Theatre lovers of the city were treated to quite a number of plays at the 16th Kalinga Natya Mahotsav. From politics to comedy, the week-long theatre festival that concluded in the Capital City recently had a generous dose of good stories and wonderful performances.
Hosted by three-decade-old theatre organisation Satabdira Kalakar, the festival was dedicated to noted playwright Rati Mishra. Seven plays in three languages - Odia, Hindi and Bengali - all scripted by Rati Ranjan Mishra, were staged during the festival.
The annual multi-lingual drama festival was launched in 1998 with an objective to expose the theatre fraternity and connoisseurs of the State to the trends prevalent in the contemporary theatre scenario in other Indian states, said festival director Dhira Mallick who is also the founder-secretary of the host organisation.
“From this year, we decided to popularise works of Odia dramatists beyond Odisha through adaptation of their plays in other languages,” said Mallick.
On the inaugural evening of the festival on February 18, Odia play ‘Ruddhadwara’ was presented by host Satabdira Kalakar troupe and directed by Dhira Mallick followed by Prasanta Mohapatra directed ‘Tote Jhure Mana Ratidina’ in Odia.
The third play was ‘Samnare Satyabhama’ by Ranga Karmee troupe directed by Kailash Mohapatra while Uttara Purusha theatre group staged Odia play ‘Sita’ directed by Avinna Routray. Similarly, Saturday evening showcased Hindi adaptation of the Odia play ‘Satarka Sanghamitra’ by New Delhi-based Utsav theatre troupe directed by Sukumar Tudu and Sunday evening witnessed Odia play ‘Ati Achambita Katha’ by Manana Natya Sanstha directed by Manoj Patnaik.
The concluding evening on February 24 featured Bengali adaptation of ‘Sanju Sangita’ directed by Rakesh Ghosh and enacted by Sabdo-Mugdho Natya Kendra of West Bengal.