Nakkatayya is a part of the Ram Leela
celebrations at Varanasi. Also called as Nakkatayya Leela, it
symbolizes victory of truth over evil.
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.
