Advani inaugurates presentation of 'Sampoorna Ramleela' dedicated to late Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Senior BJP leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani here on Wednesday inaugurated a maiden presentation of 'Sampoorna Ramleela' -- a dramatised musical rendition of Hindu epic Ramayana -- which is dedicated to the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

However, the veteran leader did not make any remarks on the former Prime Minister -- with whom he shared a six-decade-long political journey -- in his brief speech at the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra event venue.

Advani put his signature on a copy of Ramayana presented to him on the occasion.

Running in its 62nd year, Kendra's presentation has been directed by Padma Shri awardee Shobha Deepak Singh.

"This year's show has been dedicated to him because he was a great statesman, and also an admirer of the show. He even gave many suggestions that we incorporated in the ballet," Singh told IANS.

The multimedia presentation, mounted on a magnificent set, is replete with the striking use of lighting, music and costumes and animates the epic.

The Ramleela, in its previous editions, has been attended by luminaries like Jawaharlal Nehru, Zail Singh, Indira Gandhi, S. Radhakrishnan, Lal Bahadur Shastri, and Vajpayee, among others.

The dance-drama will present episodes from the Ramayana till November 5.