On the way from Bheri Hospital to the stadium in Nepalgunj, there is an open ground. On both sides of the road in the middle of the ground are tea shops. The people of Nepalgunj use this open ground in the city center according to their convenience. The place buzzes with activities ranging from motorcycle learners to peanut sellers.

During sports competitions at the Nepalgunj stadium, the ground is also used as a parking space. Public assemblies in Nepalgunj are also held here.

I often wondered—whose ground is this in the middle of the city? Why has it been left open?

During Dashain, artists from India are invited to this ground to perform Ramleela. I had heard that not only people from Nepalgunj but also devotees from neighboring villages and Indian border settlements arrive here in the thousands to watch Ramleela.

A couple of times, I too went with friends around 9 or 10 PM to the Ramleela ground. Inside big tents were thousands of devotees, the loud blare of microphones, and dozens of actors portraying Ram, Laxman, Sita, Ravan, Dasharath, and Hanuman. Ramleela carried a unique vibrance.

On the edges of the Ramleela ground, crowds of people selling peanuts, sweets, chatpate, and balloons were visible. Children, youth, and elderly alike enjoyed themselves in their own ways.

Since I never had much knowledge of the Ramayana, nor had I watched religious serials like Mahabharata in my childhood, I could never enjoy Ramleela as much as my friends did. Yet, unable to decline their requests, I ended up at the Ramleela ground.

Even though I have been living in Nepalgunj for nearly three decades, as soon as Dashain began, I hurried home. In the early years, I went to my ancestral home in Pyuthan, and in recent years to Bardiya. Because of this, I never learned much about the historical background of Ramleela or its community-led management.

With the thought that my daughter should know about Ramleela, in the past two or three years, I have regularly taken my family to the Ramleela ground. As my daughter began asking many questions about Ramleela, I too started trying to understand more. Gradually, my attraction toward Ramleela has grown.

Perhaps because of its importance and the message it conveys, Ramleela has been continuously organized at the community level for 158 years.

Preparations for the Ramleela festival in Nepalgunj begin right from the New Year. Under the leadership of the organizing committee, financial support is collected, agreements are made with artists, publicity is done, and coordination is carried out with police and civic leaders for security arrangements. The funds for Ramleela come entirely from community contributions.

When preparations for the 158th Ramleela festival were in their final stage, Nepalgunj turned tense on September 9 due to the Gen Z protests. Night curfews were imposed in the city for security reasons. In its meeting on September 13, the organizing committee decided to postpone that year’s Ramleela.

At that time, I, along with locals, felt deeply saddened. The news that Ramleela, staged continuously since 1924, would not happen left even residents of the Indian border areas disappointed.

But as the tension and fear that had emerged two weeks earlier slowly subsided, the organizing committee announced that at least for one day, on Bijaya Dashami, the “Ravan-badh” (killing of Ravan) episode of Ramleela would be staged. This news brought us all renewed excitement.

Every year, from Ghatasthapana to Bijaya Dashami, Ramleela is staged daily from 7 PM to midnight. For this, a stage and structures are built on about one bigha of open land. In reality, Ramleela is a play based on the life story of Lord Ram and Sita.

The Ramleela organized in Nepalgunj is observed with equal devotion not only by Hindus but also by Muslims and Sikhs. Around 20 percent of the audience are Muslim women, children, and youth. They also contribute financially, help set up tents on the ground, install sound systems, and build the effigy of Ravan.

When I asked Muslim community leader Mohammad Sharif Bagban about the uniqueness of Ramleela, he told me, “The Ramleela I watched in my childhood is still fresh in my memory.” However, he expressed sadness that the number of young people attending Ramleela has decreased because of mobile phones and the internet.

Like Mohammad Sharif, I too have noticed that Ramleela does not attract the younger generation as much as it did the older one. Interest in religion and culture seems to be fading among today’s youth. Until two decades ago, most of the performers in Ramleela were locals from Nepalgunj itself.

Today, the number of local performers has thinned, and troupes have to be brought in from Vrindavan, India, to stage Ramleela. The organizing committee has repeatedly appealed for local actors, but it has been difficult to find them.

Although Hindu by faith, the younger generation lacks knowledge of the historical and religious significance of Ramleela. Youngsters interested in acting find it difficult to perform due to their unfamiliarity with their own cultural traditions.

Lord Ram’s roles as a dutiful son, brother, husband, and leader for his society are exemplary. The Ramleela organizing committee hopes that today’s youth can take life lessons from Ramleela. Yet this aim has not been fully realized.

I also asked storyteller Sanat Regmi about this. Having watched Ramleela regularly from 1952 to 1971, Regmi said that even today’s youth could learn useful lessons for life from Lord Ram’s character. But it is puzzling why Ramleela fails to draw them in.

Ramleela in Nepalgunj was first initiated by local social workers like Ramgopal Tandon and Bhailal Halwai. Today, it is more popular in the border Awadhi-speaking communities of India than in Nepal itself. Every year, thousands of devotees cross the border to watch Ramleela in Nepalgunj.

Ravan is considered a symbol of demonic power. But nowadays, crowds of young men and women line up in front of Ravan’s effigy to take selfies. Parents too capture photos of their children before the effigy to preserve the memory of Ramleela.

In earlier times, when internet and mobile access was limited, everyone from youth to elders would flock to Ramleela during Dashain. They would spend nights watching Ramleela videos in Nepalgunj’s streets and courtyards. Now, with easy access to entertainment and information on mobile phones at home, the younger generation’s attraction to Ramleela has diminished.