by Trideep LahkarRampur (Assam), Dec 17 (PTI) A theatre festival in aremote Assam village by the Garo Hills could not have askedfor a stage more spectacular.
The venue was a forest of sal trees, and the plays werestaged without artificial lights or sound.
Nine plays from India and Bangladesh were performed atthe three-day 'Under the Sal Tree Theatre Festival', whichended today.
Organised by the Badungduppa Kala Kendra, the drama festwas held in Rampur village in Goalpara district, near theAssam-Meghalaya border.
"I have seen a lot of plays in auditoriums. Then Ithought of taking theatre to the villages, where nothinghappens," said theatre artiste Sukracharjya Rabha, a discipleof Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee Heisnam Kanhailal and thebrain behind the festival, now in its eighth edition.
The festival, with plays performed in natural light andwithout a sound system, has been gaining global fame. Lastyear, groups from Brazil, Poland, South Korea and Sri Lankatook part in it.
Rabha, who is from Rampur, readies the venue every year,ensuring that not a single tree is cut for the event.
There is no formal stage for the plays. The actorsperform in an open area, against a wall of hay, while theaudience sits on multi-tiered bamboo benches.
"In the absence of sophisticated auditoriums in thevillages, I realised that we have to do something on our own,"Rabha told PTI here.
Though he accepted that an auditorium and technology werean inseparable part of proscenium theatre, the Assam-baseddirector said these modern elements reminded him of the"colonisation" of society.
"Theatre should live among the people. If we can enact aplay under natural circumstances, then it will connect realityand art to our ecological system. This will be our'Indianness' and it will be our own theatre," Rabha said.
Theatre, he added, should be flexible, not remain stuckin a place and go to the people.
Rabha said the festival gets support from the entirevillage, some 150 kilometres from Guwahati, as it draws peoplefrom across the country. The Kala Kendra charges visitors forfood and accommodation.
This year, the eighth such festival, started on December15. Among the plays was a production from Bangladesh.
The organisers did not have enough funds for a biggeraffair this time, Rabha rued.
Though the festival had a budget of Rs 20 lakh and wassupported by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and the CulturalAffairs Department of the Assam government, the BadungduppaKala Kendra has been facing a financial crisis, he said.
Film actor Mahendra Das, who figured in 'Rock On 2', is aregular visitor to the festival and appreciates itsminimalistic approach.
Das felt the festival also promotes the concept of'Theatre Tourism' in Assam, with people from across thecountry travelling to the Goalpara village for the shows.
"This festival shows us that a play can be done withminimum expenses with no light and no microphones. Everythingis played live here. It is basically a peoples' festival," Dassaid. PTI TRBDS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.