Preparations in full swing for Maha Raas Leela festival

The members of indigenous Manipuri community in Kamalganj upazila of Moulvibazar are gearing up for the Maha Raas Leela festival, their most significant religious and cultural celebration.

The festival will take place on Friday, November 15, across different areas of the upazila, especially in Madhabpur and Adampur, where most Manipuri people live.

With the sound of drums, conch shells, and ceremonial bells filling up the air with a celebratory ambience, preparations are in full swing ahead of the festival.

In Madhabpur and Adampur villages that are at the heart of the celebration, the excitement is palpable as the final touches are being put on the decorations and structures for the festival. Pavilion paintings and intricate designs are being crafted, while participants are busy rehearsing the traditional Raas dances.

Sonaton Hamom, a prominent writer of Manipuri community, said, the Raas Leela is not only a religious occasion but also a deep cultural tradition for the Manipuri people.

The Manipuri Maha Raas Leela Seba Sangha is organising the 182nd Raas Utsab at Madhabpur's Jora Mandap, while a separate celebration will be held at the Manipuri Cultural Complex in Adampur, which will mark its 42nd Raas festival this year.

The festivities will begin on November 15 from 11:00am in the morning. In the afternoon, the Gosthaleela or Rakhal dance will be held on the open stage in Shibbazar of Madhabpur. Later in the evening, the Jora Mandap in Madhabpur will host the central event of the festival, the Maha Raas Leela, which will continue throughout the night until Brahmamuhurta (the auspicious early morning hours), said Shyam Singh, general secretary of the Manipuri Maha Raas Leela Seba Sangha.

In the backyards of Manipuri neighborhoods, instructors were seen guiding the dance performers, from children to adults, in perfecting their steps in preparation for the festival.

The Raas dance and Rakhal dance are among the key highlights of the event.

While the Manipuri community will be at the center of the festivities, thousands of people from different communities and religious backgrounds are expected to join the celebrations.