IIM-Lucknow: When Ravana cautioned Ram against pollution

LUCKNOW: Sunday saw management students giving a modern twist to the classic tale of Ramayana with themes like corruption and air pollution at Indian Institute of Management- Lucknow's (IIM-L) annual fest 'Manfest Varchasva-2019'.
Students from colleges across the country staged plays which spread awareness about challenges like rising air pollution, corruption and the lack of women empowerment with Ramayana as a backdrop on the last day of the fest.
It was the first time that plays based on Ramayana were staged at IIM-L.
'Ravana Leela' was the first play to be staged. The audience broke into fits of laughter when Dhaniyah Mehandi, the student who was portraying Ravana, told his arch nemesis Ram, "My wife Mandodri told me that the air on earth is too polluted. If you want to visit earth, wear a mask."
"We have tried to use a satirical approach to address two problems which our country faces today - corruption and pollution," said Abhishek Shukla, who essayed the role of Ram.
In the next play 'Ramlila Machan', the participants shed light on how even mythology stressed on women empowerment and enacted Sita's swayamvar.
The last play 'Ravana ki Samsya' was a take on how Ramlila characters are dealing with corruption. "The play explores how Ramlila characters are exploited. The villain is not the actor who plays Ravana, but the producer of the Ramlila who doesn't share the profits of the show with his team," said MBA student Anubhav.
IIM-L had approached the Ayodhya Research Institute (ARI) to sponsor Ramayana-based events in October. The institute, which comes under he UP culture department, wrote to the tourism department seeking funds. IIM-L received Rs 2.50 lakh to organise the events.