam classes and offers a sundry of Homas or religious ceremonies; it is located at 8130 Laurel Canyon Blvd. in North Hollywood. 

Source: IndiaWest