Ramayana’s love stories show the ties that bind five lovers.

LUCKNOW: As part of the 10-day Darpan Theatre group’s diamond jubilee celebration, the play “Prem Ramayana,” which was performed at the UP Sangeet Natak Akademi on Friday, presented love stories from the Ramayana. One of the group’s founders, Maya Govind, was honored on the second day. Veteran theater performer Vijay Vastav received the Prof Satyamurti Samman. Darpan general secretary Anil Rastogi and other theatre veterans lit the festival’s lamp. The play was directed, written, and narrated by Atul Satya Kaushik and presented by the Film and Theatre Society. It was centered on the romance of five Ramayana couples. The director also served as the play’s omniscient narrator, with live music provided by Latika Jain. The story of Laxman and Urmila showed how the couple dealt with their 14-year separation when Laxman accompanied Ram during his exile. The story of Sulochana and Meghnaad shows how Sulochana muses after his death that many lives could have been saved if women had been in charge of affairs. After Sita was banished to the Valmiki ashram, a fictional portrayal of Ram and Sita remembering one another concluded the play. The audience applauded enthusiastically after the play.