As I walked towards the high school in my saree, I was excited, it’s not homecoming, today we were celebrating the 1st anniversary of the homecoming of Shri Ram after nearly 500 years! 

As we walked in, I started hearing the Marathi dhol being played with all its fervor!  

I knew there was a statue of Shri Ram Lalla that had been handmade! But when we saw the murti we were hypnotized. I knew I wasn’t in Ayodhya but the murti definitely made me think I was!

I could hear the dhols in the auditorium, and I rushed in to a full on pep rally for Shri Ram! In that moment my introverted self wanted to dance to the beat of the dhol! 

The auditorium was filling up when the panditji performed a puja for Shri Ram. By the time the Ram Leela started the auditorium was filled with Ram bhakts of all ages! 

Whether it be Hanuman chalisa or classical performances (Bharatnatyam and Kuchupudi) depicting the Dasavatar, and celebrating the life of Shri Ram, the performances enchanted every soul in the auditorium.

Every so often a rally cry of Jai Shri Ram would echo in the auditorium and you could hear children randomly yelling Jai Shri Ram without fear or embarrassment.

I have never seen a Ram Leela in Bharat. Ram Leelas are usually performed on Dusshera. But this Ram Leela was special, we were celebrating Shri Ram’s return to Ayodhya after 500 years. 

All the participants of the Ram Leela did an awesome job. They had us mesmerized. We have all seen Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan on TV but there is something special about watching a Ram Leela live in person. You have seen and heard the story so many times yet you get excited when Hanumanji meets Shri Ram, or when Hanumanji burns Lanka. All the scenes were executed with finesse! The Ram darbar at the end was so impactful! Dhols were being played as Shri Ram, Lakshman, Mata Sita, Hanumanji and others joined to form the Ram darbar! 

All in all its was an evening that was special. Just because you can’t go to Ayodhya doesn’t mean you can’t find Shri Ram around you.