Ramnagar Day Seven Brings Four Brides Into Ayodhya; Balkand Closes

Ramnagar's Ramlila turned to the arrival of the four brides in Ayodhya on day seven on Thursday, closing the Balkand sequence with the maha-aarti of the eight forms after a long evening of farewell rites from Janakpur.

Devotees filled the traditional grounds as performers staged King Janak and Queen Sunayana's parting words before the four princesses left with Ram, Bharat, Lakshman and Shatrughan. Earlier in the same day's arc, the Mithila side showed the jevanar and khichdi sitting that still survives in Ramnagar's script even as many modern weddings have dropped it. Women representing the Janakpur side sang teasing folk lines at King Dasharath and the baratis; Rita Devi led the familiar "kha lo kha lo khichdi mere Ram lala" refrain, and the Dasharath role answered with the customary neg.

Kunwar Anant Narayan arrived with family on four elephants to walk as a barati with the four brothers' wedding party, a royal-house presence that regulars watch for on heavy lila nights. After the dowry and gift exchange scenes, the four princes brought their brides toward Ayodhya. The doli and kahar tradition, often thinned elsewhere, stayed intact: Sita and the other three brides approached the main gate in palanquins, and the tableau of Ram and Janaki drew a thick ring of women who treat the welcome as if new daughters-in-law were entering their own homes.

At the gate the mothers performed the traditional parichhan and mangal aarti before leading the couples into the palace set. Newly seated pairs received blessings. In the scripted counsel that followed, Dasharath told the queens that the brides were still young girls from another house and should be kept with affection. The night closed with the shayan jhanki, the respectful farewell of sage Vishwamitra, and the grand aarti of all eight forms, marking the formal end of the Balkand episodes in this year's cycle.

Ramnagar's open-air geography means the crowd moves with the story rather than sitting in one auditorium. Day seven's path from Janakpur farewell to Ayodhya gate therefore doubles as a walking pilgrimage for many families. Police and municipal arrangements for the night follow the usual festival template: crowd lanes, lighting on the main approaches, and space for the elephant and doli processions to pass without crushing the front rows.

With Balkand closed, the coming nights shift into later kand material on the Ramnagar calendar. Thursday's verified public facts are the day-seven staging itself, the bridal arrival and palace welcome, the folk khichdi exchange, and the closing maha-aarti that ends this opening chapter of the lila.