Haridwar, October 9
With various Ram Lilas being staged, characters from the Ramayana come alive every night in different parts of the pilgrim city. While most Ram Lilas in the district have completed some decades of staging, there is one that has completed 100 years.

Enactment by City Ram Lila, Jwalapur Ram Lila, Kankhal Ram Lila, and BHEL-situated Ram Lila Committees are the most sought after by devotees.

No major religious function in Haridwar can avoid having a shobha yatra. Be it the Maha Kumbh or Navratras, grand processions, tableaux, mythological characters on chariots, musical bands accompanying the religious procession are a must-have.

The wedding procession, ‘Ram Baraat’, of Lord Rama was carried out by the Kankhal Ram Lila Committee from Lord Shiva’s city Kankhal in a grand style.

Lord Rama’s chariot enjoyed the company of chariots carrying King Dashratha, Vishwamitra, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughan. Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati, Ganesh, Kartikeya, Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and other deities were also part of the wedding procession.

People in thousands lined up on the entire route to have a glimpse of the divine bridegroom.

The enactment by the Haridwar Main Ramleela Committee is the biggest in the city. With it being staged near the Har-ki-Pauri area, pilgrims from other states and tourists also attend this Ram Lila in large numbers.

This year, Ram Lilas have started in Jwalapur and BHEL areas and residents of these areas are flocking to these venues.

In a unique gesture which gives the message of communal harmony, village chief Rao Ifaq Ali, a Muslim, inaugurated the Ram Lila in Suman Nagar.

Suman Nagar is a rehabilitation colony for Tehri dam catchment area oustees.

The Bhagwanpur-situated Shobha Sadan Ram Lila was started way back in 1898 by Lala Shobha Rai and since then, it has been enacted consistently. It is one of the oldest in Haridwar in which Hindu and Muslim residents take part.

At Kankhal, the Ram Lila enacted by the Krishna Nagar Shri Ram Lila Committee, being staged at the Ram Lila ground, depicted the ‘Raja Grah Milap’ and ‘Kewat Leela’ episodes.

A grand procession will be taken out on October 19 which will be followed by colourful presentations by children.

Dehradun, October 9
As it is Navratra time, temples and markets in the capital have donned a festive look. Temples are decked up with electric lights and markets located near temples are decorated with garlands, coconuts, sindoor and other items.

A large number of devotees visited temples to perform rituals today. “Navratras are one of the best periods for us as the sale of items used for worship goes up,” Shankar, who sits outside a temple near the Mohini Road, said. He added, “We also get a chance to increase the prices which, otherwise, are very low the rest of the year.”

The Bengali community too is busy with Durga Puja celebrations as they believe that Goddess Durga, along with her children, comes down on Earth at this time.

In Dehradun, celebrations will be held at nine places, but the biggest one is being organised by the Puja Committee, Raipur.

“Her arrival is celebrated as Mahalaya Amavasya and this year, the date fell on October 7. Goddess Durga is welcomed by a ‘Chandi Path’ or a chanting of hymns from the Vedas,” Tapas Chakraborty, general secretary, Puja Committee, Raipur, Dehradun, told The Tribune.

According to Hindu mythology, Goddess Durga visits the Earth, along with her daughters - Saraswati and Lakshmi - and sons - Ganesh and Kartikeya - and the lion, which is her mount.

Goddesses Saraswati and Lakshmi arrive on a swan and an owl, respectively, while Ganesh and Kartikeya ride a mouse and a peacock.

It is also believed that every year, the goddess makes a change in her mode of transportation. She has four other mounts besides the lion. These are a palanquin (palki), elephant, horse or boat. Her mode of arrival is worked out by the pundits who analyse the almanac for the same.

It is said if the arrival is on a palanquin, then natural calamities like earthquake, drought or landslide take place the entire year; her arrival on an elephant denotes prosperity; the horse indicates cyclone or inclement weather; and the arrival on a boat indicates heavy rain and floods.

“Last year, she arrived on a palanquin and an earthquake took place the same day. Besides that, the country witnessed a bad phase due to heavy rain recently,” Chakraborty mentioned.

“This year, she will arrive on a palanquin and will depart on the elephant which again is considered a bad omen,” he reiterated.

“The programme will begin on October 13 at the Junior Club premises of the Ordnance Factory Estate here. It will last till October 17,” he added.

“More than 10,000 people are expected to gather during the festival,” Tapas affirmed and added, “Other than the cultural programme and puja, we are arranging food stalls. Visitors will be able to taste various kinds of food other than Bengali items.” “We have also arranged swings for children,” he maintained.

Pitthoragarh, October 9
As the Navratras begin, the Kumaon region is abuzz with Ram Lilas and Durga Pujas. In the border district of Pitthoragarh, the Uttarakhand police, along with units of the Army and paramilitary forces, has organised Durga Puja at a public place for the first time.

“To create goodwill among security forces and obtain cooperation of the public in border security, we have, for the first time, organised Durga Puja and installed the idol of Goddess Durga at a public place,” said Neelesh Bharane, SP, Pitthoragarh.

The 103-year-old Ram Lila troupe of Askot, the oldest in Pitthoragarh, began staging the epic with the start of the Navratras.

“But the Ram Lila in Didihat, Dharchula and Thal will commence after Diwali as the artistes and organisers mostly reside in metropolitan cities and can come only during vacations,” said Mahesh Pant, a Ram Lila organiser at Didihat.

Lohaghat and Champawat towns in Champawat district have a century-old tradition of staging Ram Lilas. “The Ram Lila tradition in Champawat is 113 years old while it is 110 years old in Lohaghat,” said Ganesh Pandey, a social worker in Lohaghat town.

