Click to play videoNew Delhi: Gone are the days when Ramleelas used to be a small affair, staged in local parks and organised by groups of enthusiastic neighbours. The Ramleelas of today are a big profit-making venture.
The Ramleela of the Sridharmik Leela Committee in the capital can easily be mistaken for a political mela. It is infact the biggest and oldest Ramleela in the capital going back 85 years. But the Ramleela has evolved through the years. From a low key and no frills affair, it now involves mega bucks.
“First there were thousands of rupees that were spent, then lakhs and now it’s crores,” says Vishwanath Gupta of the Sridharmik Leela Committee.
Spread over five acres, almost one lakh people visit the Sridharmik Leela Committee at Subhash Maidan everyday. And it involves some mind boggling figures. The lights and decorations cost Rs 10 lakh, tents for Rs 15 lakh, fireworks for Rs 8 lakh, the artists get paid Rs 5 lakh and Rs 7 lakh are spent on costumes and jewellery.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are other miscellaneous expenses that run into lakhs. What funds the expenses are the mouth-watering food bazaars rented out for Rs 10 lakh and above for 10-days of festivities. But the traders are more than happy and aren’t complaining.
“We see immense opportunity to better our future prospects. The sales and marketing options brighten up for us,” said a trader, Kishanlal Gupta.
However, organising all this isn’t easy. The entire Ramleela requires a fireworks minister, a leela minister and a tent minister to manage the finances.
The Chairman Sridharmik Leela Committee, Bansidhar Gupta says, “We have income tax exemptions on this.”
Changing times have brought sizeable changes in the scale of the Ramleelas. But what hasn’t changed is the attraction of the public to the epical stories.
While it is a moneymaking opportunity for some, for others it a ticket to celluloid fame.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)
More on IBNLive Right Now
TOP NEWS
MOST SHARED
PHOTOGALLERY
