Agra's Krishna Leela gets new lease of life

The more than a century-old tradition of Sri Krishna Leela, which was fading for want of patronage and support, has been revived through efforts of the business community, cultural activists and religious groups in the Taj city.

The event began with the annual procession of Lord Ganesha followed by a musical dance-drama programme at the Leela ground Wednesday.

The Sri Krishna Leela is often referred to as Raas Leela, a music-cum-theatrical tradition in the region.

King Kans, the demon king of Mathura, was to take a ceremonial walk in royal splendour through the city streets Thursday evening.

Krishna Leela is organised every year for 15 days, peaking with the death of the demon king.

"The tradition of Krishna Leela in Agra started more than a century ago, when a group of banias (people from the business community) split from the original Ram Leela committee and started parallel celebrations. The Belanganj banias started the Sri Krishna Leela on the same lines as the Ram Lila," Mahesh Sharma, one of the organisers, told IANS.

The event culminates with the Maha-Raas ceremony in which Lord Krishna takes many forms and dances with gopis on the full moon night.

In recent years, hundreds of mandlis (groups) have mushroomed.

"These performers travel all over India doing programmes, the highlights being Holi and Mayur dances, which combine elements of folk and classical Kathak forms," said pakhawaj maestro Madhukar Chaturvedi.

In bare crude form, these acts have been performed for a very long time to entertain pilgrims in Braj area.

"Now, we have presentation which integrates essential elements of theatre, music, folk dances and classical input of Kathak," says culture critic Mahesh Dhakar.

"Nowhere else would you find Sri Krishna Leela being performed on such a grand scale. We have an open theatre with stairs for the audience. The actors move around the ground and perform while interacting with the audience," says Mahesh Chandra Sharma, who has been nurturing this fading tradition in the city.

"It was necessary to conserve and promote these art forms for posterity and the young generation should particularly be involved in it," he added.

The popular acts performed are "Phoolon ki Holi", "Makhan Chori", "Narsi Charitra", "Narsi ka Bhaat", "Nanibai ka Mayera", and "Shri Krishna Janm".

The costumes have changed from gaudy and pompous to elegant and eye-catching, and musical scores have become popular with influence of films, says Jagannath Poddar, convener of a non-governmental organisation, Friends of Vrindavan.