Assam, Majuli Island: Nov 10 Ras Leela (Sony)
Director: Anushka Meenakshi, Iswar Srikumar; Cinematographer: Anushka Meenakshi, Iswar Srikumar
Duration: 00:06:03; Aspect Ratio: 1.778:1; Hue: 351.911; Saturation: 0.054; Lightness: 0.322; Volume: 0.154; Cuts per Minute: 1.320
Summary: The
annual Ras Lila festival is organized by the Vaishnavite communities in Majuli
and center around the several sattras on the island. Each year they tell the
life story of krishna in a musical dance drama. When we attended, there were at
least eight shows happening by different groups of people all over Majuli. We
went for the one at the Samaguro Sattra as some of the finest performance masks
are made here.
The
Samaguri Sattra is the only one in Majuli which doesn’t charge tickets for the
Ras Lila. A couple of years ago the performance area was an open air space. A
few thousand people used to come and watch. Then somebody donated lots of money
to “do up” the space. That’s when they built a giant box around the stage to
make an auditorium of sorts, which also meant that only about 500 people can
comfortably watch the show now - the rest have to stand outside and peek in
through the windows.
The
day of the performance, the entire area around the Samaguri Sattra turns into a
fairground. Stalls selling knick knacks and souvenirs jostle for space with the
jalebis and freshly fried chips, while in the background performers and mask
makers and busy doing last minute checks and tweaks of over-sized full body
puppets and masks.
Samaguri
has a number of mask makers, creating masks of characters in the Ramayana,
Krishna Leela, and the Dasavatharam. They make numerous masks that visitors buy
to hang on walls and to take back as souvenirs.

Assam/Majuli Island/Nov 10 Ras Leela/Sony/PRIVATE/AVCHD/BDMV/STREAM/00000.MTS
Iswar trying on masks
Majuli Island, Assam

Assam/Majuli Island/Nov 10 Ras Leela/Sony/PRIVATE/AVCHD/BDMV/STREAM/00001.MTS
Iswar trying on masks

Assam/Majuli Island/Nov 10 Ras Leela/Sony/PRIVATE/AVCHD/BDMV/STREAM/00002.MTS
Preparation before Ras Lila

Assam/Majuli Island/Nov 10 Ras Leela/Sony/PRIVATE/AVCHD/BDMV/STREAM/00003.MTS
Preparation before Ras Lila

Assam/Majuli Island/Nov 10 Ras Leela/Sony/PRIVATE/AVCHD/BDMV/STREAM/00004.MTS
Preparation before Ras Lila

Assam/Majuli Island/Nov 10 Ras Leela/Sony/PRIVATE/AVCHD/BDMV/STREAM/00005.MTS
Shots of the river

Assam/Majuli Island/Nov 10 Ras Leela/Sony/PRIVATE/AVCHD/BDMV/STREAM/00006.MTS
Shots of the river
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