Almora town has the oldest tradition of Ram Lila staging in the Kumaon region which has crossed 160 years.

Ram Lilas are staged at nine places and Durga Puja at three places in Almora town. “This year, the Dasehra committee under the chairmanship of the District Magistrate has decided to organise the event in a big way,” said Lalit Latwar, organiser of Dasehra committee, Almora.

Almora has a unique tradition of making effigies not only of Ravana, Meghnad and Kumbhkarna but also of 15 other members of Ravana’s family. “We not only make 18 effigies of Ravana’s family, but take these in a procession before burning them. This gives devotees a feeling that the entire clan of the demon king has been eliminated,” said Naveen Bisht, a cultural activist in Almora.

“This year, persons in large numbers are visiting the three places that have organised Durga Puja,” said Naveen Bisht.

Mussoorie, October 9
Students from Guru Nanak Fifth Centenary School celebrated their 41st Founder’s Day with fervour and gaiety. The function will go on for two days at Vincent Hill and Shangri-la, respectively.

Chairman Jaspal Singh, along with Head Masters ND Sahni and Anil Tiwari, as well as Sunil Bakshi, welcomed chief guest Chairperson of the International Sikh Women Forum Harjinder Kaur. Harjinder began the proceedings by unfurling the school flag at the school grounds at Vincent Hill.

The chief guest was presented a guard of honour by NCC cadets on the occasion. Following that the Pipe Bands of the school set the tune for the celebrations. The programme began with a shabad kirtan performance by students. An inter-house march-past was also held. The display by the Pipe Bands of both schools (Vincent Hill and Shangri-la) stole the show. The band marching to the tune of “London Bridge Falling” impressed the audience.

ITBP personnel from Mussoorie were called in to judge the march-past winners. The winners will be announced tomorrow, the final day of the celebration.

A choreographed rhythmic display depicting the sentiments of the ongoing Common Wealth Games by students was the highlight of the day.

The day concluded with an exhibition held at the hall of the school where projects in art, painting, science and geography section were on exhibit. The recent burning issue of the Clock Tower also surfaced in the model presentation made by students.

The manager of the school informed that the school is a premiere institution of Mussoorie and was founded by Mehtab Singh in 1977. Mehtab Singh felt that an essential growth to the community could come only through quality education. Mehtab Singh and Sardarni Jasbir Kaur laid emphasis on selfless service.

Chief guest Harjinder Kaur is a councillor Chandigarh since 1996. She has won acclaim as a member of the SAD working committee, Director of the Women and Child Welfare Centre, member of the Governor’s Advisory Education Council and Chairman of the Punjab Art council.

Dehradun, October 9
On the occasion of its golden jubilee, Carman School, Dalanwala, organised an inter-school model-making competition on science/temples of India on the school premises here today.

Many schools participated in the competitions. Some science models highlighted the advantages of solar energy. The competition aimed at creating awareness among students to save energy without polluting the environment.

Participants made nice models of some of the oldest and beautiful temples of India. To enhance their impact, they also presented folk dances of that particular part of India to which the temple belonged.

The winners of the science model making were St Thomas College and Carman School, Prem Nagar, while St Thomas College and Carman School, Dalanwala, were declared winners of the temple model making competition.

Dehradun, October 9
Welham Girls School bagged the singles and team titles at the Inter-Council Schools Senior Girls Table Tennis Tournament today at the Heritage School here.

In the final of the team championship, Gargi of Welham School beat Deepanjali of Aryan School 11-8, 10-12, 12-10, 11-12.

In the second match, Pooja Kohli of Welham Girls School beat Isha of Aryan School 11-8, 11-6, 11-7.

In the third match, Ishita of Welham School beat Kiren of Aryan School 11-7, 11-7, 11-6. Thereby clinching the overall team championship.

In the singles match, Pooja Kohli of Welham Girls School beat Isha of Aryan School 11-1, 11-14, 11-3.

Chief guest Avdhesh Choudhury, President of Heritage School, gave away the prizes.

Dehradun, October 9
Sushant Vats, former Executive Director of the ONGC, along with Praveen Pandey, Auditor General, Uttarakhand, and RP Singh, inaugurated the Veterans’ Tennis Tournament here today.

The tournament has been organised by the ONGC Tennis Club in collaboration with the Uttaranchal Tennis Association at the ONGC tennis court.

Teams from the BSNL, ONGC, ITBP, FRI, Uttaranchal Police, IIT-Roorkie, Table Tennis Club, Delhi, Pauri and Haridwar are participating in the event. The tournament is being played on a knock-out basis.

Results: Pawan Jain and Samir from Delhi defeated Devinder Bisht and Pramod Thapa from 
ONGC 7-1; Rajive Walia (STA) and Suresh Kumar (IIT-Roorkee) defeated Yashpal Bisht and Devinder Singh of the ONGC 7-1; Sunil Mathew and RP Dubey from ONGC overpowered Virender Mishra and Gupta of ONGC 7-2.

Brijender Chauhan (STA) and Vipin Rai (BSNL) defeated Bharat and Kishore Rawat from Pauri 7-0; Rajive Negi (ITBP) and Praveen Pandey (Auditor General) beat DS Pangti and Pankaj Aggarwal of the FRI 7-3; Sukumar and Hari Singh from IIT Roorkee defeated Bhuvan Rawat (Pauri) and Arun Sharma (ONGC) 7-5.

HS Bisht and Avasthi from the FRI defeated PK Hatwal and AK Sahu of ONGC 7-2 and Pradeep Walia and Harish Moha of ONGC defeated Santram (FRI) and Manoj Gupta (STA) 7-2.

The finals will take place tomorrow. The programme was coordinated by Arun Saxena, office secretary of the UTA.