INDIAN youths brought a religious festival to its climax with their performance of an epic at the Hindu Temple in Happy Valley recently.
Over 200 people sat on the temple floor to watch an all-girls cast perform Ramayan (Romance of Rama) in celebration of the birthday of Lord Rama, a Hindu deity widely worshipped for his chivalry and virtues.
Although most of the performers grew up in Hongkong, they performed their cultural dance drama with surprising adeptness and grace.
Beautifully clad in bright Indian costumes, the dancers were adorned with gold ornaments and flowers.
As they danced to the classic Indian music, their bracelets and anklets clinked rhythmically to the drum beats, filling the temple with a festive and joyful atmosphere.
The episode they presented, Sita Haran (The Kidnapping of Sita), was lyrical and dramatic.
Rama, a prince in the kingdom of Ayodhya, is unjustly banished to the forest with his wife, Sita. The tricky Ravan, the demon king of Lanka, kidnaps Sita.