Nakkatayya of Varanasi
Nakkatayya (slitting of nose) is an episode
from the Ramayana, the great Indian epic. Nakkatayya Leela is re-enactment of
that episode. At Varanasi, the Nakkatayya Leela is held at Chetganj and is
attended by large number of people from all parts of Varanasi city and nearby
towns. Exile of Lord Ram forms the backdrop of this story. Nakkatayya re-enacts
a story from Ramayana in which Surpanakha (sister of Ravana, the devil King),
comes to entice Ram and then Lakshman. Lakshman, the younger brother of Ram, gets
angry and slits Suparnakha's nose and she goes back crying. This act of nose
slitting is enacted at stage during mid October in Chetganj locality of
Varanasi. On the occasion of Nakkatayya, numerous processions and tableaux are
carried out in the streets of Varanasi, symbolizing the victory of truth over
evil.
2015 Date : 30th October.
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